Houd Kanazoé is an urban geographer. After getting his PhD in 2022 from the University of Leipzig, working on mobility practices based on a multidisciplinary approach, he is now teaching at Université Virtuelle du Burkina Faso. He also worked for 3 years at the Institute of African studies in Leipzig as a research assistant for the project "Doing the city, socio-spatial navigation in urban Africa" funded by DFG.  With Edith Nabos, he is currently studying the use of gas in urban transportation both in Accra and Bobo-Dioulasso at the intersection of geography and anthropology based on à postcolonial perspective. 

MIASA project: Exploring energy use in urban transportation: taxi drivers stepping on the gas in Ghana and Burkina Faso

The use of gas as a fuel for public transport is a growing practice in many African cities. While the limited literature on the subject explains the phenomenon in terms of affordability, there is still much to be learned, especially when it comes to moving beyond the geographical and economic approaches to of  transport and mobility. Thus, drawing on the more or less recent postcolonial perspectives calling for new paradigms of mobility, and based on exploratory research in Ghana (Accra) and Burkina Faso (Bobo-Dioulasso), our approach aims to take a closer look at the phenomenon by analysing it from the point of view of the actors, i.e. taxi drivers and passengers, but also mechanics or administrators. This project investigates the spatial but also social and political implications of gas use in two West African countries with different cultures, legislation and languages. The combination of these approaches is relevant to contribute on the one hand to a less Western perspective and on the other hand to a South-South comparison essential for understanding urban practices in Africa and beyond.  

Publications:

Kanazoé, H. (2022). Mobilité urbaine et navigation socio-spatiale à Bobo-Dioulasso, un angle pour saisir une ville africaine. PhD thesis. University of Leipzig. 

Kanazoé, H. 2022. L’affordance comme outil pour comprendre la mobilité dans une ville africaine : le cas de Bobo-Dioulasso (Burkina Faso). GARI. Recherches et débats sur les villes africaines. https://www.revues.scienceafrique.org/gari/texte/kanazoe2022/

Kanazoé, H. 2022. Le tricycle et le taxi à gaz : quand deux illégalités s’affrontent. Le faso.net. https://lefaso.net/spip.php?article111554