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To be clear, he is of African heritage, if I understand correctly.
Honestly as this the internet I'm 100% doubtful he is, and don't care what claim he heritage is it's quite clear he politically alt right, but I don't want this thread to be hijack by this, and rather focus on the future plans and goals of African cities.
The latest actual data in this chart is from 1975. All the rest is "projections".
Meanwhile, I was in Adds Ababa a couple years ago, and it has no "urban feel" to it whatsoever. I drove around the city all day, and never encountered anything I would call heavy traffic. There are almost no streets that can accommodate automobile traffic, and people who own cars have to park for the night alongside the major arterial roads, and walk cobbled paths to their homes. Being in the city center feels like being in a suburb of a city like Colombo or Cebu, or a central city like, say, Paramaribo.
If "urbanized Africa" can be illustrated by Addis Ababa, it is really a trend toward villages being satellites of a modest center. Or Hargeisa, a city of over a million, that one can easily walk anywhere in the city center in a few minutes, not even needing to pay attention to traffic. Or a half hour walk along unbusy streets to the suburbs.
If what I saw in Africa is indicative of a future urban model, I like it a lot better than the prospects for what lies beneath the skylines of modern cities on other contiments.
The latest actual data in this chart is from 1975. All the rest is "projections".
Meanwhile, I was in Adds Ababa a couple years ago, and it has no "urban feel" to it whatsoever. I drove around the city all day, and never encountered anything I would call heavy traffic. There are almost no streets that can accommodate automobile traffic, and people who own cars have to park for the night alongside the major arterial roads, and walk cobbled paths to their homes. Being in the city center feels like being in a suburb of a city like Colombo or Cebu, or a central city like, say, Paramaribo.
If "urbanized Africa" can be illustrated by Addis Ababa, it is really a trend toward villages being satellites of a modest center. Or Hargeisa, a city of over a million, that one can easily walk anywhere in the city center in a few minutes, not even needing to pay attention to traffic. Or a half hour walk along unbusy streets to the suburbs.
If what I saw in Africa is indicative of a future urban model, I like it a lot better than the prospects for what lies beneath the skylines of modern cities on other contiments.
This respond above is pointless and literally makes no sense towards to post quoted from me nor in general.
For starters the first sentence, the only pic you left was a chart that said the chart was 2009 which immediately contradicts your first sentence itself which is weird.
Second off 'projection and estimate are generally used on this site especially in US cities and states forms as well as city vs city and general US forum so I don't how they can't be used here.
3rd The point of the "projections" I posted was reference to expositive growth in African countries and city, even if ignore the projection, the growth rate is factually clear. So I don't understand what the rejection here? Are you saying African cities population aren't growing fast? What is the point of this post?
4th I stated as discussion because of the growth in African cities. what the challenges African cities face and what can be done to meet challenges. Similar to how the City forums work, Your repose here contribute nothing to that. You respond like I said African cities are the best examples of urbanity in world or some scrap which has nothing to do with my post or thread. It's like you click into the African forum saw something about African cities, just tried to reject what ever said and made no sense in the processes.
5th you description is a lie, African cities lack many important thing in urbanity, but too little pedestrian activity and little car traffic is overtly not one on of them. And it's weird I have to point this out.
This respond above is pointless and literally makes no sense towards to post quoted from me nor in general.
For starters the first sentence, the only pic you left was a chart that said the chart was 2009 which immediately contradicts your first sentence itself which is weird.
Second off 'projection and estimate are generally used on this site especially in US cities and states forms as well as city vs city and general US forum so I don't how they can't be used here.
3rd The point of the "projections" I posted was reference to expositive growth in African countries and city, even if ignore the projection, the growth rate is factually clear. So I don't understand what the rejection here? Are you saying African cities population aren't growing fast? What is the point of this post?
4th I stated as discussion because of the growth in African cities. what the challenges African cities face and what can be done to meet challenges. Similar to how the City forums work, Your repose here contribute nothing to that. You respond like I said African cities are the best examples of urbanity in world or some scrap which has nothing to do with my post or thread. It's like you click into the African forum saw something about African cities, just tried to reject what ever said and made no sense in the processes.
