Planning to Restructure the Space Economy in Africa: Introducing Neo-Mercantile Planning From Theory to Practice

Abstract

The incidence of disconnect between the modern and local economy in the development of urban regions has sustained urban productivity decline in Africa since mid-twentieth century. The resilience of the status quo, regardless of neo-liberal planning intervention, necessitates the search for an alternative planning approach. This paper considers the neo-mercantile planning option, which seeks to restructure the space economy through spatial integration. The paper shares how neo-mercantile planning protocol bears on development planning to rework the space economy of Enugu urban region in Enugu State, Nigeria as a way forward for planning in Africa.