The aim of this thesis is to employ historical analyses and evaluation of the urban and architecture condition of African cities. Using Luanda as a case study an identity based on the practice of urban social movement is explored aiming to improve life in the communities of African cities. This will introduce new urban social movements that will simultaneously enhance the cultural and architectural value of the city in an era of capital influence and Internationalization aspiring to deliver an agenda of greater social equality. A new architectural philosophy will be analyzed through an ideology based on grass-roots movements in the architectural realm of the African cities in a time of internationalism and globalization. This ideology will be further elaborated through the observation of practices of both African and international architects whose aim is to create a new approach in the architectural language for African cities, which contradicts the image that emerges from Western influences.