One
of
the
pressing
questions
raised
in
the
current
issue
of
Africa
in
Fact,
themed
‘The
Future
of
African
Cities', is
how
to
give
the
continent’s
marginalised
youth
a
meaningful
stake
in
the
sustainable
growth
and
development
of
sub-Saharan
cities.
As
noted
by
several
of
the
authors,
Africa’s
population
is
projected
to
double
by
2050,
and
much
of
that
growth
will
be
concentrated
in
cities.
Several
of
these
will
become
megacities,
with
the
attendant
pressure
on
housing,
services,
infrastructure,
and
public
institutions.
Urbanisation,
therefore,
presents
a
governance
challenge,
demanding
a
clear-eyed
focus
on
who
is
included
in
the
decision-making
processes
that
shape
cities.
Overlaid
with
this
imperative
is
a
demographic
reality:
Africa’s
youth,
defined
broadly
as
those
under
the
age
of
35,
make
up
the
majority
of
the
population
in
most
of
the
continent’s
countries.
Despite
this,
though,
young
people
remain
excluded
from
local
policymaking,
particularly
in
urban
governance
structures
characterised
by
centralised,
top-down
decision-making.
Yet,
as
young
people
bring
knowledge
of
how
their
cities
operate
in
practice,
especially
in
the
informal
spaces
where
much
of
Africa’s
urban
life
takes
place,
they
also
tend
to
be
early
adopters
of
new
technologies
and
are
already
creating
workarounds
to
address
gaps
in
service
delivery,
including
through
mobile
apps,
digital
mapping,
and
social
media
platforms.
Policymakers
ignore
this
reality
at
their
peril,
especially
as
young
Africans,
frustrated
by
their
exclusion
from
decisions
that
profoundly
affect
their
lives
and
their
future,
become
increasingly
disenchanted
and
angry
about
their
exclusion.
Former
gang
member
Nicholas
Mnguni
in
his
workshop
in
Khayelitsha,
South
Africa. Photo
by
Emmanuel
Croset
/
AFP
