African cities are expected to experience a significant increase in population over the next 30 years. According to United Nations projections, these cities will welcome an additional 900 million inhabitants by 2050. This demographic shift will create both opportunities and challenges that will reshape the nature and structure of these cities. These challenges include the need for economic growth, increased demand for housing and infrastructure, and the development of supplementary transportation systems. So far, most African cities have responded to this rapid population growth with sprawling horizontal development patterns that expand the fringes of the city, increase social fragmentation, and ultimately lead to greater car dependency.
Due to the irregularity and poor planning of urban sprawl patterns, there is often a mobility deficiency that requires heavy investment in road infrastructure. New road networks are constructed and existing ones are rehabilitated to accommodate more cars, effectively connecting existing city centers to their expanding borders.
