The State of the African Cities Report 2008: A Framework for Addressing Urban Challenges in Africa is envisaged by UN-HABITAT and its partners to provide an overview of issues related to the urban transition now taking place throughout Africa. It is intended both as a start in benchmarking city-level data and for sensitizing African governments at all levels about the challenges of rapid urbanization. This report complements with a regional focus the State of the World’s Cities report series, issued by UN-HABITAT on a biannual basis since 2001.

The first State of the African Cities Report does not aspire to be comprehensive. Rather, it is an effort to create a general overview of African urban and shelter-related issues and shed light on the emerging key urban topics that need African policy-makers, mayors, and urban managers’ attention. The present report advocates for Africa to become more cognizant of the increasing relevance of its spatial aspects to economic and social policy by explaining what makes cities grow and where. Understanding these determinants is critical to reinforcing cities’ roles and dynamism for achieving broader national and regional development goals while also addressing asymmetric growth and regional disparities. The report is further intended to sensitize African governments, mayors, and urban authorities about the need for a more systematic collection of city-level data for better-informed decision-making.