Southern African Urban Development: Prospects for Involvement of American Institutions

Abstract

For a long time American universities have been providing technical assistance to African countries as part of their research and service missions. Much of their assistance has been aimed at addressing rural and agricultural economic development problems, although social benefits have been derived also. As urban population growth rates have increased dramatically over the past decades in underdeveloped countries, the Southern African region has become one of the most rapidly urbanizing regions in the world. For example, for all of Africa the level of urbanization has risen from 14.5 per cent in 1950 to approximately 30 per cent in 1980, and is expected to reach about 43 per cent by the year 2000. The average annual urban growth rate for the continent continues to exceed both the world average and the average for any other single region (Hardiman and Midgley, 1982). On the other hand, while the urban growth rates for the continent are high, most of Africa is much less urbanized than other regions with some countries having less than 10 per cent of their population concentrated in urban areas (Drakakis-Smith, 1987). Hence, the potential for continued urban growth in Africa is extremely high.