UrbanLegend
There should be a scientific plan for African cities’ construction and development. That’s the way they can improve their urbanization quality and advance on a sustainable urbanization development path.
Wang Jianzhu, Ph.D student at Tsinghua University’s School of Architecture
An architecture student finds pointers in China’s urbanization for Africa’s megacities
By Xia Yuanyuan
There are many students in the prestigious Tsinghua University’s School of Architecture doing research on urban planning, but what makes Wang Jianzhu a novelty is the unusual subject she has chosen - Lagos.
The 26-year-old is writing her thesis on the urbanization of megacities in developing countries and opted to do her field study in Lagos, Nigeria’s economic capital and the largest city in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Wang’s decision took her research guide and fellow students completely by surprise. “I am the first student in the school to study an African city’s planning,” she said gleefully. “It’s not just an adventure but an earnest attempt [to discover something new].” Wang found few Chinese scholars studying urban planning paid heed to African urbanization and thought she would try to fill in the gap.
So she was off to Lagos in September 2015 to do her research. She lived there for four months, accompanied by only two large travel cases.
Going solo
Her parents and friends, while impressed by her determination, also worried about how she would fare in Nigeria on her own. “They fretted about my safety, living conditions, food and sanitation,” Wang said. But despite their worries, she adapted well to life in the new city and found she was enjoying her stay.
Though she had to move house four times during her stay, from a university guest house to a friend’s house, to the free trade zone area and to two hotels. the relocations helped her to know more about local life, Wang said.
Moreover, she did not feel alone. Today, her cellphone has the numbers of more than 200 friends she made during her Lagos stay. “I love making friends and my friends in Nigeria took me to buy clothes in the local bazaar, invited me to a wedding, a Christmas party, and even a funeral. Everything I saw and experienced was part of actual life, which is essential for any scholar who wants to make a good development plan for any city.”
When Wang was interning with Lagos’ Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, the chairman of the organization gave her a Nigerian name, Omobowale Anifowoshe. It means a child who has come back home. She is keen to live up to it, saying she would return to Africa after obtaining her degree.
Meaningful research
There are other reasons for Wang choosing an African city. She is certain the continent will be the main face of global urbanization in the future. It is estimated by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) that an additional 2.5 billion people worldwide will move to cities by 2050 and nearly 90 percent of this migration will be in Asia and Africa.
According to UNDESA statistics, Africa is expected to be the fastest urbanizing region from 2020 to 2050. “[The phenomenon] is definitely worth paying attention,” Wang said.
There’s another important reason, from the Chinese perspective. The growing China-Africa relationship has immense potential. An increasing number of Chinese enterprises are going out to start their businesses in Africa. A good understanding of local city developments will be beneficial for their investment, especially in land and real estate development, infrastructure projects, and planning and developing industrial estates and free trade zones.
Increasing Chinese investment and engagement in the construction of African cities has multiple benefits. It is helping provide people living in megacities with better infrastructural facilities, living environments, social services and more job opportunities.
Wang Jianzhu with friends on a Lagos beach
Wang Jianzhu with Mr. and Mrs. George. Catherine George is the first female town planner in Nigeria
Problems of progress
Wang’s research in Lagos included not only learning from professors in universities but also visiting different places in the megacity, such as suburbs, Lagos Port, industrial estates and free trade zones. In addition, she interned with local government agencies for a more hands-on experience to learn about infrastructure, transport, utilities, waste disposal and healthcare, which contributed to her knowledge of Lagos.
Wang thinks that though Africa is urbanizing at high speed, the urbanization-economic growth ratio is lower than that in more developed regions. Academics’ reports say that rapid population growth and expansion of Africa’s large cities are also leading to fast deterioration of the environment. It is undermining the sustainability of economic and social development and exacerbating African countries’ disadvantageous position in global competition.
Lagos, which is also Nigeria’s most populated city with over 21 million people, is not just the hub of economic activities but plays an important role in sociopolitical activities at the national, regional and even continental level. Yet it is notorious for traffic congestion, infrastructure deficit and environmental problems.
“Every morning, people living in Lagos need to spend three or four hours on the road on an average. There are traffic jams on the way to the office, markets and even meeting friends,” Wang told ChinAfrica. “There should be a scientific plan for Lagos’ development. That’s the way they can improve their urbanization quality and advance on a sustainable urbanization development path.”
The Chinese experience
Since China and Africa have a lot of similarities, such as large populations and similar economic environments, Wang thinks African countries can learn from China’s successful urbanization experiences.
China’s urbanization became rapid in the 1980s. By 2015, the urbanization rate had jumped to 56 percent. Today, Africa is urbanizing at the same pace as China did in the past three decades. There are a lot of lessons Africa can learn from China’s urbanization, including the primacy of industrialization, creation of jobs, and a proactive public sector, which are vital for successful urbanization in developing economies.
However, Wang also thinks that African cities should retain their distinctive feature when learning from the Chinese urbanization experience. She says China is not just providing the tools for the rapid urbanization of African cities, it is also exporting its own version of urbanization, creating cities and economic zones that look remarkably similar to Chinese ones. “It could result in African cities losing their distinctive feature and looking homogenous,” she said.
Wang is hoping her research would have a practical application. “I hope my study would be a bridge to attract more Chinese scholars to study African urbanization,” she said. “I want to be an ambassador promoting China-Africa urbanization study exchanges.” CA