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Urbanization, Urbanism, and Urbanity in an African City: Home Spaces and House Cultures (Africa Connects)
Urbanization Urbanism and Urbanity in an African City Home Spaces and House Cultures - Africa Connects Author:Paul Jenkins Sub-Saharan Africa is often framed by urbanists as the last global macro-region in the world to go through the urbanization process, whereby a majority of the population live in cities and create a demographic "bulge." Despite common misunderstandings to the contrary, the urbanization process in this region has historic roots, and although it ha... more »s accelerated in the post-colonial era, it still retains distinctive spaces and forms. This book explores the features of sub-Saharan through a remarkably detailed and wide-ranging study of Mozambique's capital city Maputo, including longitudinal physical and socio-economic factors as well as an ethnographic inquiry into cultural attitudes. The findings of this study reveal not only the weakness of state capacity in the region, but also the continued basis for urban activity in social and economic terms and the importance of new, culturally constructed identities and social relations. Maputo and cities like it are very much a collective "urban" in the making - and the final form that they take remains to be seen.« less