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Seeing Political Settlements through the City: A Framework for Comparative Analysis of Urban Transformation

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  • Tom Goodfellow

Abstract

This article presents a new analytical framework for studying cities in the developing world based on the ‘political settlements’ approach. This has a dual purpose: to enrich comparative urban research by bringing new theoretical ideas to bear on this field, but also to use capital cities as a lens to better understand national political settlements. The central argument is that urban built environments and their transformations in situations of late development reflect the workings of different varieties of clientelism, and by analysing the former we can better understand the latter. Specifically, issues such as the nature of urban land use and land allocation, the pace and form of construction, the effectiveness of environmental regulation and the provision of housing for different income groups are all revealing of political settlements and their broader development implications. The potential of this approach is explored through three narrative ‘sketches’ of contemporary urban development in Eastern Africa: the ‘city as marketplace’ (Kampala), the ‘city as expo’ (Kigali) and the ‘city as construction site’ (Addis Ababa). In presenting this framework, the article seeks to advance debate on epistemological and analytical approaches to the study of both power relations and differential patterns of urban development.

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  • Tom Goodfellow, 2018. "Seeing Political Settlements through the City: A Framework for Comparative Analysis of Urban Transformation," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 49(1), pages 199-222, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:devchg:v:49:y:2018:i:1:p:199-222
    DOI: 10.1111/dech.12361
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    2. Nicholas Pope, 2023. "Militias going rogue: Social dilemmas and coercive brokerage in Rio de Janeiro's urban frontier," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(3), pages 478-490, April.
    3. Murphy James T., 2022. "Urban-economic geographies beyond production: Nairobi’s sociotechnical system and the challenge of generative urbanization," ZFW – Advances in Economic Geography, De Gruyter, vol. 66(1), pages 18-35, May.
    4. Henderson, J. Vernon & Liu, Vivian, 2023. "Urban land markets and city development: Sub-Saharan Africa," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 119388, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Frimpong Boamah, Emmanuel, 2018. "Constitutional economics of Ghana’s decentralization," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 256-267.
    6. Salman Khan, Muhammad & Syrett, Stephen, 2022. "An institutional analysis of ‘power within’ local governance: A Bazaari tale from Pakistan," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    7. Bosena Yirga, 2021. "The livelihood of urban poor households: A sustainable livelihood approach in urbanizing Ethiopia. The case of Gondar City, Amhara National State," Poverty & Public Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 13(2), pages 155-183, June.
    8. Ellen Bassett, 2020. "Reform and resistance: The political economy of land and planning reform in Kenya," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 57(6), pages 1164-1183, May.
    9. Anna D’Auria & Marco Tregua & Manuel Carlos Vallejo-Martos, 2018. "Modern Conceptions of Cities as Smart and Sustainable and Their Commonalities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-18, July.
    10. Tom Gillespie, 2020. "The Real Estate Frontier," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(4), pages 599-616, July.

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