A dramatic consequence of the impact of Western capitalism on countries to which it has turned for raw materials and export markets has been the spectacular growth of cities in developing regions. Drawing on empirical material assembled during his twenty-one years in Africa, Mitchell here uses statistical analysis to investigate changing urban conditions in South Central Africa and their wider social, political, and economic contexts. This comparative study provides a unique springboard for an examination of the way in which urban sociologists and anthropologists think about urban phenomena in general.