The four presenters in Miles Larmer’s panel “Urbanism in Central Africa: (Extra)ordinary ways of understanding Zambian and Congolese cities in the 20th century” discussed urban life in the Copperbelt. Iva Pesa (University of Oxford) focused on urban farmers, aptly dispelling the established connotation of agriculture with the rural. Rita Kesselring (University of Basel) revealed local government practices in the Zambian city of Solwezi, Stephanie Lämmert (University of Oxford, currently Max Planck Institute for Human Development) disclosed the surfing between religious affiliations by Zambian urban dwellers, emulating their erratic patterns of migration. Finally, Kristien Geenen (Université de Liège) outlined the unfortunate location of the Congolese city of Kolwezi, being both engulfed by the mining industry, and built right upon rich mineral deposits that the mining companies would rather exploit.
It was raining cats and dogs in Belfast at the time the panel was programmed; nevertheless, it attracted a fine crowd which produced insightful comments.