ABSTRACT
Today more than 50% of the world population lives in cities, and in 2050 it will reach 75%. For this reason the issue of big cities is becoming more globally relevant. The big cities challenge concerns the control of large numbers of people, of pressure of migration from rural to urban areas, of poverty and of social stress linked to it. In particular the African continent is undergoing an unprecedented phase of urbanization. The short-sightedness about African big cities dynamics have consequences, not only for urban planning across the continent, but also for the understanding of twenty-first century urbanization. This paper explores main specific characteristics of African cities, their exceptionalism, past and present governance policies and future chances.
