Reshaping Cities, Rebuilding Nations: The Role of National Urban Policies

The challenges of rapid urbanisation in large parts of Africa are beyond
the capacity of local government to manage. The paper explores the arguments for a
national urban policy to complement local strategies, reflecting the unique power of
the central state and the special circumstances of cities. With appropriate support,
urbanisation could become a more positive force for economic and human
development. Recent experience in South Africa illustrates some of the difficulties
and possibilities for agreeing a systematic approach to planning and managing urban
growth and transformation. Key stakeholders in the policy process have focused on
urban poverty as an immediate priority and broadened the traditional economic
argument for nations targeting cities to spell out a long-term environmental and
economic development agenda.