Urban planning on the five Lusophone African countries - Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, and Sao Tome and PrÃncipe - has so far been relatively overlooked in planning literature. Bringing together a team of leading scholars, this book fills the gap by providing an in-depth analysis of key issues in the history of urban planning and discussing the key challenges confronting contemporary urban planning in these countries. The book argues that urban planning is a non-neutral and non-value free kind of public action and, therefore, ideology, planning theories, urban models and the ideological role urban planning has played are some of the key issues addressed. For that reason, the practice of Urban Planning is also seen as the outcome of a complex interrelationship between structure and agency, with the role of key planers being examined in some of the chapters. The findings and insights presented by the contributing authors confirm previous research on urban planning in the colonial and postcolonial periods in Lusophone African countries and at the same time break fresh ground and offer additional insights as new evidence has been collected from archives and in fieldwork carried out by a new generation of researchers. In addition, it outlines possible directions for future research.
Biography
Carlos Nunes Silva, PhD, is Professor Auxiliar at the Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning, University of Lisbon, Portugal. His research interests are mainly focused on local government policies, history and theory of urban planning, urban and metropolitan governance, urban planning ethics, urban planning in Africa, research methods, local e-government, and urban e-planning.
’Carlos Nunes Silva’s edited volume gives an account of urban planning in Lusophone African cities for an Anglophone readership for the first time. It thereby contributes to overcoming the linguistic barriers that constrain planning discourse and practice in Africa. This makes it an important book for those interested in comparing colonial planning legacies and understanding their on-going impact on Africa’s cities.’ Lindsay Bremner, University of Westminster, UK 'Have you ever wondered how history and culture shape current and future urban patterns and forms? Now you have a key reference with some good pointers and relevant answers from a range of well researched and rich experiences. This easy-to-read volume is a must for anyone aiming at understanding the urban planning legacies in Lusophone African countries and beyond. This publication will go down as one of the rare urban planning source books on Lusophone countries available to English-speaking audiences. In that way, it fills a huge language and scientific gap.' Remy Sietchiping, UN-Habitat, Nairobi, Kenya ’The thematic chapters of this important volume blaze a trail in many respects. It is the first major comprehensive text in English on colonial and post-colonial urban planning in Lusophone African countries. Together, the chapters do a marvellous job of interrogating the avowed and covert aims of colonial and contemporary urban planning in these countries. It is a must-read for anyone with an interest in modernist urban planning from historical and contemporary perspectives. The editor must be commended for assembling the respected team of scholars that contributed to the volume.’ Ambe Njoh, University of South Florida, USA
