Urban Environments in Africa: A Critical Analysis of Environmental Politics

ISBN-13: 9781447322917 / Angielski / Twarda / 2016 / 216 str.

Garth Myers

Opis

Africa's urban populations are growing rapidly, raising numerous environmental concerns as the pace of change stretches local resources and generates hazardous and unhealthy living conditions. Because these urban areas are also linked to the extremes of both poverty and wealth, they offer a unique opportunity for analyzing the many aspects of environmental politics. Drawing on fieldwork data, map analysis, place-name study, interviews, and fiction studies, Garth Myers explores African environmentalism from a variety of perspectives. By acknowledging the clash between Western planning mindsets that focus on sustainable development and the lived realities of residents in often poor, informal settlements, this important book marks a critical advance in the study of Africa's urban environments. It will have a profound impact across disciplines, from geography to urban, development, environmental, and African studies.

Spis treści

Introduction; The Experts: The ‘State’ of Urban Environments in Africa; The Past: The Urban Biogeography of (Post)Colonialism; The Artists: Using African Literature to Read Urban Environments; The Cityscape: Place-Names, Culture and Spirits; From the Grass Roots: Popular Understandings of Urban Environmental Issues in Africa; Conclusion: Re-Reading Urban Environments.