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An Anatomy of Urbanization in Sub-Saharan Africa

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dc.contributor.authorCombes, Pierre-Philippe
dc.contributor.authorGorin, Clément
dc.contributor.authorNakamura, Shohei
dc.contributor.authorRoberts, Mark
dc.contributor.authorStewart, Benjamin
dc.date.accessioned2023-11-29T19:24:47Z
dc.date.available2023-11-29T19:24:47Z
dc.date.issued2023-11-29
dc.description.abstractThis paper provides a detailed descriptive analysis of patterns of urbanization across Sub-Saharan Africa for the year circa 2015. Despite the rapidity and importance of Sub-Saharan Africa’s urbanization, little is known about the anatomy of patterns of urbanization across the region due to a lack of detailed and accurate official data on urban settlements and populations. To address this gap, the paper applies a modified version of the “dartboard” algorithm to high-resolution gridded population data for the region, which is derived from digitized maps of the footprints of all buildings in the region from very high-resolution satellite imagery. This allows for a consistent definition of urban areas across all countries in the region, overcoming the measurement problems that arise from relying on official definitions of urban areas, which vary markedly across countries. Using this definition, the paper presents evidence on key empirical regularities that are related to disparities across the urban hierarchies, such as the extent of urban primacy and Zipf’s law, as well as on the internal structures of cities, such as population density gradients and the number of centers that cities possess. The paper also analyzes how these characteristics are related to key country characteristics. Finally, the paper compares the results with those that arise from the use of an alternative definition of urban areas—the degree of urbanization.en
dc.identifierhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099415311272320571/IDU0faef6c000aaba0485209f0e08928760d9a57
dc.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-10621
dc.identifier.urihttps://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/40664
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherWorld Bank, Washington, DC
dc.relation.ispartofseriesPolicy Research Working Papers; 10621
dc.rightsCC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holderWorld Bank
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/
dc.subjectURBANIZATION
dc.subjectDARTBOARD APPROACH TO POPULATION DATA
dc.subjectSATELLITE IMAGERY
dc.subjectPOPULATION DENSITY
dc.subjectURBANIZAITON PATTERNS
dc.titleAn Anatomy of Urbanization in Sub-Saharan Africaen
dc.typeWorking Paper
dspace.entity.typePublication
okr.crossref.titleAn Anatomy of Urbanization in Sub-Saharan Africa
okr.date.disclosure2023-11-27
okr.date.lastmodified2023-11-27T00:00:00Zen
okr.doctypePolicy Research Working Paper
okr.doctypePublications & Research
okr.docurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099415311272320571/IDU0faef6c000aaba0485209f0e08928760d9a57
okr.guid099415311272320571
okr.identifier.docmidIDU-faef6c00-aaba-4852-9f0e-8928760d9a57
okr.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-10621
okr.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-10621
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum34203039
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum34203039
okr.identifier.reportWPS10621
okr.import.id2387
okr.importedtrueen
okr.language.supporteden
okr.pdfurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099415311272320571/pdf/IDU0faef6c000aaba0485209f0e08928760d9a57.pdfen
okr.region.administrativeAfrica Eastern and Southern (AFE)
okr.region.administrativeAfrica Western and Central (AFW)
okr.region.geographicalSub-Saharan Africa
okr.sectorSocial Protection,Sub-National Government
okr.themeUrban Development,Data Development and Capacity Building,Economic Policy,Economic Growth and Planning,Public Sector Management,Urban and Rural Development,Data production, accessibility and use,Spatial Growth
okr.topicUrban Development::National Urban Development Policies & Strategies
okr.topicCommunities and Human Settlements::Urban Communities
okr.topicCommunities and Human Settlements::Urban Housing and Land Settlements
okr.unitEFI-Poverty and Equity-GE (EPVGE)
okr.unitURL Global Director (SURDR)
okr.unitEFI-EAP-POV-Poverty and Equity (EEAPV)
relation.isAuthorOfPublication47f1ec82-9abf-5d6f-9256-e1cc53ce62ee
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery47f1ec82-9abf-5d6f-9256-e1cc53ce62ee
relation.isSeriesOfPublication26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
relation.isSeriesOfPublication.latestForDiscovery26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
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