INTRODUCTION: SUSTAINING THE LIFE OF THE POLIS

Area of Science:

• Urban Studies
• Public Health
• Social Geography

Background:

• Globalization and neoliberal policies have led to fragmented urban spaces and social geographies worldwide.
• African cities experience stark fragmentation in sanitation and healthcare distribution, influenced by humanitarian, experimental, or market logics.
• Traditional concepts of 'the nation' and 'society' as inclusive wholes are losing relevance in defining citizenship.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how public health and protection are defined in contemporary African cities.
• To analyze the impact of global economic policies on urban social geographies and access to essential services.
• To explore the possibility of re-imagining public health as a civic project in fragmented urban environments.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative analysis of urban social geographies and service distribution.
• Examination of the influence of neoliberal policies on public services in African cities.
• Theoretical exploration of citizenship and public health in fragmented contexts.

Main Results:

• Public health in African cities is increasingly defined by survival or consumption, rather than by civic rights and responsibilities.
• Privilege and crisis create exceptions, fragmenting access to care and delineating spaces of exclusion.
• The practical and intellectual relevance of 'society' as a referent for citizenship is diminished.

Conclusions:

• The current definition of public health in African cities obscures the role of citizens and shared material realities.
• Re-enacting public health as a citizen-driven project requires addressing the fragmentation and exclusionary practices within urban spaces.
• Rethinking public health necessitates a re-evaluation of citizenship and civic engagement in the context of globalized urbanism.