The Urban World, 9th Ed.

J. John Palen

Chapter 16: African and Latin American Urbanization

• Introduction• Africa• Urban Development• Latin America: An Urban Continent• Spanish Colonial Cities• Recent Developments• Summary

Introduction

• Although geographically and socially different, these countries share rapid rates of urbanization

• As globalization increases, their futures and ours become more closely linked

Africa• Currently the least urbanized of the

continents, and the continent with the highest rate of increase in urban population

• Challenges– The most serious is AIDS• Has dropped life expectancy rates• Africa has 13 percent of the worlds population but over

69 percent of the cases of HIV infection• Deaths from AIDS disrupts industrial and agricultural

operations

Figure 16.1Map of Africa

– The economic policies are also a problem– A third problem is unstable and/or unresponsive

governments

• Responses– New, lower-cost AIDS drugs– South Africa is now a stable multiracial nation– Inefficient and corrupt state industries are being

sold off– The downside is that freeing up domestic markets is

creating major economic disparities within countries– Cities are almost always doing better than

countryside

• Regional variations– Africa has some 54 separate nations, and African

cities vary greatly– North Africa is the most urbanized of the African

regions– West and Central Africa lie in the middle range of

African urbanization, with larger cities located along the coast

– East Africa has always been the least urbanized part of the country

– The Republic of South Africa is by far the most industrialized nation on the continent, with just over half of its population in urban places

Urban Development• Early Cities• Africa did produce substantial cities• Those of North Africa have the longest urban traditions• Many cities were first built during the revival of trade in

the 10th century• Colonial Period• European seizure of land in black Africa accelerated

during the last quarter of the 19th century• The colonial city was organized around the central

district• Spatial location reflected power within colonial society• Until 50 years ago, most African cities were relatively

small

• Indigenous African Cities• In West Africa the most noted cities of strictly

African origin are the Yoruba cities of Nigeria, which had the largest populations before the colonial period

• The main focus was the central market• Each quarter was a self-contained area within the

larger city, and were divided on the basis of tribal or religious affiliation

• Contemporary Patterns– Primate cities

– Fits the pattern of urbanization found in most nations of sub-Saharan Africa

– Importance heightened by the economic separation of the major city from its surrounding countryside

– Squatter slums– A fact of city life of every growing African city– They house one-third of the total urban population

• Social Composition of African Cities• Cities have a disproportionate number of males• Family ties and wider kinship ties are surprisingly

strong and resilient to urban pressures• The pull of the town is not uniform for all groups

• Ethnic and Tribal Bonds• Urbanization has strengthened tribal identification• Kinship and ethnic-tribal affiliation provide bridges

• Status of Women• Varies from country to country• A long history of strongly favoring male dominance• In villages, a woman’s position set by custom• In cities, the structure is more flexible• Often part of the informal self-employed sector

• Differences from the Western Pattern– William Hance has given a list of differences, including

rates of growth, higher rates of unemployment, and the heavy governmental responsibility

Latin America: An Urban Continent• Almost all sources indicate that Latin America

(Mexico included) is 77 percent urban• Of the world’s 10 largest urban places,

possibly four are in Latin America• Urban problems such as violent crime and

infrastructure deterioration are especially severe

Figure 16.2Map of Latin America

Spanish Colonial Cities• Colonial organization– The early cities looked toward Spain – Did not develop into commercial or

manufacturing centers– Today, most metro area still found on coastline

• Physical structure– The pattern of spatial separation was set well

before the Spaniards– Most Spanish settlements adhered to the classical

model of a central plaza mayor– The grid layout offered considerable flexibility

Recent Developments• Urban growth

• Currently proceeding at a phenomenal rate• Transformed from a rural, agricultural continent to an

urbanized one in just decades• Far more urbanized than Asia or Africa

• Economic Change• Brazil is the biggest success story• Because funds are limited, “community development” often

is more effectively directed toward urban populations• For the majority of ruralites, the move to the city is a wise

one• The in-migration of ever more peasants simply compounds

already severe urban problems

• Urban Characteristics• The city-bound migrants tend to be mostly young adults• Some 30 percent of the Latin American population is under

fifteen years of age• The cities have more females than males

• Crime• San Paolo has five times the murder rate of New York• Police forces are often either ineffectual, corrupt, or both• The wealthy provide security for themselves

• Shantytowns• Grow because of population explosion and migration• Politics plays a large role in the perception of these towns

• Future of Settlements• Already-high levels of drug gang and other violence

may become more common in marginal settlements• Squatter settlements differ in many ways• Newer settlements are disorganized• Older settlements are highly organized, and may even

have well-built homes

• Maquiladoras• Assembly plants set up to cheaply produce goods for

the U.S. market• Workers live in makeshift shanty housing• Hundreds of female workers have been brutally

abducted, raped, and murdered

• Myth of Marginality• The traditional view is that shantytown inhabitants are set

apart from the other city residents not only by their poverty but by their marginality and traditional rural orientation• The alternative position is that the rural character of the

immigrants is considerably overemphasized, and that problems of adjustment are not severe

• A Success Story• Curitiba, Brazil:

• A city of 1.6 million• Green, clean, and very livable• Mayor advocated pedestrian malls and recycled buildings• Crime is minimal• Rural immigrants given vocational classes