The Politics of Housing in (Post-)Colonial Africa

The Politics of Housing in (Post-)Colonial Africa
Author: Kirsten Rüther
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 246
Release: 2020-06-08
Genre: History
ISBN: 3110598736

Housing matters, no matter when or where. This volume of collected essays on housing in colonial and postcolonial Africa seeks to elaborate the how and the why. Housing is much more than a living everyday practice. It unfolds in its disparate dimensions of time, space and agency. Context dependent, it acquires diverse, often ambivalent, meanings. Housing can be a promise, an unfulfilled dream, a tool of self- and class-assertion, a negotiation process, or a means to achieve other ends. Our focus lies in analyzing housing in its multifacetedness, be it a lens to offer insights into complex processes that shape societies; be it a tool of empire to exercise control over private relations of inhabitants; or be it a means to create good, obedient and productive citizens. Contributions to this volume range from the field of history, to architecture and urban planning, African Studies, linguistics, and literature. The individual case studies home in on specific aspects and dimensions of housing and seek to bring them into dialogue with each other. By doing so, the volume aims to add to the vibrant academic debate on studying urban practices and their significance for current social change.

The Politics of Housing in (Post-)Colonial Africa

The Politics of Housing in (Post-)Colonial Africa
Author: Kirsten Rüther
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 236
Release: 2020-06-08
Genre: History
ISBN: 3110601184

Housing matters, no matter when or where. This volume of collected essays on housing in colonial and postcolonial Africa seeks to elaborate the how and the why. Housing is much more than a living everyday practice. It unfolds in its disparate dimensions of time, space and agency. Context dependent, it acquires diverse, often ambivalent, meanings. Housing can be a promise, an unfulfilled dream, a tool of self- and class-assertion, a negotiation process, or a means to achieve other ends. Our focus lies in analyzing housing in its multifacetedness, be it a lens to offer insights into complex processes that shape societies; be it a tool of empire to exercise control over private relations of inhabitants; or be it a means to create good, obedient and productive citizens. Contributions to this volume range from the field of history, to architecture and urban planning, African Studies, linguistics, and literature. The individual case studies home in on specific aspects and dimensions of housing and seek to bring them into dialogue with each other. By doing so, the volume aims to add to the vibrant academic debate on studying urban practices and their significance for current social change.

The Politics of Housing in (Post-)Colonial Africa

The Politics of Housing in (Post-)Colonial Africa
Author: Kirsten Rüther
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2022-01-31
Genre: History
ISBN: 9783110777024

Housing matters, no matter when or where. This volume of collected essays on housing in colonial and postcolonial Africa seeks to elaborate the how and the why. It concentrates on analyzing housing in its multifacetedness, be it a lens to offer insi

Living for the City

Living for the City
Author: Miles Larmer
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 671
Release: 2021-08-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 1108968007

Living for the City is a social history of the Central African Copperbelt, considered as a single region encompassing the neighbouring mining regions of Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Haut Katanga and Zambian Copperbelt mine towns have been understood as the vanguard of urban 'modernity' in Africa. Observers found in these towns new African communities that were experiencing what they wrongly understood as a transition from rural 'traditional' society – stable, superstitious and agricultural – to an urban existence characterised by industrial work discipline, the money economy and conspicuous consumption, Christianity, and nuclear families headed by male breadwinners supported by domesticated housewives. Miles Larmer challenges this representation of Copperbelt society, presenting an original analysis which integrates the region's social history with the production of knowledge about it, shaped by both changing political and intellectual contexts and by Copperbelt communities themselves. This title is available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Urban Planning in Sub-Saharan Africa

Urban Planning in Sub-Saharan Africa
Author: Carlos Nunes Silva
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 365
Release: 2015-06-03
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 131775316X

Cities in Sub-Saharan Africa are unequally confronted with social, economic and environmental challenges, particularly those related with population growth, urban sprawl, and informality. This complex and uneven African urban condition requires an open discussion of past and current urban planning practices and future reforms. Urban Planning in Sub-Saharan Africa gives a broad perspective of the history of urban planning in Sub-Saharan Africa and a critical view of issues, problems, challenges and opportunities confronting urban policy makers. The book examines the rich variety of planning cultures in Africa, offers a unique view on the introduction and development of urban planning in Sub-Saharan Africa, and makes a significant contribution against the tendency to over-generalize Africa’s urban problems and Africa’s urban planning practices. Urban Planning in Sub-Saharan Africa is written for postgraduate students and advanced undergraduates, researchers, planners and other policy makers in the multidisciplinary field of Urban Planning, in particular for those working in Spatial Planning, Architecture, Geography, and History.

