Rome’s was a politics of all five senses. It was a city of noise, of refuse and bodies in the street, of massive crowds, of massive construction, and a size and opulence not equaled in Europe again for more than a millennium. In maps and inscriptions, Rome was the center of the world. How did Rome become this way? This chapter looks to intercity relations to resolve this puzzle. The Roman Empire was in effect a network of cities in the core–periphery mode – the ultimate “consumer city” supplied by vast hinterlands. Lacking the perfect local environment, Rome imported the commodities – and people – needed to construct an alpha city. The city grew as haphazardly and violently as the Empire itself. The greater the resources of the Empire, the larger the foundation for Rome’s growth. This hit crisis point in the Late Republic, as an increasingly dispossessed agrarian peasantry migrated en-masse to cities alongside inhabitants from across the world. In short, the context for Rome’s growth was a hitherto unparalleled age of globalization in the first and second centuries CE.

Neighborhood associations are geographically bound, grassroots organizations that rely on volunteer membership and direct participation to identify and address issues within their neighborhood. Often these groups serve as intermediaries between residents and local decision-makers, such as government officials, developers and business owners, and providers of public goods and services. As a case example, we describe the Minneapolis Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP), launched in 1990. The NRP is a notable long-standing attempt to bolster the role of neighborhood associations in municipal governance. It demonstrates many of the potential benefits as well as the challenges of neighborhood associations as vehicles for locally scaled democracy. After this, we examine dynamics of community power and empowerment processes in neighborhood associations and make recommendations for practice and future research.

This chapter, looking at the Second World War, foregrounds the concerns about the post-war future that took shape in relation to people’s hopes for the next generation and with their sense of conditions locally at the front of their minds. It first uses a case study of attitudes towards urban reconstruction to probe where people’s ideas about the post-war future came from. The chapter argues that memories of the inter-war period and everyday experiences of wartime were fundamental in shaping these hopes. A second case study, about concerns surrounding post-war employment, highlights the complexity of popular assumptions about what was likely to follow the war, again signalling the importance of place in shaping people’s memories and aspirations.

Explores how exterme heat impacts human health and presents built enviornment strategies to moderate extreme heat in cities.

Examines the present framework for rebuilding in the aftermath of climate disasters and presents a new framework for planned retreat in cities.

Explores 2014-15 drought in Sao Paulo, Brazil and associated societal impacts.

Explores how an increasing frequency and intensity of drought conditions is driving water scarcity in cities and presents built environment strategies for moderating drought conditions.

Explores climate resilience strategies in the Vine City neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia.

Explores how sea level rise and flooding are amplified by the design of cities, presents built environment strategies to manage flood risk, and considers issues of climate justice.

Ideological rationalities and urban planning practices are inextricably linked, and urban planning practices draw insight from theoretical propositions. Through a review of relevant literature and documents, the chapter traces ideological changes and their influences on urban planning practices in colonial to post-colonial Tanzania. Colonial urban planning was based on modernist ideological rationalities drawing from layout planning, land use zoning and master planning. Post-colonial planning practices underwent changes in ideological rationalities from master planning to strategic planning. Master planning as modernist planning has always been an expert-led process based on means–ends and dualistic ideas. Strategic planning as post-modernist planning has been based on relations and pluralistic ideas. Non-implementation of master plans and strategic plans have rendered layout plans as the main spatial planning and decision-making tool. Contemporary planning realities are influenced by a multitude of challenges resulting in the emergence of piecemeal planning leading to uncoordinated urban forms, particularly in small towns.

This collection of essays is one in a series of books on urban planning and sustainable development in Africa, bringing together scholarship from different disciplines in urban studies, planning and social sciences across different regions of the continent. It is aimed at readers from urban specialisms in spatial planning, human geography, environmental law and other social sciences, and professionals and policymakers concerned with urban development, land use planning and informality governance. Urban planning has emerged over the past half a century in Africa through colonisation, influencing urban policies, practices, discourses and institutions in the continent’s cities. Today, it remains the bedrock for realising sustainable development ideals across the continent’s growing cities, yet current practices indicate otherwise. A narrative is presented on why urban planning needs to be reimagined in Africa and its association with sustainable urban development, involving complex policy developments during colonial and post-colonial times. The case of African cities is discussed, having acquired importance because of their particular history of colonisation and growth in urbanisation and population as well as experiences of climate change. The chapter contributions in this book are then outlined together with how they contribute to evolving ideas on urban planning and sustainable development in Africa.

Planning systems are instrumental in the emergence and proliferation of gated communities globally. This chapter presents evidence of how Ghana’s planning system has contributed towards the emergence and proliferation of gated communities as a basis for reimagining urban planning. The study employs institutional analysis and uses data from interviews with planning officials in 7 district assemblies and 11 gated community developers in the Accra City Region. Unlike the colonial planning law which had little regard for local exigencies, Ghana’s current planning system now recognises gated communities and the emerging indigenous typologies. It also allows gated community developers to prepare local plans for areas lacking one. By recognising gated communities and allowing them planning functions, district assemblies save on the cost of preparing planning schemes, while also benefiting from significant increases in property rates, and easing the mobilisation of those rates. While applying formal rules to deliver their mandate, officials also draw on informal rules that appear to privilege developers of gated communities, creating avenues for dubious practices to thrive. The study concludes by positing that urban planning in Ghana, and indeed across Africa, can be reimagined by focusing on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of planning systems.

