"The Worldwide-City Hypothesis of Global Cities for Africa in the Era of Globalization – Introducing Time-Efficient City Model "

Abstract

Since the mid-20th century, cities in Africa drift awkwardly along paths charted by different shades of development ideologies, development hypothesis, planning theories, and planning mandates. These cities end up as inevitable products of intervening culture and policy formulation hegemony from abroad. They function outside the mainstream of the global economy; hence, they barely share the global perception of world cities, as economic centers of excellence for manufacturing, and information products that influence the global economy, as profit-making corporate entities with the potentials to perform economic functions, and as a remote sensor for measuring capitalist development. In the context of emerging city networking for new regionalism, this paper argues that Africa requires an alternative hypothesis of world cities. Therefore, the paper aims to suggest a hypothesis of world cities that makes sense of African realities. The critical question is what hypothesis of world cities is suitable for Africa? The underlying research problem subsists in rethinking the city, which involves the reversal of the alterations that sustain the imperial status of cities in Africa. Using a qualitative research methodology the paper contributes the ‘worldwide city’ hypothesis of world cities for Africa.