The book essentially examines peri-urban development processes from various angles in an effort to understand how peri-urban areas develop, function, and how their residents survive. Per-urban dwellers currently face numerous challenges, including land tenure insecurity, poor infrastructure and services, land use conflicts, stringent planning law and land use planning regulations.

This work seeks to address the "knowledgegap" on peri-urban development processes in Africa, and is also intended to inform urban policy practice in the African Cities and beyond. Offering policy makers valuable insights on the peri-urban space, it provides guidance for decision-making in the contexts of service delivery, land management, housing, new town development and place marketing, among others.