Securing the resurgence of African cities

After two decades of stagnation and decline, there has been a turnaround in the fortunes of many African economies. The implications of this for the burgeoning urban population remain unclear because the connections between economic development and urbanisation appear to be weaker in Africa than elsewhere. It is possible that the benefits of the recovery could by-pass more than benefit the cities because growth is being driven mainly by the extraction of natural resources and not by broad-based industrialisation. The article argues therefore that economic policy in Africa needs a stronger spatial dimension, and that urban policy needs a stronger economic dimension.