Patrick Cobbinah: Decolonizing Urban Planning in Africa's Next Century

Patrick Cobbinah, Associate Professor of Urban Planning at the University of Melbourne, joins The Century of Cities to reimagine the future of African urbanism through a decolonized lens. Drawing on his work across Ghana and the Global South, Patrick shares how colonial planning systems still shape land use, governance, and inequality today, and why genuine progress depends on embracing bottom-up, citizen-led approaches to city-building. He argues that Africa's growing youth population, rising education levels, and rapid urbanization present a once-in-a-century opportunity to redefine how cities evolve. From rethinking informality as a strength to integrating indigenous knowledge into urban planning, Patrick envisions a future where governance is transparent, communities are empowered, and cities are built with people, not just for them.