An urban lens on national development planning in Africa: Guidebook for policymakers
This guidebook addresses the role of cities in economic development, viewing development through an urban lens and cities through an economic lens. There is an argument in it for a greater emphasis on cities merely for the sake of tackling urban poverty or expanding access to decent housing, although those are laudable goals. Rather than urbanization being considered a “sector” in the guidebook, the growth of cities is viewed as a necessary pathway to structural transformation and economic development, and the central issue is productive urban jobs. All other urban issues (i.e., density, housing, transport, informality) are discussed as components in fostering or constraining structural transformation.
