An African metropolis: the imploded territoriality of Kinshasa

Abstract

The peripheral and segmented nature of the urban network and communication routes in the Democratic Republic of Congo condemns the country to being outwardoriented, allowing little room for integration of national territory and favouring the neighbouring inter-African context. In this situation, the city of Kinshasa is forced to carry not just the weight of its role as capital city but also the burden associated with a territorial expansion that has occurred very much in the post-Independence style, where a veritable territorial implosion has resulted due to the existence of an inward-looking system of relationships. Based on field work, this article discusses the spatial factors existing in the social context under consideration, and identifies, as a result of the interaction of those factors, a complex territoriality that affects all the various facets of the urban fabric. Key words: Kinshasa, urban organisation, spatial expansion, imploded territoriality, peripheral urbanisation, outwardoriented relationships.

Keywords

• Kinshasa
• urban organisation
• spatial expansión
• imploded territoriality
• peripheral urbanisation
• outwardoriented relationships