5th you description is a lie, African cities lack many important thing in urbanity, but too little pedestrian activity and little car traffic is overtly not one on of them. And it's weird I have to point this out.
I don’t know about Addis Ababa but if what he said is true that it is a very light traffic city it is not commonplace at all in Africa. In Nigeria traffic used to get so bad that people would leave their car, walk home and come back the next day. Also people would die in traffic. Lagos is the only place that I have seen rival Times Square or Paris around Eiffel Tower during the summer in foot traffic. Lagos Island specifically as well as a few of the large markets. Breathing room only with thousands of people it seems on the street.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DCD_4z_lKnw
Oshodi at one point was an intersection that was so crowded and noisy that in just a few hundred feet four different robberies could be going on with armed police on the seen and the police wouldn’t even know (exaggeration). The entire LGA (Local Government Area) has a density of 54,000 people per square mile and Oshodi was the densest part of it.
Currently the densest LGA by far though is Ajeromi-Ifelodun it is 5 square miles of over 176,000 people per square mile. Although the figure is based on estimated population. I believe it, as it is an area were 20 people will sleep in one or two rooms and in a place originally meant for 20, you’ll have well over a hundred people sleeping there.
Back to the actual topic, one thing I think that will benefit, African cities is more tall residential buildings for poor residents and more sprawl. I feel like the small apartments in cities across Africa that give the cities their insane density often are mismanaged by landlords who can mess with a few dozen people into buying essentially a spot on a floor. I feel in Large Towers which need more management and government oversight the trickery that goes on with you paying for a room and find in your you have 15 new roommates can be avoided. I also think their isn’t enough focus on smaller housing stock.
Let me talk about Nigeria as I know it best- To me Ibadan has tons of small houses that it’s residents live in and those houses are a lot better than the slums many Lagosians live in. I feel like if rural areas highways were widened first and Lagosians from the Mainland started to be moved further out the standard of living would increase for all Lagosians including he rich. To me it seems almost like actual Housing is only built for the wealthy. Port Harcourt has so many beautiful areas with large houses but very few of these areas seem to actually have houses built for the poor. Same with Lagos. If the slums were cleared in Lagos the my just end up popping back up because almost all Lagos neighborhoods are built to be middle class and wealthy unless their covered in apartments.
I know building for the poor isn’t really a thing in the U.S either but, I think small houses like in Ibadan I’m organized new neighborhoods past the 10 miles in any direction the city currently extends would allow the city to do true urban renewal in the center that can actually accomodate the insane density of people.
Lagos is a city of nearing 30 million people at this point (people have been saying its 20 million people since at least 2010 and it’s growing so fast in a decade and a half it already blew past 10 million) and it’s only a short 15 mile trip which is nothing to get to the northern edge of the city. If the city had smart development, Lagos to Ibadan would be an area that was already developed. At this point, Lagos State is too crowded for any real urban renewal to happen without mass displacement. If they can start building satellite cities or suburbs of Lagos further out they can focus on better development for the inner city.
I don’t know about Addis Ababa but if what he said is true that it is a very light traffic city it is not commonplace at all in Africa. In Nigeria traffic used to get so bad that people would leave their car, walk home and come back the next day. Also people would die in traffic. Lagos is the only place that I have seen rival Times Square or Paris around Eiffel Tower during the summer in foot traffic. Lagos Island specifically as well as a few of the large markets. Breathing room only with thousands of people it seems on the street.
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I was in Lagos in the times you describe (1976), and it was literally true that people working in the center stopped trying to go home at night. I have not been there since, but from what I've heard much of the problem has been brought under control. As I understood it at the time, Nigeria ordered enough cement to build a road network, but neglected to modernize the port first, and shiploads of cement were lying offshore for a year waiting in queue to get into port, and many of their crews mutinied and sailed for places like Cuba to fence their booty, I was told this by crewmen on the waiting vessels. The news media has an amazing capacity for ignoring what happens on the high seas.
Having seen Lagos in 1976 and Addis Ababa in 2016, I have some sense of comparison about the character of the urbanity in a growing and developing city.
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