Introduction

Abstract

In recent times, urban planning practice in Sub-Saharan Africa is increasingly facing complex challenges due to the confluence of interrelated drivers and consequences. The potential effect of these complexities on the attainment of the sustainable development goals is significant. Despite the increasing number of scholarships, they are often not structured and tailored to the needs of urban planning practice and education. They often do not address complexities of urban problems, urban identities, new emerging challenges and innovations for planning education and practice. This chapter seeks to engage the debates and discourses on how the urban problems, solutions and futures in African cities are (re)produced, (re)made and (re)contested by introducing the objectives and content of the book. Drawing from cutting-edge transdisciplinary studies, the book engages the urban challenges and future in African cities and the emerging approaches or tools in responding to these challenges. Through these interrelated studies, the book will open the debate on the future of urban planning education and practice by addressing three themes: urban complexities and identify, urban planning challenges and innovations for planning education and practice.