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Rapid growth, unmanageable cities, urban crisis - the cities of West Africa are no longer plannable,at least not by using traditional urban development tools. Without negating the importance of participatory approaches for making the city, it nonetheless seems crucial to return to city plans and models, to what they convey and how they are built. But in order to understand the city in all its depth, we must also hit the streets. The West African City proposes a dual perspective. At the urban scale, it analyzes historical trajectories, spatial development and urban planning documents to highlight the major trends beyond the plans. At the second level, that of public space, the street is discussed as the lifeblood of urban issues. By innovating approaches and testing new methods, The West African City offers an unconventional look at Nouakchott, Dakar and Abidjan, the three study sites of this investigation. The city of today - be it in Africa or elsewhere - must re-examine its many social, economic, cultural, political and spatial dimensions; for this, urban research has begun challenging its own methods.
List of contents
1. Introduction Part 1. Three Cities In West Africa: Nouakchott, Dakar And Abidjan 2. The African City 3. Nouakchott: New City, Old Concept 4. Dakar: The City; Pikine: The Suburbs 5. Abidjan: The Capital of French-Speaking West-Africa 6. The Three Cities Compared Part 2. Urban Planning 7. Master Plan for Urban Development of Nouakchott 8. Urban Master Plan for Dakar (2025) 9. Master Plan for Greater Abidjan 10. Three Cities, Three Plans Part 3. The Press 11. Public Space As Seen Through the Media 12. The Media, Public Space and the City of Nouakchott 13. The Media, Public Space and the City of Dakar 14. The Media, Public Space and the City of Abidjan 15. Commonalities and Differences Part 4. Images and Cities 16. Photographing Public Space 17. The Streets of Nouakchott 18. The Streets of Dakar 19. The Streets of Abidjan 20. Frames: City Summaries Part 5. Cities That Are Different, But Similar 21. Virtually Identical Cities 22. Urban Planning and Urban Models 23. Planning, the Media, Photography and Public Space 24. Recommendations
About the author
Dr Jérôme Chenal, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland
Summary
Rapid growth, unmanageable cities, urban crisis – the cities of West Africa are no longer plannable,at least not by using traditional urban development tools.
Without negating the importance of participatory approaches for making the city, it nonetheless seems crucial to return to city plans and models, to what they convey and how they are built. But in order to understand the city in all its depth, we must also hit the streets.
The West African City proposes a dual perspective. At the urban scale, it analyzes historical trajectories, spatial development and urban planning documents to highlight the major trends beyond the plans. At the second level, that of public space, the street is discussed as the lifeblood of urban issues.
By innovating approaches and testing new methods, The West African City offers an unconventional look at Nouakchott, Dakar and Abidjan, the three study sites of this investigation. The city of today – be it in Africa or elsewhere - must re-examine its many social, economic, cultural, political and spatial dimensions; for this, urban research has begun challenging its own methods.
