Border cities in Africa

This chapter provides a systematic analysis of the role played by border cities in Africa. After discussing why colonialism was conducive to the creation of border cities, the chapter examines their post-colonial development and current specificities. The analysis suggests that border cities make a crucial contribution to the process of integration, thanks to their ability to foster local, national, and international interactions. The chapter suggests that border cities are smaller, growth faster, and are denser than other cities. Despite being economically central for national cohesion and region integration, border cities remain marginalised in development policies, however. The significance of border cities justifies the need for development policies suited to their specific features to be implemented by states and their regional and international partners. Such place-based policies should support urban growth and the formation of cross border urban regions by developing infrastructure and public assets adapted to fit different scales.