Visit to the Geography Department

Tuesday Hilary headed to the Geography Department at the Abdou Moumoni University of Niamey. This university is the national university, and the only one in the country. The geography department has about 35 new majors a year, and even offers a PhD. Here is a picture of what the street looks like leading to the department.



Here, Hilary met with Prof Motcho, one of the leading scholars on urban geography of Niamey. They discussed Niamey urban form for hours, and gave some really good ideas on where to head next in her project. The history of Niamey is so interesting, and it seems like we are just beginning to scratch the surface. Niamey was a small village on the banks of the Niger river until the French moved their colonial capital here in 1920. In the 1930s a series of fires ravaged the ancient part of the village, and this enabled the French to go ahead with their ideas of urban reform. Very interesting stuff. More to come on this as we learn!