1. The Urban World, 9th Ed.
J. John Palen

2. Chapter 16: African and Latin American Urbanization
Introduction
Africa
Urban Development
Latin America: An Urban Continent
Spanish Colonial Cities
Recent Developments
Summary

3. Introduction
Although geographically and socially different, these countries share rapid rates of urbanization
As globalization increases, their futures and ours become more closely linked

4. Africa
Currently the least urbanized of the continents, and the continent with the highest rate of increase in urban population
Challenges
The most serious is AIDS
Has dropped life expectancy rates
Africa has 13 percent of the worlds population but over 69 percent of the cases of HIV infection
Deaths from AIDS disrupts industrial and agricultural operations

5. Figure 16.1
Map of Africa

6. Responses The economic policies are also a problem
A third problem is unstable and/or unresponsive governments
Responses
New, lower-cost AIDS drugs
South Africa is now a stable multiracial nation
Inefficient and corrupt state industries are being sold off
The downside is that freeing up domestic markets is creating major economic disparities within countries
Cities are almost always doing better than countryside

7. Regional variations
Africa has some 54 separate nations, and African cities vary greatly
North Africa is the most urbanized of the African regions
West and Central Africa lie in the middle range of African urbanization, with larger cities located along the coast
East Africa has always been the least urbanized part of the country
The Republic of South Africa is by far the most industrialized nation on the continent, with just over half of its population in urban places

8. Urban Development Early Cities Colonial Period
Africa did produce substantial cities
Those of North Africa have the longest urban traditions
Many cities were first built during the revival of trade in the 10th century
Colonial Period
European seizure of land in black Africa accelerated during the last quarter of the 19th century
The colonial city was organized around the central district
Spatial location reflected power within colonial society
Until 50 years ago, most African cities were relatively small

9. Indigenous African Cities
In West Africa the most noted cities of strictly African origin are the Yoruba cities of Nigeria, which had the largest populations before the colonial period
The main focus was the central market
Each quarter was a self-contained area within the larger city, and were divided on the basis of tribal or religious affiliation

10. Contemporary Patterns
Primate cities
Fits the pattern of urbanization found in most nations of sub-Saharan Africa
Importance heightened by the economic separation of the major city from its surrounding countryside
Squatter slums
A fact of city life of every growing African city
They house one-third of the total urban population
Social Composition of African Cities
Cities have a disproportionate number of males
Family ties and wider kinship ties are surprisingly strong and resilient to urban pressures
The pull of the town is not uniform for all groups

11. Ethnic and Tribal Bonds
Urbanization has strengthened tribal identification
Kinship and ethnic-tribal affiliation provide bridges
Status of Women
Varies from country to country
A long history of strongly favoring male dominance
In villages, a woman’s position set by custom
In cities, the structure is more flexible
Often part of the informal self-employed sector
Differences from the Western Pattern
William Hance has given a list of differences, including rates of growth, higher rates of unemployment, and the heavy governmental responsibility

12. Latin America: An Urban Continent
Almost all sources indicate that Latin America (Mexico included) is 77 percent urban
Of the world’s 10 largest urban places, possibly four are in Latin America
Urban problems such as violent crime and infrastructure deterioration are especially severe

13. Figure 16.2
Map of Latin America

14. Spanish Colonial Cities
Colonial organization
The early cities looked toward Spain
Did not develop into commercial or manufacturing centers
Today, most metro area still found on coastline
Physical structure
The pattern of spatial separation was set well before the Spaniards
Most Spanish settlements adhered to the classical model of a central plaza mayor
The grid layout offered considerable flexibility

15. Recent Developments Urban growth Economic Change
Currently proceeding at a phenomenal rate
Transformed from a rural, agricultural continent to an urbanized one in just decades
Far more urbanized than Asia or Africa
Economic Change
Brazil is the biggest success story
Because funds are limited, “community development” often is more effectively directed toward urban populations
For the majority of ruralites, the move to the city is a wise one
The in-migration of ever more peasants simply compounds already severe urban problems

16. Urban Characteristics
The city-bound migrants tend to be mostly young adults
Some 30 percent of the Latin American population is under fifteen years of age
The cities have more females than males
Crime
San Paolo has five times the murder rate of New York
Police forces are often either ineffectual, corrupt, or both
The wealthy provide security for themselves
Shantytowns
Grow because of population explosion and migration
Politics plays a large role in the perception of these towns

17. Future of Settlements Maquiladoras
Already-high levels of drug gang and other violence may become more common in marginal settlements
Squatter settlements differ in many ways
Newer settlements are disorganized
Older settlements are highly organized, and may even have well-built homes
Maquiladoras
Assembly plants set up to cheaply produce goods for the U.S. market
Workers live in makeshift shanty housing
Hundreds of female workers have been brutally abducted, raped, and murdered

18. Myth of Marginality A Success Story
The traditional view is that shantytown inhabitants are set apart from the other city residents not only by their poverty but by their marginality and traditional rural orientation
The alternative position is that the rural character of the immigrants is considerably overemphasized, and that problems of adjustment are not severe
A Success Story
Curitiba, Brazil:
A city of 1.6 million
Green, clean, and very livable
Mayor advocated pedestrian malls and recycled buildings
Crime is minimal
Rural immigrants given vocational classes