This journal publishes papers, which engage broadly with urban processes, developments, challenges, politics and people, providing a distinctive African focus on these themes.  Topics covered variously engage with the dynamics of governance, everyday urban life, economies and environments. The journal uses empirical data to reinforce and refine theoretical developments in urban studies, draws on the specificities of the African context, and opens up geographically diverse conversations on African cities. Urban Forum welcomes papers that provide rich evidence from African cities and, in doing so, builds debate and theory that often remains peripheral to urban scholarship.  The journal is open to research based on a range of methodologies, but prioritizes qualitative analysis and interpretation. With this mix, research in Urban Forum demonstrates the ordinary and the exceptional nature of urbanization in African cities.