Contemporary African urbanisation is often assessed through infrastructure delivery, economic growth, connectivity and technical efficiency. Roads, railways, housing schemes, transport nodes and commercial districts are measured through cost, capacity, speed, passenger volumes and investment attraction. These indicators are necessary, especially where urban deficits remain urgent, but they are insufficient for a philosophical account of the city. They do not ask what kinds of persons, habits, memories and civic expectations urban environments form. This article argues that beauty should be recovered as a legitimate category of political and urban philosophy. Drawing on classical and Christian accounts of beauty as a transcendental value, and engaging recent urban scholarship, the paper contends that cities are formative environments. Architecture, streets, public spaces and infrastructure silently teach citizens what deserves attention, preservation and shared care. Beauty is therefore a public good linked to dignity, belonging, intelligibility and humane civic flourishing.
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