The book is available in hardback or as a free Open Access copy to download .
In the book they argue that the edges of cities are increasingly understood as places of dynamism and change. However there is little research on African urban peripheries and the nature of building, growth, investment and decline that is shaping them and how they are lived. The co-authored monograph draws on findings from an extensive comparative study on Ethiopia and South Africa, in conversation with a related study on Ghana. It examines African urban peripheries through a dual focus on the experiences of living in these changing contexts, alongside the logics driving their transformation. Through its conceptualisation and application of five 'logics of periphery', it offers unique, contextually-informed insights into the generic processes shaping urban peripheries, and the variable ways in which these are playing out in contemporary Africa for those living the peripheries.
IGSD, together with the Urban Institute and 91̽»¨ Urbanism, held a book launch and reception. Paula Meth and Tom Goodfellow introduced the book while Dr Philipp Horn, the Lead of the IGSD Cities research theme, acted as a discussant, opening up to audience engagement in which the co-authors joining online participated.
Full book information:
Living the Urban Periphery (2024, Manchester University Press)
Authors: Paula Meth, Sarah Charlton, Tom Goodfellow and Alison Todes
with Divine Asafo, Sibongile Buthelezi, Yohana Eyob, Jennifer Houghton, Zhengli Huang, Meseret Kassahun Desta, Tatenda Mukwedeya and Metadel Sileshi Belihu.