Kinshasa, the urban factory

Many analyses of urban conditions in Africa highlight the failure of the state as a developer of spaces and provider of public services. In Kinshasa, we see the reign of the unplanned, the temporary that lasts, the recycled, and the untidy. But despite the vicissitudes of its history (or because of them), the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo remains one of the most inventive cities in the world. The people of Kinshasa are genuinely resilient against the daily challenge of poverty. Now that they know that they will be ever more numerous and that they will soon find themselves living in one of Africa’s largest metropolises, they are waiting for the state to finally fulfil its mission by providing them with basic public services in a controlled urban environment.