The digital urban frontier: Disparities in social media activity between consolidated and newly urbanized areas in Africa

Published in Applied Geography, 2025

In the 21st century, urban spaces are both physical and digital, and digital presence is increasingly important for the competetiveness and livability of cities. But is this digital presence evenly distributed within cities? This study reveals a significant and hitherto undocumented digital urban divide in rapidly growing settlements in Africa.

Key Findings:

  • ๐—” ๐—–๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ ๐——๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐˜๐˜†: We found compelling evidence that online visibility, specifically measured through geotweet density, is significantly higher in older built-up areas compared to newer built-up areas across many sites in African cities. In other words, the โ€œsocial media frontierโ€ often lags behind the physical frontier, the built-up expansion of urban landscapes.
  • ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ด๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น ๐——๐—ถ๐—ณ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐˜€: This disparity varies across geographic regions, being most pronounced in West Africa and least frequent in Northern and Southern Africa. Possible factors include higher internet penetration and slower urbanization rates in some regions.
  • ๐—ฃ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฆ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ฆ๐˜๐—ฟ๐˜‚๐—ฐ๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ: Settlements with a higher โ€œintensity of plannednessโ€ (IoP) tend to show lower digital disparity. The two-dimensional structure of settlements, particularly built-up fragmentation, is also linked to the magnitude of this digital divide. These first findings can guide further research that considers the very diverse urban planning histories and processes across Africa.

These findings are crucial for urban studies and policy, emphasizing the need to consider digital perspectives in research and strategies for Africaโ€™s urban development and digital transformation. Africa is where we can find the current โ€œurban frontierโ€, with rapid urbanization and much urban potential still to be realized. And it is crucial to ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐˜๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฝ๐—ต๐˜†๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ถ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—น ๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐˜€.

Recommended citation: Mast, J., Sapena, M., Debray, H., Inkoom, J. N., Lemoine-Rodrรญguez, R., GeiรŸ, C., & Taubenbรถck, H. (2025). "The digital urban frontier: Disparities in social media activity between consolidated and newly urbanized areas in Africa." Applied Geography, 181, 103687.
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