Urban transition and economic development in Africa

African cities have undergone exceptional demographic growth without economic development. This is because unproductive informal services rather than manufacturing dominate the labour forces of African cities. Africa’s urban transition has coincided with globalization and is associated with spatial patterns of peri-urbanisation, megacities, frontier urbanisation, speculative urbanisation, splintered urbanization, and modernisation of parts of cities. The juxtaposition of modern and traditional parts of cities raises questions for equity and liveability of cities of the region and whether these cities can serve as both engines of economic development and gateways to the world. To achieve their development potential, African cities need to be planned, managed, and governed innovatively.