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In the global South, neoliberal urbanism is generally underpinned by two principles: supporting the emergence of urban land markets, and the theory of comparative advantage. While most research into property and citizenship has focused on the first of these, this paper looks at the implementation of comparative advantage theory in three small cities in Ghana and Burkina Faso that occupy a significant position in the geography of economic flows currently shaping Africa. Two are embedded in global networks, while the third is located at the margins of global dynamics. The argument developed in the paper suggests a move away from classical work on property and citizenship in two other ways: firstly, by qualifying urban landscape and highlighting the specificity of small cities, and, secondly, by broadening the notion of property—whereas most researches study the dynamics of property in the city, the article focuses on a neglected issue, the ownership of the city itself.