Yet the real crux lies in how African nations navigate this rapid urbanisation, shaping spatial futures. Decolonisation demands a recalibration, centering African voices and experiences in envisioning these futures, challenging Western-centric models that prioritise economic growth over social equity, environmental sustainability, and cultural preservation. We need alternative paradigms that prioritise human well-being, community resilience, and ecological harmony.

Futuring – imagining different futures to guide actions today – is intrinsic to spatial justice. As the Puerto Rican poet Martin Espada writes, ‘no change for the good ever happens without it being imagined first.’ But mainstream futurism often neglects the Global South, perpetuating colonial structures and stereotypes. Decolonising our imagined futures necessitates collaboration across sectors, disciplines, and geographies.

What would our cities and streets look like if we imagined ‘development’ that caters to all?

The Crafting Common Imaginaries project builds on successful futuring workshops in Accra and aims to establish a physical and digital spatial futures network across West Africa, starting in Abidjan, Lomé, and Lagos.

The project explores counter cartographies[1] as a tool for decolonisation. As urbanisation accelerates, there's an urgent need for collaborative innovation to tackle common challenges such as infrastructure, transportation, housing, and environmental sustainability. The workshops in each city address these topics through experiments with sound mapping, alternative mapping of neighbourhood needs and science fiction-inspired world building. 

A spatial futures network provides a platform for knowledge exchange, resource sharing, and best practice dissemination, fostering inclusive and resilient urban development. The knowledge gathered from this network, in both textual and non-textual formats, will be made publicly available. The project’s goal is to create a model that can be expanded and shared with other regions.

Afra Foli is a lecturer and doctoral candidate in the department of Geography, Planning and International Development Studies of the University of Amsterdam (UvA). Her research studies the everyday geographies of waste and drainage infrastructure. 

Justus Uitermark is Professor of Urban Geography at the UvA. He studies how we create urban environments and how those environments shape us. He draws upon different perspectives, ranging from human ecology and historical sociology to various strands of critical theory.

Bashara Abubakari is a geographic information system and remote sensing expert at the The Centre for Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Services at the University of Ghana. He is passionate about environmental protection, using maps and story maps to create meaningful impact. He is committed to visualising data in ways that drive awareness, action, and positive change.

Carina Tenewaa Kanbi is a creative spatial practitioner based in Accra whose academic research and creative programming aim to assist cities and communities in creating vibrant, dynamic, and inclusive spaces that foster just growth and development. As an African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) Fellow and Mobility Governance Researcher, she is completing her PhD at the African Centre for Migration and Society (ACMS) at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.

[1] Counter cartography is the practice of creating maps that challenge traditional, official maps. It focuses on representing perspectives, histories, and experiences that are often overlooked or suppressed in mainstream cartography.