Global Cities-Local Identity?

A collection of contributions from the 2011 international symposium ‘Global City, Local Identity?’ held in Dar es Salaam by the Goethe-Institut Tanzania. In the twenty-first century, African metropolises are undergoing rapid and uncontrolled growth, threatening what remains of their specific identity amid globalisation and rural-urban migration. The contributors (international experts, local authorities, planners, and artists) examine whether the cultural identity of these heterogeneous urban spaces can still be grasped, what significance their colonial past holds for their present, and whether rapid urban development has already generated an independent movement beyond conventional conceptions of history and preservation. The articles move from architectural to urban scales, looking into these cities’ ambiguous pasts, dynamic presents, and possible futures. Edited by Annika Seifert.