The purpose of this chapter is to examine how climate change actions are integrated into urban planning in Africa. Based on a review of long-term and medium-term planning frameworks from six selected cities, the chapter analyses the awareness, synthesis and strategies for addressing climate change adaptation and mitigation in Africa through urban planning. The findings indicate that despite a high level of awareness of climate change and impacts, conscious framing of planning frameworks as tools for instituting mitigation and adaptation measures for climate change action is lacking. While the issues and policies indicated in the plans have impacts on climate change mitigation and adaptation, the planning frameworks mainly regard them as immediate developmental needs rather than offering an explicit avenue for addressing climate change. Considering that climate change remains a major existential threat to the sustainable development of African cities, the chapter argues for reimagining planning to view spatial and socio-economic development issues and strategies through a climate change lens to ensure efficient allocation of resources towards climate-proof growth, sustainable development and resilience.

This concluding chapter explores the future of urban planning in Africa, by identifying and analysing key theoretical insights and practical strategies in advancing sustainable, inclusive and functional urban spaces in African cities. Recognising the current urbanisation, climate change and sustainable development challenges, the chapter reflects on how the arguments presented in the book underscore the urgent need for reimagining urban planning in Africa. It also reviews some recent scholarship and stakeholder activities within the discussions of their potential implications for urban planning.

A problem in the African urban development system is that the authorities have not always listened to the people. This chapter shows that dialogues between urban-dwelling people can serve as sources of ideas for city authorities and policymakers towards solving land and planning problems. It uses dialectics and dialogic enquiries to evoke the voices of people in African cities through short dialogues that reflect critical questions concerning urban planning and sustainable land governance. These brief dialogues constitute a walk-through of the texts that laid out a diverse set of statements probing the urban prognosis of five cities – Addis Ababa, Cairo, Kinshasa, Lagos and Windhoek – from five regions of Africa. Explicit and implicit scenarios within the dialogues present the inherent challenges in Africa’s urban land situation. The chapter concludes that the reimaging of African cities should be part of a reimagining process in urban planning.

The debate on density and urban planning returned to the centre because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic reaffirmed that the built environment of cities is a crucial determinant of health and reaffirms the importance of upgrading informal settlements. It is estimated that in sub-Saharan Africa, informal settlements accommodate more than 60% of the urban population. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the South African government put in place different measures trying to slow the spread of the virus. One of the strategies was to focus on population density, specifically in informal settlements. Densification and de-densification are relational processes driven by political, economic and social change and conditions. Reimagining informal settlements and urban planning in South Africa and Africa will require cities to use a mix of approaches. Cities are adapting to urban design, reclaiming public spaces for citizens, and reconsidering the location of essential urban services and amenities to ensure easier access while securing the safety and health of residents. COVID-19 has pushed urban planners and governments to reimagine the quality and sustainability of life in cities by ensuring access to essential functions.

This chapter discusses smart mobility in sub-Saharan Africa to provide insights into (i) the history and relevance of smart mobility in its cities; (ii) empirical cases of smart mobility experiences in selected cities; and (iii) the potential of smart mobility in advancing urban planning reimagination in this region. Cities of South Africa were used as cases to demonstrate the importance of smart mobility in urban planning reimagination. Findings indicate that smart mobility is a new concept in sub-Saharan Africa and is in its nascent state. There are multiple barriers to smart mobility, including lack of integrated transportation, lack of investment by municipalities, lack of non-motorised transportation, the economic constraint of people, the demographic character and social and cultural behaviour of people. The cities also possess significant potential for the adoption of smart mobility. However, smart mobility might bring challenges to the built environment by influencing it through the transformation of the transportation system and urban spatial morphology. The resolution of the issues related to these two transformations remains vital for the creation of smart mobility and consequently smart cities. Therefore, urban planning should be reimagined for the transformation of the transportation system and the built form of the cities.

Urban planning in Africa is linked to elements of colonisation, production of informal spaces and socio-spatial segregation. Discussing it often provokes considerable emotions. How do urban planning histories fit into current planning practice? What constitutes reimagined urban planning in African cities? And how do current urban planning practices promote or limit urban planning reimagination and sustainable urban development? This chapter addresses these questions by highlighting the importance of planning histories in framing current planning theory and the production of urban spaces in Africa as well as their implication for sustainable urban development. The chapter shows how pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial planning narratives continue to dominate and frame twenty-first-century planning practice across African cities. Drawing from published literature, policy documents and international reports, the chapter advocates for a participatory narrative in deconstructing planning,and promoting inclusiveness and spatial integration toward a reimagination of urban planning in Africa.