Cities

Three African cities that have experienced extensive transnational involvement in large-scale urban development and interventions have been selected for study, Accra, Dar es Salaam and Lilongwe. All three are mid-sized cities, that encompass varying levels of economic activity and poverty. All face considerable complexity in governing urban development, notably, parallel systems of land titling (traditional, communal and individual), extensive informality in housing and employment, and significant governmental challenges, in terms of rapidly growing populations, limited resourcing and institutional capacity, and periodic de-stabilising political changes. But all three have been selected for research as they offer a relatively stable political and institutional environment, for feasibility of the research to trace long-term, multi-jurisdictional and transscalar projects. Follow the links below to learn more about our research in each city.