On sustainable urban development in sub-Saharan Africa

The fundamental feature common to colonial cities in sub-Saharan Africa was the separation of 'European neighborhoods' from 'African villages'. Residential separation has survived in post-colonial periods even though major changes have taken place in the racial composition of African urban populations. From the standpoint of sustainable urban development, this paper aims to point out the problems this continuing residential separation poses to planners and decision-makers. It is argued that urban economies and societies in sub-Saharan Africa cannot be strengthened unless the two segments of African cities are physically and socially unified. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd