Large-scale infrastructures and precarity in urban Africa

The research program titled “Emergent “world-class” transport infrastructures: urban visions and infrastructural spaces in African cities” has investigated these developments across several cities. It concludes that these large projects often have far-reaching consequences for disadvantaged groups. While some people experience benefits, it is clear that the new infrastructures have deepened social inequalities in terms of mobility, spatial connection and access to income opportunities.

In all the studied cities, road construction has involved the displacement of street and market vendors, often on short notice and without the provision of alternative work spaces. In many cases unplanned market stalls have been demolished, destroying livelihoods. In other cases, road design and material hindrances have rendered vending close to the new roads unviable. Sometimes, the new roads have also separated previously intertwined areas and disrupted mobility patterns.

However, those whose needs are neglected by the new infrastructures act in various ways. For example, they (re)appropriate spaces along the new roads for livelihood purposes, or look for new work spaces elsewhere. Sometimes they demand financial compensation and to be treated as citizens. In one case, vendors refused to leave the area and stalled the construction of Africa’s largest suspension bridge for a year. Yet, the new infrastructures have increased precarity for many.

The research is based at the Department of Human Geography, Stockholm University and has been funded by the Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development (FORMAS), grant number 2019-01908, under the national research program for “Sustainable Spatial Planning”. For more information about the project: https://www.su.se/english/research/research-catalogue/research-projects/d/emergent-world-class-transport-infrastructures

Project leader: Ilda Lindell.