This book examines the urban growth trends and patterns of various rapidly growing metropolitan regions in developing Asian and African nations from the perspective of geography. State-of-the-art geospatial tools and techniques, including geographic information system/science and remote sensing, were used to facilitate the analysis. In addition to the empirical results, the methodological approaches employed and discussed in this book showcase the potential of geospatial analysis, e.g. land-change modeling for improving our understanding of the trends and patterns of urban growth in Asia and Africa. Furthermore, given the complexity of the urban growth process across the world, issues raised in this book will contribute to the improvement of future geospatial analysis of urban growth in the developing regions. This book is written for researchers, academicians, practitioners, and graduate students. The inclusion of the origin and brief history of each of the selected metropolitan regions, including the analysis of their urban primacy, spatiotemporal patterns of urban land-use changes, driving forces of urban development, and implications for future sustainable development, makes the book an important reference for various related studies.

This open access book utilizes new data to thoroughly analyze the main factors currently shaping the African housing market. Some of these factors include the supply and demand for housing finance, land tenure security issues, construction cost conundrum, infrastructure provision, and low-cost housing alternatives. Through detailed analysis, the authors investigate the political economy surrounding the continent’s housing market and the constraints that behind-the-scenes policy makers need to address in their attempts to provide affordable housing for the majority in need. With Africa’s urban population growing rapidly, this study highlights how broad demographic shifts and rapid urbanization are placing enormous pressure on the limited infrastructure in many cities and stretching the economic and social fabric of municipalities to their breaking point. But beyond providing a snapshot of the present conditions of the African housing market, the book offers recommendations and actionable measures for policy makers and other stakeholders on how best to provide affordable housing and alleviate Africa’s housing deficit. This work will be of particular interest to practitioners, non-governmental organizations, private sector actors, students and researchers of economic policy, international development, and urban development.

The book provides insights into urban infrastructure debates and discourses in Zimbabwe. Through an inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary approach, the book explores the theoretical, conceptual and lived experiences in urban infrastructure. The book focuses on case studies relating to urban transport, public housing, water and sanitation and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) among other substantive issues relating to urban infrastructure and services.

This book clarifies the smart city concept that is gaining application in Sub – Saharan Africa. It shows how the smart concept can be used to address problems that would be difficult and more expensive to solve using traditional techniques such as employment creation. This is done through elaboration of the African interpretation of smartness, using tools for smart solid waste management, e-governance, smart energy, and smart infrastructure. The case studies selected, and each chapter explain a different dimension of the smart city concept and offer innovative solutions to problems of rapid urbanization. It lays the theoretical foundation for further research on smart cities and rural areas in Africa.