Political Values and Narratives of Resistance

Political Values and Narratives of Resistance
Author: Fiona Anciano
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 202
Release: 2021-03-23
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1000362140

This book brings together multidisciplinary perspectives to explore how political values and acts of resistance impact the delivery of social justice in post-colonial states. Everyday life in post-colonial states, such as South Africa and Zimbabwe, is characterized by injustices that have both a historical and contemporary nature. From fishers in Cape Town accused of poaching, to residents of Bulawayo demanding access to water, this book focuses on the relationship between the state and groups that have been historically oppressed due to being on the margins of the political, economic and social system. It draws on empirical research from 12 scholars looking at cases in Brazil, India, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Chapters explore questions such as what citizens, especially those from marginalized groups, want from the state. The book looks at the political values of citizens and how these are formed in the process of engaging with the state and through everyday injustices. It also asks why and how citizens resist the state, with examples of protest, as well as less visible forms of resistance reflecting complex histories and power relations. Finally, the book explores how narratives and counter-narratives reveal the nature of political values and perceptions of what is just. Taken together these elements show the evolution of post-colonial social contracts. Examining important themes in political science, anthropology, sociology and urban geography, this book will appeal to scholars and students interested in political values, justice, social movements and resistance.

The Business of Development in Post-Colonial Africa

The Business of Development in Post-Colonial Africa
Author: Véronique Dimier
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 360
Release: 2021-03-13
Genre: History
ISBN: 3030511065

This collection brings together a range of case studies by both established and early career scholars to consider the nexus between business and development in post-colonial Africa. A number of contributors examine the involvement of European companies (most notably those of former colonial powers) in development in various African states at the end of empire and in the early post-colonial era. They explore how businesses were not just challenged by the new international landscape but benefited from the opportunities it offered, particularly those provided by development aid. Other contributors focus on the development agencies of the departing colonial powers to consider how far these served to promote the interests of European companies. Together these case studies constitute an important contribution to our understanding of both business and development in post-colonial Africa, redressing an imbalance in existing histories of both business and development which focus predominantly on the colonial period. This volume breaks new ground as one of the very first to bring the study of foreign companies and development aid into the same frame of analysis

Legislative Development in Africa

Legislative Development in Africa
Author: Ken Ochieng' Opalo
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 295
Release: 2019-06-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 110849210X

Examined the development of legislatures under colonial rule, post-colonial autocratic single party rule, and multi-party politics in Africa.

Housing Market Dynamics in Africa

Housing Market Dynamics in Africa
Author: El-hadj M. Bah
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 285
Release: 2018-03-12
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1137597925

This open access book utilizes new data to thoroughly analyze the main factors currently shaping the African housing market. Some of these factors include the supply and demand for housing finance, land tenure security issues, construction cost conundrum, infrastructure provision, and low-cost housing alternatives. Through detailed analysis, the authors investigate the political economy surrounding the continent’s housing market and the constraints that behind-the-scenes policy makers need to address in their attempts to provide affordable housing for the majority in need. With Africa’s urban population growing rapidly, this study highlights how broad demographic shifts and rapid urbanization are placing enormous pressure on the limited infrastructure in many cities and stretching the economic and social fabric of municipalities to their breaking point. But beyond providing a snapshot of the present conditions of the African housing market, the book offers recommendations and actionable measures for policy makers and other stakeholders on how best to provide affordable housing and alleviate Africa’s housing deficit. This work will be of particular interest to practitioners, non-governmental organizations, private sector actors, students and researchers of economic policy, international development, and urban development.