Smart Urban Accessibility and Mobility for Smart Economy in Africa

Abstract

Africa’s rapid urbanization provides opportunities for economies of scale and agglomeration, but it will also call for large investments in infrastructures to respond to the increased demand for urban accessibility. For cities to act as integrated labour markets and match jobs seekers and employers, they need to make employment spatially accessible to all residents. Economies of scale and agglomeration are, indeed, greater in cities where mobility infrastructures are able to respond accessibility needs with higher access to markets and resources than those where people’s mobility is impeded by deficient mobility infrastructures. Demand for accessibility and mobility depends first on how the cities are designed in terms of urban form and structure. Urban form and structure depend on how the cities are planned in terms of (mixed) land use, compactness, densities, and street planning and design among other factors.