2011/11/01 by Raymond Asomani-Boateng · 1 citation
Social Sciences · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · #Urban and Rural Development Challenges #Local Economic Development and Planning #HIV/AIDS Impact and Responses #Indigenous #Architecture #Sustainable development #Geography #Environmental planning #Urban planning #Economic growth #Political science #Environmental ethics #Ecology #Biology #Archaeology #Economics
paper · doi:10.1080/17549175.2011.634573
openalex publication_date 2011/11/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Urban spatial expansion resulting from urbanization in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is not going to stop or stabilize in the near future. Efforts should therefore be concentrated on accommodating this phenomenon through the promotion of sustainable urban planning and development. Relying on secondary data, this paper examines models of indigenous African urban forms and architecture to understand these forms and their characteristics, and how these models and associated management, design, and planning principles can be adopted in contemporary SSA urban development in the quest to achieve sustainable urban development. This paper argues that planning is culturally and contextually defined and the specificities of a place are critical in planning. Developing strategies based on indigenous urban forms which embody local peoples’ culture, aspirations, experiences, and values is consistent with the concept of sustainable urban development. The article concludes that there exist clear elements of socially, politically, economically, culturally, and environmentally sound and responsive sustainable planning principles to be derived from indigenous urban forms and architecture which can inform current urban development process in SSA.