Poverty and Inequality in African Cities: Reflections on Challenges and Causes

The last edition in this series was published in 2014 in this relaunch edition. The edited volume examines 
trends and contours of the causes of poverty and inequality in African metropolitan cities. The book delved 
into the creation and governance of urban spaces in Africa and how such spaces have become havens of 
pervasive poverty and unemployment. It should, however, be noted that Africa’s high population growth rate 
and an increasingly inadequate housing market and poor infrastructure network have contributed to 
ineffective urban planning and social service delivery, leading to worsening poverty and inequality in 
Africa’s metropolitan settings.  Crucially, as people move from rural areas to cities seeking better 
opportunities, they often face challenges in finding stable employment and decent housing, leading to 
further poverty and social exclusion. Therefore, the book investigates these challenges, paying particular 
attention to the haphazard manner of urban planning in Africa's metropolitan areas, characterized by 
overcrowding, poor sanitation, and limited access to necessities such as water and electricity, thereby 
contributing to high poverty rates within these African urban spaces. 
This transdisciplinary book will appeal to academics, researchers, writers, students, activists and readers 
with interests in African epistemology and feminist knowledge production, creative and community-based 
practices, as well as queer and non-binary solidarities.