Politics and the Urban Frontier

Reviews / Votes

In this highly original analysis, the global condition of late urbanization forms the basis for retheorizing urban politics, starting in East Africa. This analysis not only sheds light on the complex urbanization processes of this region, but generates rich concepts which urbanists in other contexts will be able to draw on. * Jennifer Robinson, Urban Laboratory, University College London * This book is the most successful advancement and sharpest application yet of the political settlements approach to urban analysis. This way of explaining urban inertia and change might be controversial, but it is certainly original. Thought-provoking and written with both clarity and conviction. * Franklin Obeng-Odoom, Associate Professor of Global Development Studies, University of Helsinki * In this ambitious and important book, Tom Goodfellow maps out new territory for thinking comparatively about the political economy of African cities. Essential reading for anyone interested in the politics of urban development in contemporary Africa. * Claire Mercer, Professor of Human Geography, London School of Economics and Political Science * East Africa's urban transformation is brought to vivid life through a decade of first-hand observations of Addis, Kampala, and Kigali. Tom Goodfellow moves beyond the now-standard critique of 'neoliberal urbanism' to offer a fuller and more nuanced analysis of the political drivers of urban trajectories that resonates beyond this region. This masterful account confirms Goodfellow's standing as one of the leading urban scholars working on Africa today. * Samuel Hickey, Professor of Politics and Development, The University of Manchester * This landmark publication is spot on in discussing the histories of urban change alongside the latest infrastructure investments, propertyscapes and street economies associated with capital inflows and assertiveness of youths in urban spaces * Shuaib Lwasa, Principal Researcher, Governance, Global Centre on Adaptation * A rich and timely response to the call for greater comparison by scholars in Urban Studies. His analysis will inform and inspire important conversations among social scientists in development studies, political science, and urban studies. * M. Anne Pitcher, Professor of Political Science and Afroamerican and African Studies, University of Michigan * A trans-disciplinary tour-de-force ...This book makes an excellent contribution by not only centering the urban question in our study of African politics and development studies, but in inserting African cities into our study of urban processes globally. This book deserves wide readership across disciplines and beyond academia. * Biruk Terrefe, Lecturer in African Politics, University of Oxford * A must-read for those who are working in policy or project development within any of these cities. It manages to show why attempting to supplant models from urban development elsewhere, including "best practices", will not work. Rather we need to understand local contexts and complex systems. * Astrid R.N. Haas, Infrastructure Institute, School of Cities, University of Toronto * Politics and the Urban Frontier is an important work for everyone interested in policy mobilities, urbanization and planning, international development studies, political geography and governance. * Prince K. Guma, Urban Institute, University of Sheffield *