As African cities prepare to tackle the massive challenges of the 21st century, the need to have effective and appropriate laws in place is a key priority. Without clear and straightforward laws – laws that are easy for citizens to understand and for officials to implement – it is virtually impossible to build the governance systems that the cities need to meet their many challenges.
This Guide focuses on the law-making implementation challenge: How do we implement our intention to make better laws for our towns and cities? It proposes an approach to urban law-making that is solidly grounded in an understanding of the local context: How the cities work, how the legal system works, and how the government works at different levels.
The authors – Stephen Berrisford of the African Centre for Cities at the University of Cape Town and the late Patrick McAuslan, formerly of Birkbeck College, University of London – combine their decades of practical experience of urban law-making in African countries to provide a practical Guide to officials and other practitioners.
The Guide is also available in: English: Reforming Urban Laws in Africa: A Practical Guide and Portuguese: Um Guia Pratico Sobre A Reforma Das Leis Urbanas em África
