Why it looks like this

Kinshasa stretches along the south bank of Pool Malebo, the great widening of the Congo River, facing Brazzaville. The Belgian colonial city was deliberately dual: leafy planned avenues in Gombe by the river for Europeans, and the 'cité indigène' — planned but minimal grids — beyond a buffer zone for the Congolese population.

After independence in 1960 the city exploded, growing into one of Africa's largest metropolises, mostly through self-built districts spreading over hills and plains far beyond any plan. The riverfront grid, the old cités, and that unplanned ocean are the map's three textures.