SESSION 3

DIVERSE ECONOMIES IN AFRICAN CITIES

Economic governance in African cities is pre-dominantly based on principles of classical market-economy. While this has been criticized by academic work on financialization, local economies are currently still largely described as homogeneously ‘informal’. While this framing 'as informal' is useful in studying the economies in relation to policy and governance, it gives little information on the modes of resource exploitation, distribution, participation, and spatial impact of these local economies. It is therefore necessary to study local economies beyond the formal/informal dichotomy. A broader insight on these local economic activities, based on economic frameworks including commons, circular economy, feminist economy, and for subsistence is necessary instead, to understand their contribution to space configuration and include them in policy considerations. This panel therefore invites empirical contributions on local economies in African cities, such as, but not limited to, markets, small-scale trade, saving groups, co-operatives, recycling, bartering systems, foraging, alternative and religious finance etc and their spatial impact. Aim of the session is to start a discussion on the economic diversity found within urban contexts on the African continent and how this can form an information base for contextualised policy formulation.