For most of the latter half of the 20th century, war carved the contours of settlement and mining activity in Angola. The aim of this article is twofold: first, to contrast migrant andurban livelihoods during the war, distinguishing between artisanal guerrilla diamond-diggingsettlements and the refuge ‘government cities’, and, secondly, to compare recent patternsof migration, livelihoods, mineral production and aspirations among urban residents. This article focuses on four urban settlements in the Lundas’ diamond-producing provinces, tracing wartime diamond growth in boom towns and cantonment in government cities. Post-war urban regeneration is characterised by investment in formal planned cities, and constraints on the informal mining boom towns and their garimpo artisanal miners. Questions are posed regarding these settlements’ population movements, livelihoods, residents’ conceptions of urban life and their quest for modernity. Amidst the multiplicity of wartime legacies and the envisaged reconstruction, renewed perceptions of urban life are increasingly focused on non-mining livelihoods.