Urbanization and Social Change in Africa [and Comments and Reply]

Abstract

In recent years anthropologists have been taking an increasing interest in the process of urbanization in Africa, usually seen as an aspect of the wider issue of social and/or cultural change. As individual studies accumulate, we need to develop a framework within which to examine the variables that shape the structure of social relations in modern African towns and cities. Three main determinants of urban social structure are isolated and analyzed: (1) the "industrial" structure, i.e., the organizational framework through which the town seeks to achieve those economic aims and purposes that brought it into existence, or give it its present importance; (2) the "civic" structure, which derives from the policies and practices of its administration; and (3) the demographic factor, which involves the nature and degree of movement of population between rural and urban areas. In the light of these variables, the structure of social relations in the town itself may be examined. The discussion focuses mainly on three types of relationship: (1) "network" relations; (2) categorical relations, e.g., tribalism; and (3) formal or associational relations. Towns however are not self-contained social entities, but have their place within a wider field of social relationships. The study of urbanization needs also to include therefore the analysis of relations between the various towns themselves, as well as those of rural and urban areas. Employing this framework of analysis we are in a better position to examine the varying role of the towns in achieving national integration in the developing countries of Africa.

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