Includes indexes.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [226]-240).

Ch.1. Why study African towns? -- Urbanisation: An Overview -- Urbanisation in Africa: Some Historical Considerations -- Are Towns the "Pace-Setters" of the New Africa? -- Towns and the Rural-Urban DImension -- Urban Life, Social Change and Modernisat ion -- The City and the Behavioural Sciences -- Ch.2. Some conceptual approaches to African urban studies -- The Rural and the Urban Traditions -- Migrancy and Migrants -- The Urban System: The Macro Approach -- The Sub-Systems: The Micro Approach -- An Approach to Organised Complexity: Integration Despite Diversity -- The City, Town, Suburb and Hinterland: A Symbiotic Relationship? -- Ch.3. Some basic organisational and institutional characteristics of urban complexity -- Personal and Group Relations -- Ways of Work -- Occupations -- Economic and Social Mobility -- The Political Order -- Family Life -- The Ideational World -- Summary and Synthesis -- Ch.4. Problems of Methodology in African urban research: The search of new dimensions -- Introduction -- Initial Problems of Contact -- Problems of Definition and Selection of Topics -- The Town versus the Neighbourhood -- Heterogeneity as a Particular Problem in Methodology -- Participant Observation in an Urban Setting: The "Intensive" Anthropologicaln Approach -- Survey Techniques: The Sociological Approach -- Inter and Multy-Disciplinary Approaches and Research Techniques -- Recapitulation and Syntesis -- Ch.5. Urban anthropology: The future of a pioneer -- Introduction -- The Need to Change Direction: From Traditional to Modern Studies -- Being Trapped by "Pure" versus "Applied" Studies: A False Dichotomy -- Urban Studies: Some Simple Research Proposals -- Conclusion -- References Cited -- Tables -- World population, rural and urban (towns and cities) 1800-1970(in millions) -- Census and Projected urban populations by continents ansd size of groups, 1960,1975, 2000 -- World's rural and urban population 1960, 1975, 2000(in millions) -- Rural and urban population (whole world) -- Percentage increase(or decrease) per decade of total, rural and urban population 1950-1960 and 1960-1970 -- World cities in 1970-distribution according to size -- Town and city population (whole world) in percentages 1950-1970 -- Percentages of urban and rural populations in developed and underdeveloped regions, 1950-2000 -- Rural and urban population increase (or decrease) 1950-1970 of less developed regions (selected) in percentages -- Populations growth of some major urban areas in less developed regions -- Map -- Author index -- Place name index -- Subject index

Also issued online.