Material impacts of hip-hop on urban development in Dakar: the case of Eaux Secours

Abstract

The creative city has emerged as a driving force in urban studies in both academic and urban planning realms. Increasingly, scholars are interrogating these ideas of the creative city and the creative class as to their political implications and applications to cities around the world. This paper focuses on the role of the artist in urban development through the case study of one hip-hop group from the Pikine neighborhood of Dakar. Pikine, a poor neighborhood on the outskirts of the city, is one of many neighborhoods prone to seasonal flooding. Where city government programs of flood alleviation failed to produce positive results, the hip-hop artists have succeeded to organize and work against flooding. The artists imagined a better urban future from the point of view of disadvantaged neighborhoods, and organized the community to make real, material impacts on the city.