Contentious development: peri-urban studies in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

This paper reviews the current state of literature on peri-urban research in sub-Saharan Africa. This research has been led by multi-lateral and bilateral development agencies that have sought to find a role in urban development. The review finds that the donor-driven research has remained largely descriptive. It has neither emphasized nor theorized the rapid and contentious peri-urban transformations associated with globalization. The paper identifies these contradictory transformations and then reviews a range of social development theories, suggesting to what extent they are useful to a meaningful engagement with these contradictions. It highlights in particular the potential role of structuration theory.

Comparative urbanization in Ghana and Kenya in time and space

“…Comparative studies of African urbanization are scarce (Peil 1976;Mabogunje 1990;Simone 2001;Briggs and Yeboah 2001;Mbiba and Huchzermeyer 2002;Grant and Nijman 2002;Beauchemin and Bocquier 2004;Murray 2004;Robinson 2006) because the Eurocentric framework that has dominated African urban analyses since the colonial era is fixated on African urban development relative to the West and is scarcely interested in intra-African urban variation (Myers 1994;Kironde 1992;Briggs and Yeboah 2001;Grant and Nijman 2002). Moreover, this situation exists because (i) language, transport, and communication barriers make it difficult for researchers from different language backgrounds and regions of Africa to share their findings (Mbiba and Huchzermeyer 2002;Rakodi 1997); (ii) the continent's limited urban research capacity and output is regionally imbalanced and is controlled by the western development agencies that fund it (Mbiba and Huchzermeyer 2002); (iii) there is insufficient African urban data (Rakodi 1997) and besides; (iv) it is difficult to make urban generalizations across such a vast and diverse continent (Rakodi 1997).…”

Archaeology and Contemporary Dynamics for More Sustainable, Resilient Cities in the Peri-Urban Interface

“…That task has been undertaken elsewhere (e.g. Mbiba and Huchzermeyer 2002 ;Simon et al 2004 ;McGregor et al 2006 ;Simon 2008 ). Our objectives here are fourfold: to draw a few key insights from the state of the art; to develop further the understanding that, empirical diversity notwithstanding, such interface zones occur worldwide across both space and time; to explore the implications of global environmental change (GEC) for PUIs and those dependent upon them for their livelihoods; and to propose a novel, hybrid approach to planning in PUIs appropriate to their characteristic range of activities and dynamic changes in order to promote urban resilience.…”

Engaging Peri-Urban Landholders in Natural Resources Management

“…There is no single universal defi nition for peri-urban landscape; in fact it is the subject of much debate within the literature (Buxton and Choy 2007 ;Mbiba and Huchzermeyer 2007 ). However, it is possible to describe peri-urban landscapes conceptually as the landscape that occurs between dense continuous urban development and the rural countryside (Nelson and Deuker 1990 ).…”