French colonial Dakar: The morphogenesis of an African regional capital (Studies in Imperialism, 138)

This book deals with the planning culture and architectural endeavours that shaped the model space of French colonial Dakar, a prominent city in West Africa. With a focus on the period from the establishment of the city in the mid-nineteenth century until the interwar years, our involvement with the design of Dakar as a regional capital reveals a multiplicity of 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' forces. These include a variety of urban politics, policies, practices and agencies, and complex negotiations on both the physical and conceptual levels. The study of the extra-European planning history of Europe has been a burgeoning field in scholarly literature, especially in the last few decades. There is a clear tendency within this literature, however, to focus on the more privileged colonies in the contemporary colonial order of preference, such as British India and the French colonies in North Africa. Colonial urban space in sub-Saharan Africa has thus been left relatively untreated. With a rich variety of historical material and visual evidence, the book incorporates both primary and secondary sources, collected from multilateral channels in Europe and Senegal. It includes an analysis of a variety of planning and architectural models, metropolitan-cum-indigenous. Of interest to scholars in history, geography, architecture, urban planning, African studies and Global South studies - this book is also one of the pioneers in attesting the connection between the French colonial doctrines of assimilation and association and French colonial planning and architectural policies in sub-Saharan Africa. This Volume Explores The Planning And Architectural Cultures That Shaped The Model Space Of French Colonial Dakar, A Prominent City In West Africa. With A Focus On The Period From The Establishment Of The City In The Mid-nineteenth Century Until The Interwar Years, The Book Reveals A Variety Of Urban Politics, Policies And Practices, And Complex Negotiations On Both The Physical And Conceptual Levels. Chronicling The Design Of Dakar As A Regional Capital, The Book Suggests A Connection Between The French Colonial Doctrines Of Assimilation And Association, And French Colonial Planning And Architectural Policies In Sub-saharan Africa. Introduction: French Colonial Dakar: The Morphogenesis Of An African Regional Capital -- Planting The Flag And Military Planning In Imperial Dakar: Asymmetries, Uncertainties, Illusions -- Street Naming, Infectious Diseases And Planning In Early Colonial Dakar: Segregationist Insights -- The Quest For Architectural Style For French West Africa: Invented Traditions And Ideologies In Colonial Dakar -- Afterword: Dakar's 'old City' And Beyond. Liora Bigon. Includeds Bibliographical References (pages 189-208) And Index. This volume explores the planning and architectural cultures that shaped the model space of French colonial Dakar, a prominent city in West Africa. With a focus on the period from the establishment of the city in the mid-nineteenth century until the interwar years, the book reveals a variety of urban politics, policies and practices, and complex negotiations on both the physical and conceptual levels. Chronicling the design of Dakar as a regional capital, the book suggests a connection between the French colonial doctrines of assimilation and association, and French colonial planning and architectural policies in sub-Saharan Africa. Of interest to scholars in history, geography, architecture, urban planning, African studies and Global South studies, the book incorporates both primary and secondary sources collected from multilateral channels in Europe and Senegal. Chronicles the design of Dakar as a regional capital, and suggests a connection between the French colonial doctrines of assimilation and association and French colonial planning and architectural policies in sub-Saharan Africa. -- .