French colonial planning ideology and practice

There is a dearth of knowledge in the relevant English literature on French colonial urban planning activities in sub-Saharan Africa. It follows that English-speaking planners and researchers know very little about the indisputably rich experience of French colonial urban planners in the region. To be sure, French colonial urban planning authorities established the foundation for almost all major cities in the erstwhile French colonies of sub-Saharan Africa. The main objective of this chapter is to examine the nature, extent and raison d’être of French colonial urban planning activities in the colonial territories of said region.