The State of African Cities 2008: A framework for addressing urban challenges in Africa, edited by Alioune Badiane

Abstract

The maiden edition of the State of African Cities is aimed at benchmarking city-level data, sensitizing African governments to the urban challenge in Africa, and shedding light on strategic urban topics (p. viii). An analysis of the report can reasonably ask to what extent it achieves its stated aims. Benchmarking city-level data is an important primary aim. However, the report does not provide any fresh data. It only assembles existing data (for example on measuring the scale of slums, pp. 170–200). Much of this data is already published by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs in its World Urbanization Prospects. So if (as the report argues) Africa should ‘become more cognisant of the increasing relevance of its spatial aspects to economic and social policy’ (p. viii), then assembling data on the contribution of cities to national income (as has been done in cities like Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town) would help. Progress in municipal finance could also be tracked, based for instance on the share of city revenue in national revenue. The report notes that on almost every urban issue there is paucity of data in Africa (p. 9) – so why does it duplicate existing work? It is useful to assemble the scattered data on African cities and the report succeeds in this; but it is disappointing that it does not add to the existing data.