The African City

Bill Freund is Professor of Economic History and Development Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He is the author of many books, including The African Worker (Cambridge University Press, 1995).

"Bill Freund’s sophisticated yet accessible book... adds to the recent growth of interest in urbanism in its multiple forms in Africa. It is alone, however, in discussing cities across the continent, rather than separating sub-Saharan and North Africa, and in including everything from the Bronze Age through modern case studies. In tone the author blends research from the social sciences and history with a frank humanism about the changing quality of life. Freund is not quick to generalize, but rather steadily underscores the diversity of origins, organizing principles, and trajectories in numerous, well-integrated examples." - International Journal of African Historical Studies

• Introduction; 1. Urban life emerges in Africa; 2. African cities and the emergence of a world trading economy; 3. Colonialism and urbanisation; 4. Cities in revolt: the long term crisis of South African urbanism; 5. The post-colonial African city; 6. Globalisation and the African city: Touba, Abidjan, Durban.