ABSTRACT
This chapter provides conceptual framework for examining the activities of the state and the rationale of these activities in the spatial or physical development policy field in Cameroon in particular, and the post-colonial states of Africa in general. It outlines that the change from a federated to a unitary system in Cameroon had far-reaching implications for state-society relationships in the area of land, real estate, urban and regional planning. The chapter determines that why certain key pieces of legislation affecting urban and regional development were promulgated in Cameroon. It determines a deeper appreciation of the nature of state in Africa in general and Cameroon in particular. The chapter examines the nature and behaviour of the state at these two levels. The Cameroonian state's desire for total territorial control is facilitated by yet another feature, namely the integrated prefectoral system, of the country's administrative machinery.
