Informality: Tracing the foundations and trajectory of African urbanism —Clifford Amoako seminar with InfUr—

This presentation took place on Thursday 19th September 2024 with Professor Clifford Amoako.

Abstract: In this presentation, I consolidate the view that informality is an instantiation of African urbanism, the multiple ‘beings’ of the urban, which offers a situated lens to start the discourse on African urbanism. With such framing, I call into question various discourses that seek to problematize and find solutions to informality. My aim is to provoke conversations around rethinking informality as the solution to the challenges of Africa’s urbanism and a mode of thinking about the future and emergent possibilities of African cities.

Clifford Amoako is an Associate Professor, Head of the Department of Planning, and Vice Dean of the Faculty of Built Environment, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. He is an urban planner and an interdisciplinary scholar, with research interest in urban governance and informality in the global south. He is a Fellow of the Ghana Institute of Planners (FGIP).