EBOOK
Making an African City
Technopolitics and the Infrastructure of Everyday Life in Colonial Accra
Jennifer Hart(0)
About
In Making an African City, Jennifer Hart traces the way that British colonial officials, Accra Town Council members, and a diverse group of technocrats used regulation to define what an "acceptable" city looked like. Unlike cities elsewhere on the continent, Accra had a long history of urbanism that predated British colonial presence. By criminalizing some activities and privileging others, colonial officials sought to marginalize indigenous practices of Accra residents and shape the development of a new, "modern" city.
Hart argues, however, that residents regularly pushed back, protesting regulations, refusing to participate in newly developed systems, reappropriating infrastructure, demanding rights to city services, and asserting their own informal vision for the future of the city. While urban plans and regulations ultimately failed to substantively remake the city, their effects were and are still felt by urban residents, who are often subject to but not served by urban infrastructure.
Making an African City explores how the informalization of Accra's development was a historical process, not a natural and self-evident phenomenon, which connects the history of the city with the history of urban development and the growth of technocracy around the world.
Hart argues, however, that residents regularly pushed back, protesting regulations, refusing to participate in newly developed systems, reappropriating infrastructure, demanding rights to city services, and asserting their own informal vision for the future of the city. While urban plans and regulations ultimately failed to substantively remake the city, their effects were and are still felt by urban residents, who are often subject to but not served by urban infrastructure.
Making an African City explores how the informalization of Accra's development was a historical process, not a natural and self-evident phenomenon, which connects the history of the city with the history of urban development and the growth of technocracy around the world.
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Reviews
"Making an African City employs a different tactic, offering a compelling and convincing case about how attending to Accra's history can inform our understanding of global processes and urban theory itself."
Nate Plageman
"This book expands our understanding of urban history of Accra by shifting the discourse from the built form of the city to technocratic politics and regulations. By the resituating of Africa agency and subaltern voices, readers are better placed to appreciate and understand how colonial urbanity was not just about the built form but also access and opportunities."
Danladi Abah
"This excellent book show how claiming citizenship in the city, engaging in contention during crises, and creatively creating a commons provides a template for city-making across the globe."
Jeffrey W. Paller