‘We are forgetting the lessons of the past’

Another example of great concern is agriculture (and, inextricably linked to it, food supply chains). Urban agricultural production is traditionally considered in the south as a means of ensuring some of the subsistance of city-dwelling populations, but also of reinvigorating the urban economy. The problem is that urban land rent from a piece of agricultural land is significantly lower than that from construction (for the purposes of housing). ‘It is the same in all our regions’, compares Jean-Marie Halleux: ‘Constructible land is sold for a value which can be up to thirty times higher than land sold for agriculture’. The result is that, with the growth of towns, urban agriculture is receding, moving further and further away from the centres and becoming periurban. And what we see as a consequence is a fall in energy and protein supplies per inhabitant in deprived neighbourhoods (for example the Mabalu district of Kinshasa). It has to be recognised that another phenomenon also influences food habits in Kinshasa: the development of urban production - for example poultry rearing - is discouraged by the importation of frozen poultry from Europe, which is rarely taxed.

Urban planning also poses certain problems. These countries too often suffer from a simple reproduction/imitation of what has taken place in the north. ‘To this day, the spatial planners in the south remain influenced by a modernist design which promotes the model of urban motorways and luxury tower blocks’ explains Jean-Marie Halleux. ‘This overlooks the fact that the populations don’t have the means of driving or buying new apartments. Moreover, projects of that kind inspired by the Dubai model of urban development take place in areas with a restricted perimeter, while the vast peripheral areas are often left to their own devices, without any effective distribution network for water or electricity.’ The urban planning specialist makes a bitter observation: ‘the local decision makers take heed neither of the lessons from the past nor the needs of their populations’.

No time to lose...

How can the south avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, while inventing development models which are specific to this new periurban configuration? The two professors humbly recognise the fact that they do not hold one-size-fits-all, off the shelf solutions. Other than the desire to produce an initial analysis of the morphology and dynamics observed in periurban areas (literature is sparse on this subject, particularly in Africa), their work strives to ask the right questions and, above all, to reflect upon the subject from a multidisciplinary perspective. ‘Above all, we need to understand how these periurban regions are developing, in all their dimensions’, stresses Jan Bogaert. ‘It is incredibly complex, because there are so many of them and they are in permanent interaction with regard to their economic, demographic, ethnic, cultural, agricultural, and governance (including corruption) fonctions. The five approaches which we have adopted in this book are therefore just the tip of the iceberg ... But the needs to be met are already very concrete: access to drinking water, the creation of schools, the organisation of healthcare, etc.’ Jean-Marie Halleux, stresses that there is little time left to act effectively. ‘By 2050, the urban transition will have made significant progress and may even be finished, and by then it will be probably too late to establish adequate periurban regions. The coming decades thus represent a window of opportunity to act effectively. It is up to our generation and not to future ones to deal with this problem…"

But what needs to be done, precisely? ‘Decision makers in the south must first understand and accept that by 2050, some towns may be five to ten times bigger than they currently are’, predicts Jean-Marie Halleux. ‘This is very destabilising for them! In terms of organising urban space, inspiration may be drawn from the work of the American researcher Shlomo Angel and his ‘Making room’ paradigm’. The flagship idea of his theory consists of applying a model of controlled growth, where needs in terms of land to be urbanised are rationally estimated and where the pattern of urbanisation and the infrastructures along the roadsides are well served by public transportation. This approach has already been successfully implemented in various Latin American cities, enabling the poorest to benefit from the economic opportunities offered by major towns. Additionally, a zoning approach should also be used to protect the most fragile areas where populations risk being subject to landslides, seismic damage, flood, etc. Unfortunately, it is becoming clear that the actual situation in moste of the developing countries strongly diverges from this model and appears rather like a spontaneous, anarchic and chaotic development, with ‘fait accompli’ and vulnerability to environmental risks’.