Daniel E Agbiboa - Transport, Transgression and Politics in African Cities: The Rhythm of Chaos

This collection of field-based case studies examines the role and contributions of Africas informal public transport (also referred to as paratransit) to the production of city forms and urban economies, as well as the voices, experiences and survival tactics of its poor and stigmatised workforce. With attention to the question of what a micro-level analysis of the organisation and politics of informal public transport in urbanising Africa might tell us about the precarious existence and agency of its informal workforce, it explores the political and socioeconomic conditions of contemporary African cities, spanning from Nairobi and Dar es Salaam to Harare, Cape Town, Kinshasa and Lagos. Mapping, analysing and comparing the everyday experiences of informal transport operators across the continent, this book sheds light on the multiple challenges facing Africas informal transport workers today, as they negotiate the contours of city life, expand their horizons of possibility and make the most of their time. It thus offers directions for more effective policy response to urban public transport, which is changing fundamentally and rapidly in light of neoliberal urban planning strategies and world class city ambitions.

Daniel E. Agbiboa is Assistant Professor at George Mason Universitys School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, USA.

Series editor:
Chris Pickvance, Professor of Urban Studies University of Kent, UK

Published titles in this series:

Transport, Transgression and Politics in African Cities

The Rhythm of Chaos

Edited by Daniel E. Agbiboa

For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/sociology/series/ASHSER1347

Edited by Daniel E. Agbiboa

First published 2019

by Routledge

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2019 selection and editorial matter, Daniel E. Agbiboa; individual chapters, the contributors

The right of Daniel E. Agbiboa to be identified as the author of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Agbiboa, Daniel E. (Daniel Egiegba), 1985 editor.

Title: Transport, transgression and politics in African cities : the rhythm of chaos / edited by Daniel E. Agbiboa.

Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2019. | Series: Cities and society | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018021557 | ISBN 9780815377375 (hbk) | ISBN 9781351234221 (ebk)

Subjects: LCSH: Urban transportationSocial aspectsAfrica. | Informal sector (Economics)Africa. | UrbanizationAfrica. | Sociology, UrbanAfrica.

Classification: LCC HE311 .A4 T73 2019 | DDC 388.4096dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018021557

ISBN: 978-0-815-37737-5 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-351-23422-1 (ebk)

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In memory of

ABDUL RAUFU MUSTAPHA