Sustainable Intercultural Urbanism at the Service of the African City of Tomorrow

Most African cities are human settlements that lack the systems needed for effective land use planning. In fact, the disorganization that prevails has become so complex that the concept of urbanism itself has been called into question. This book highlights the need to restore urban planning in African cities through sustainable development and interculturality. Furthermore, it addresses the balance of power between urban planning and sustainable development and explores the historical and postcolonial aspects of urban planning in African cities. A case study focusing on the development of sustainable cities and neighborhoods in the M'Zab Valley is also included, as well as topics such as urban greening, climatic threats and the problem of state agro-industrial land transactions, which compete with sustainable urban planning. Sustainable Intercultural Urbanism at the Service of the African City of Tomorrow is a valuable reference for researchers and practitioners interested in urban issues in African cities. These cities, in particular sub Saharan cities, have long been excluded from any discourse on sustainable cities and urban planning; this book places the focus on these cities and acknowledges their varied urban realities. The intention is to spark a new debate on sustainable urban planning in African cities based on intercultural sustainable urbanism, which is key to thinking about and building ecological, intercultural, compact, intelligent and postcolonial cities.

Table of Contents:
Introduction ix Esoh ELAMÉ Chapter 1 Intercultural and Sustainable Urban Planning 1 Esoh ELAMÉ 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Did you say modern urban planning? 4 1.3 Sustainable urban planning: beyond the effects of fashion 8 1.4 The sustainable city: a process and a product of sustainable urban planning 14 1.5 Sustainable urban planning and the challenges of diversity in an urban context 16 1.6 The convergences between intercultural urban planning and sustainable urban planning in concrete terms 19 1.7 The place of urban planning in the intercultural city 21 1.7.1 Religious diversity in the city 22 1.7.2 Cultural diversity in the city 23 1.7.3 Sexual orientation diversity in the city 25 1.7.4 Gender diversity 26 1.7.5 Diversity related to persons with reduced mobility (PRM) 29 1.8 Intercultural sustainable urban planning and the 2030 Agenda 34 1.9 The New Urban Agenda and the demands of intercultural sustainable urban planning 35 1.10 Conclusion 36 1.11 References 37 Chapter 2 Understanding the Challenges of Postcolonial Urban Planning in Sub-Saharan Cities 41 Esoh ELAMÉ 2.1 Setting the context 41 2.2. Theoretical framework: on the road to postcolonial urban planning 42 2.3 Methodological framework 47 2.4 Results: lessons to be learned from the urban planning crisis in sub-Saharan African cities 47 2.4.1 Pre-colonial urban production: a heritage to be developed 48 2.4.2 Classical colonial urban planning 52 2.4.3 De-colonial urban planning 56 2.4.4 There is only one step from post-colonial to neo-colonial urban planning 58 2.5. Discussion: toward postcolonial urban planning in sub-Saharan cities 61 2.5.1 Decontextualized urban development models 61 2.5.2. Escaping the confusion between urban planning and urbanization 62 2.5.3 Enhancing pre-colonial urban planning 62 2.5.4 The future of the colonial urban legacy 63 2.5.5 The future of endogenous knowledge in urban planning and architecture 64 2.5.6 Making the case for postcolonial urban planning in sub-Saharan cities 67 2.6 Conclusion 70 2.7 References 71 Chapter 3. A New Sustainable City in Southern Algeria: Aɣrem Ajdid of Tafilelt in Ighzar n’Mzab75 Nora GUELIANE 3.1 Geographic setting and field survey 75 3.2 Presentation of the project 80 3.2.1. The genesis of the project: Tafilelt, a step toward sustainability 82 3.3 Conclusion 105 3.4 References 107 Chapter 4 The Problem of Endogenous Urban Greening of Cities in the Congo Basin 111 Esoh ELAMÉ 4.1 Introduction 111 4.2 Conceptual clarification 112 4.3 Tools and methods 114 4.4 Results 115 4.4.1 Cities in the Congo Basin are primarily forest cities 115 4.4.2. Vegetation in the cities of the Congo Basin is no longer a given 116 4.4.3 Failure to take into account ancestral knowledge of urban greening such as sacred natural sites in urban governance 117 4.5 Discussion 123 4.6 Conclusion 125 4.7 References 126 Chapter 5 The Contribution of Space Technologies in Understanding Environmental Devastation Due to Climate Change in African Cities: The Case of Kribi, Cameroon 129 Philippes MBEVO FENDOUNG 5.1 Introduction 129 5.2 Tools and working method 131 5.2.1 Presentation and location of the study area 131 5.2.2 Image acquisition and processing 133 5.2.3. Calculating surface temperatures from the Landsat 7 thermal band 134 5.3 Results, analysis and discussion 136 5.3.1 Evolution of climatic parameters in the city of Kribi 136 5.3.2 The different major climatic risks recorded in the city of Kribi 141 5.3.3 Modeling the dynamics of land use in and around the city of Kribi 144 5.3.4 Adaptation and sustainable management of environmental disruption measures in the city of Kribi 148 5.3.5 A geomatics solution: setting up a geographic database (GIS) for sustainable flood management in the city of Kribi 152 5.3.6 The creation of a new town in Kribi 154 5.4 Conclusion 154 5.5 References 155 Chapter 6 Sustainable Planning in the Context of Agro-Industrial Land Allocations in Cameroon: The Case of the Town of Nanga-Eboko 159 Joseph-Éric NNOMENKO’O 6.1 Introduction 159 6.2 Theoretical framework: the stakeholder game approach 160 6.3 Methodology 161 6.4 Location and socio-economic characteristics of the town of Nanga-Eboko 163 6.5 Results/analysis: the social context of agro-industrial land allocations in Nanga-Eboko 164 6.5.1 The ecosystem of agro-industrial land allocations: actors, issues and actor strategies 164 6.5.2 Types of land conflicts generated by agro-industrial land allocations in Nanga-Eboko 165 6.6 Precariousness of the socio-economic fabric of Nanga-Eboko notwithstanding the agro-industrial land allocations that prevail there: inventory of some basic infrastructures 166 6.6.1 Water infrastructure 167 6.6.2 Electrical infrastructure 168 6.6.3 The road network 168 6.6.4 The sanitary network 168 6.6.5 Basic education 168 6.7 Recommendations: inclusive and concerted agro-industrial land allocations as a guarantee for the sustainable town in Nanga-Eboko, and at the macro scale of Cameroon 169 6.7.1 Breaking with the omerta 169 6.7.2 The imperative of inclusive land governance 171 6.7.3 Developing a genuine land policy 174 6.8 Conclusion 175 6.9 References 176 Conclusion 179 Esoh ELAMÉ List of Authors 183 Index 185

About the Author :
Esoh Elame is a geographer, town planner, geologist and pedagogist. He is a professor at the University of Padua, Italy, as well as a permanent associate professor at the National Advanced School of Public Works and at Institut des Relations Internationales du Cameroun (IRIC) of the University of Yaoundé II, Cameroon. His research focuses on African cities and intercultural sustainable development.