Sukuma wiki (collard greens) and tomatoes, which have experienced dramatic price surges in the past few months in Kenya. (Photo/Annie Bungeroth/ CAFOD)

Food Price Surge In Kenya Causing Grief, Here’s What It Tells Us About What’s Wrong With African Cities

Kenya’s current food price spike is just the latest in a longer, slower food price inflation that has been unfolding over the past few years, which has something to do with the broader structural problems of African cities

Market woman in Nairobi, Kenya. The prices of fresh produce in the city have risen rapidly in the past ten years. (Photo/ Pixabay)

Tomatoes And Carrots Are An Early Warning Signal Of What’s Wrong With Africa’s Cities. Seriously

In many cities, fresh produce is often transported either by handcart or by motorcycle. Though on the surface they seem cheap, they are hugely inefficient from a technological perspective, and there’s a big cost to it

Jemaa el-Fina market in Marrakech, Morocco. You may not have noticed it, but many African cities are expanding faster in land area than they are in population.

African Cities Are Growing, But Ironically Becoming Less Dense; Why This Matters

A sprawling city means that distances between neighbourhoods are long and transport costs are high. That ends up acting as a brake on the ability of cities to reap the benefits of growth.