Catalysing urban reform through coalition-building in African cities: key dimensions and typologies

Addressing Africa’s intricate urban problems demands that adverse relations be challenged. Building solidarities across class and other social divides is instrumental in driving inclusive urban reforms. This paper aims to contribute to the emerging literature on urban reform coalition-building in Southern cities by expanding our conceptual understanding of the form, purpose and content of coalitions. Through analysing the African Cities Research Consortium’s research reports and online research, the paper identifies key analytical dimensions of urban reform coalitions: form, temporality, goal, degree of formalization, class composition and key outputs. The findings suggest that reform coalitions aiming to benefit the wider segment of the urban population and disadvantaged groups, and reform coalitions that facilitate dialogue and knowledge exchange platforms tend to foster cross-class alliances. Nonetheless, building inclusive reform coalitions is predicated on a well-organized disadvantaged group. The paper proposes five distinct types to invite in-depth analysis of urban reform coalitions in the global South.