It focuses on the role of skyscrapers in the nascent projects of new cities and neighborhoods, highlighting two major aspects: first, this text aims to interrogate the meaning of the “skyline” concept (if it is agreed that it can be considered as a concept) in contemporary Africa, questioning the insularity of these hubs of skyscrapers in sub-Saharan African satellite cities and, secondly, to investigate the relationship between the “horizontal” and the “vertical” dimensions of Africa’s new cities, questioning the role played by private and public sector stakeholders. Second, one could question whether the picture really shows a skyline and, consequently, ask what a skyline is and how it can be defined specifically in African contexts.Ģ This paper wishes to investigate the spatial process of verticalization in African cities, emphasizing its specificities, as well as the commonalities, with other contexts outside Africa, in the Global South, and in the Western world. First, the skyline is seen as a symbol of dynamism and as a sign of positive transformation in urban contexts, allowing a look at the future with an optimistic perspective (the theme of the publication). 1 PwC is a multinational, structured as a network providing professional services.ġ PwC’s 1 publication Into Africa The Continent’s Cities of Opportunities (PwC, 2015) on the 20 African cities considered as the most dynamic and focused on the future, opens with a picture titled “Lagos Cityscape Skyline Aerial View of the Capital City and Road Bridges” (PwC, 2015: cover page).
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