Colonial legacies: shaping African cities

Baruah, Neeraj, Henderson, J. Vernon ORCID: 0000-0002-0985-9415 and Peng, Cong (2020) Colonial legacies: shaping African cities. Journal of Economic Geography, 21 (1). ISSN 1468-2702

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Abstract

Institutions persisting from colonial rule affect the spatial structure and conditions under which 100’s of millions of people live in Sub-Saharan African cities. In a sample of 318 cities, Francophone cities have more compact development than Anglophone, overall, in older colonial sections, and at clear extensive margins long after the colonial era. Compactness covers intensity of land use, gridiron road structures, and leapfrogging of new developments. Why the difference? Under British indirect and dual mandate rule, colonial and native sections developed without coordination. In contrast, integrated city planning and land allocation were featured in French direct rule. These differences in planning traditions persist.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://academic.oup.com/joeg
Additional Information:	© 2020 The Authors
Divisions:	Centre for Economic Performance Geography & Environment
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GF Human ecology. Anthropogeography D History General and Old World > DT Africa H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races J Political Science > JV Colonies and colonization. Emigration and immigration. International migration
JEL classification:	H - Public Economics > H7 - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations > H70 - General N - Economic History > N9 - Regional and Urban History > N97 - Africa; Oceania O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O10 - General P - Economic Systems > P4 - Other Economic Systems > P48 - Political Economy; Legal Institutions; Property Rights R - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics > R5 - Regional Government Analysis > R50 - General
Date Deposited:	24 Sep 2020 15:24
Last Modified:	12 Dec 2024 02:20
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/106621

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