THIS EDITED COLLECTION brings together work on South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Zambia by a number of Southern African, French and British researchers. Its aim is to outline themes and methodologies in urban research in the region, with special reference to current transformations, and to develop research questions and areas for future investigation. The editors note that although the region is marked by very specific forms of colonization and racial apartheid, other emerging issues, including social segregation, the relationship between "global” and "local” levels, the links between urbanization and industrialization and the impact of democratization on urban centres, reflect much wider trends both within and outside sub-Saharan Africa.

The book is divided into four parts. Under the heading Society, Employment and Segregation, the three chapters in the first part describe the historical development of South Africa’s "apartheid towns” and the relationships between changing divisions of labour along racial lines and residential differentiation in the "post-apartheid” era, including a description of the changing residential patterns in Johannesburg’s central areas. The second part focuses on urban governance and is introduced by a chapter describing the decentralization processes and local government reform in various countries in the region. This is followed by case study chapters on Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Part III reviews land and housing policies from a regional perspective and includes detailed analyses of Namibia and South Africa. The chapters in Part IV examine the local impact of "global” issues, starting with the role of local economic development policies influenced by the World Bank, which introduce a new era of economic globalization in the region. Another chapter looks at the ways in which principles of sustainability have been incorporated into South African policy reform and the ways in which these have been implemented, particularly in the cases of Local Agenda 21s in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. This is followed by chapters which discuss issues of identity, citizenship and power, and how diversity is replacing segregation in the "post-apartheid” cities of the region.