Paper short abstract:

This paper demonstrates the importance of the spontaneous city, which is produced in a short time by the citizens alongside the large urban infrastructures programmed over a long time horizon, in the production of new towns on the African continent.

Paper long abstract:

In a context of strong urbanization without economic development, African cities are facing the challenges of high demand for housing, structural infrastructure and the difficulty of financing them. In this context, several African states are initiating large infrastructure projects in new towns on the outskirts of major capitals, such as Diamniadio in the Dakar metropolitan region, in partnership with international developers. However, this formal and technical approach to infrastructure production is marked by a deep ambivalence. In fact, while the planned infrastructure allows the movement of certain urban dwellers and their goods and the improvement of their living conditions, it also favors the disconnection and isolation of other urban dwellers, particularly the poorest, who are evicted or displaced against their will. Thus, the formal infrastructures programmed over the long-term are accompanied by a spontaneous production of "third places" in the urban space over the short-term by the urban dwellers, which are based on vernacular practices that are both formal and informal.