Editing Harare (section)

=== Post-independence years ===
[[File:Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe N.png|thumb|[[New Reserve Bank Tower]], completed in 1997]]
The city initially boomed under a wave of optimism and investment that followed the country's independence in 1980. The name of the city was changed to Harare on 18 April 1982, the second anniversary of Zimbabwean independence, taking its name from the village near Harare Kopje of the [[Shona people|Shona]] chief Neharawa, whose nickname was "he who does not sleep".<ref>{{cite book |last=Room |first=Adrian |title=Placenames of the World: Origins and Meanings of the Names for Over 5000 Natural Features, Countries, Capitals, Territories, Cities and Historic Sights |publisher=McFarland |year=2003 |isbn=9780786418145}}</ref> Before independence, "Harare" was the name of the black residential area now known as [[Mbare, Harare|Mbare]].{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}

Significant investment in education and healthcare produced a confident and growing [[middle class]], evidenced by the rise of firms such as [[Econet Global]] and innovative design and [[architecture]], exemplified by the [[Eastgate Centre, Harare|Eastgate Centre]]. A notable symbol of this era in Harare's history is the [[New Reserve Bank Tower]], one of the city's major landmarks.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}

Harare was the location of several international summits during this period, such as the 8th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in September 1986 and the [[1991 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting]].<ref name="thecommonwealth1">{{cite web|url=http://www.thecommonwealth.org/Internal/146799/brief_history_of_chogm/|title=List of previous CHOGMS|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081031223635/http://www.thecommonwealth.org/Internal/146799/brief_history_of_chogm/|archive-date=31 October 2008}}</ref> The latter produced the [[Harare Declaration]], dictating the [[Commonwealth of Nations membership criteria|membership criteria]] of the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]]. In 1998, Harare was the host city of the 8th Assembly of the [[World Council of Churches]].<ref name="wcc-coe1">{{cite web|url=http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/assembly/index-e.html|title=8th assembly & 50th anniversary|access-date=25 May 2015}}</ref>

However, by 1992, Harare began to experience an economic downturn and the government responded by enacting [[Neoliberalism|neoliberal]] reforms. These policies provoked a boom in [[banking]], finance and agriculture, but also led to significant job losses in [[manufacturing]], thereby greatly increasing unemployment and [[income inequality]]. Domestic firms struggled to compete with imports, leading to the collapse of several institutions, particularly in the textile industry.<ref name="radar.brookes.ac.uk"/>