In eight representative African cities, roads occupy far lower shares of urban land than in other cities
around the world.
20% African cities are 20 percent more fragmented than are Asian and Latin American
ones.In Harare, Zimbabwe, and Maputo, Mozambique, more than 30 percent of land within 5 kilometers
of the central business district remains unbuilt.472 million Urban areas in Africa comprise
472 million people. That number will double over the next 25 years as more migrants are pushed to
cities from the countryside. The largest cities grow as fast as 4 percent annuallyTo grow economically
as they are growing in size, Africa’s cities must open their doors to the world. They need to specialize
in manufacturing, along with other regionally and globally tradable goods and services. And to attract
global investment in tradables production, cities must develop scale economies, which are associated
with successful urban economic development in other regions.
