Unraveling the Mysteries of African Cities…

"CIAU is a student-led initiative being developed to improve the sophistication and scope of the university's research on African urbanism through the creation of a central platform that brings together scholarship and resources from Africa and Cambridge."

—    Stephen Ajadi (Founding Director)

The city (and its extended regions) is the new denominator of sustainable development research in the world. This, of course, applies, also to Africa. The study of African urbanism as a 'base' for situating other discourses allows for a more integrated approach for analysis. This is one of the aims of the CIAU at the University of Cambridge. Another very important aspect is the presence of African thought and voices in the study of their own continent. Also, there has been a disconnect between indigenous scholarship and western opinions pertaining to research on Africa. The various pseudo-hypotheses on the resilience of African cities to the pandemic is probably the most recent large example. This disconnect has slowed down the evolution of knowledge regarding the study of Africa as a continent.

Research carried out by individuals who are not fully embedded in the space and culture of the continent often have to struggle to bring forth knowledge that sometimes already exists in indigenous scholarship. Some concepts and knowledge domains are completely misunderstood altogether. This is largely because indigenous research on Africa is not widely accessible (especially online) due to several factors, funding being one of the most prominent. Most international scholars, therefore, do not have a sophisticated ecosystem of opinions to interact in. By leveraging the research on Africa by various platforms in the University, the CIAU aims to fill this neglected chasm between African and western scholarship concerning the study of Africa and its urban space. This will be done by creating more inclusive research projects of the continent. Research that goes beyond momentary shallow partnerships with African institutions for specific research exercises to actually recognising, studying, and equally considering the scholastic opinions that are being produced on the continent despite the barriers of digital publication, funding, and networking.