What are some of the major challenges African cities face as they develop?

 

Two most critical urban planning challenges confronting African cities are rapid urbanization and severe climate change impacts.

Rapid urbanization is occurring in Africa – although uneven across cities and countries, and in itself not necessarily a problem. However, we have not decolonized our planning systems to effectively manage the complications of rapid urbanization. Entrenched colonial and foreign ideologies still dictate urban planning practice in many African cities. As a consequence, urbanization is mostly unguided and is creating a widening gap between formal vs. informal development. Climate change on the other hand is unleashing unprecedented hardships on African cities, with impacts such as flooding, sea level rise and warming temperatures becoming frequent and widespread.

 

What are some of the impacts?

 

Widening inequalities within cities, marked by huge infrastructure deficits, large concentration of vulnerable populations in vulnerable locations, slum growth, and congestion name a few. These situations are compounded by recent intense and severe climate change impacts - particularly flood events across urban Africa.

 

What is the extent of informal development?

 

Informality is a defining feature of African cities. Studies show that informal economic activities constitute 80 percent of economic activities in urban Africa. Over 80 percent of land tenure arrangements are mostly informal, via the leadership of traditional, indigenous or tribal leaders. And more than 50 percent of urban residents live in locations characterized as informal settlements. So, informality is the foundation of Africa’s urban development/growth.

 

What do you think are the major reasons for informal development?

 

Informality in African cities reflects the socio-economic and cultural context of African citizens. But urban planning has so far failed to acknowledge the importance of informality in Africa’s development paradigm, frequently treating it with heavy handedness (via demolition, eviction etc.), or using it for political gains. Until urban planning in Africa is deconstructed to focus on matters and issues that are of concern to its citizenry rather than implementing foreign and colonial ideologies, the potency of informality will not be realized. Informality in itself is not a problem - it’s the lack of urban planning’s capacity to work with informality that’s the problem.

 

What role does urban planning play in disaster risk reduction and urban climate resilience?

 

Urban planning has significant capacity in reducing disaster risk and building urban climate resilience. Through its flexible provisionalities, urban planning offers space to address critical infrastructure shortages, improve urban living, contribute to greenhouse gas emission reduction, and offer guided urbanization to reduce disaster risk, and promote inclusive and resilient urban futures. It also provides space for critical dialogue on climate related issues, and promotes community involvement in planning decisions and actions.

 

What role does citizen engagement play in urban development? How can policymakers better engage citizens in development plans?

 

The purpose of planning revolves around citizens' aspirations and desires reflecting in space and socio-political and economic growth. Citizen engagement therefore underlies the whole purpose of urban development. Effective citizen engagement has the potential to improve the urban image of African cities, as informed and involved citizens are likely to be part of the development process, and will not engage in activities/acts that are inconsistent with the prevailing planning requirements/guidelines.

Today, there are numerous platforms for policymakers to engage citizens – from traditional media to social media platforms, in addition to town hall/community meetings. Unfortunately, across African cities, the limited involvement (if any) of urban citizens in urban development has created a situation where many urban citizens have no knowledge of planning and its requirements, contributing to urban development preceding planning. Planning is too elitist for the ordinary urban citizen in Africa – possibly because of its colonial history and western orientation. Until urban citizens are engaged to appreciate the value of planning, its purpose will continue to be a mirage in Africa.

 

Can you think of any effective strategies/approaches urban planners can take to better integrate disaster risk reduction in overall planning?

 

The whole issue with improving urban planning effectiveness in Africa starts with the recognition that informality is not a problem. It should be viewed as an opportunity to address critical urban challenges such as unemployment and housing. And urban planning should work with that - and not against it - to address inequalities, urbanization challenges, and improve local resilience, particularly to climate change. When the usefulness of informality is recognized via urban planning, it can further be used as a tool to ensure guided urbanization. Guided urbanization in this context simply implies steering future development or population concentration from hazardous or vulnerable locations. Through this process ‘existing’ urbanization can be addressed through planning and informality working together while ‘future’ urbanization vulnerability is avoided. Of course, this will involve significant investment, particularly in infrastructure.

 

Are you aware of any examples where communities have taken steps towards DRR/building climate resilience in their local environment?

 

DRR strategies in African cities cut across policy to community initiatives. At the policy level, for example, Dakar (Senegal) was the first city in Africa to create a resilience strategy in cooperation with the 100 Resilient Cities, an enterprise for supporting cities to embrace and assimilate resilience in planning and development initiatives. Also, as part of the 100 Resilient Cities, Accra (Ghana) developed its first resilience strategy in 2019 to augment its survival, adaptation, and capacity in the face of increasing climate uncertainty and stresses. While these attempts are encouraging, implementation remains a challenge. Community response is the most common DRR response in African cities involving private individuals, households, and sometimes the government. These responses include sandbags to redirect flood waters, elevate houses, retaining walls, re-roofing after damage, digging trenches and ditches, cleaning blocked drains, and using sand or wood shavings in the house or on flooded streets to walk on. While these strategies provide immediate relief, they often do not deliver effective adaptation outcomes because of their piecemeal and reactive nature.

 

How can initiatives like these be supported or scaled up?

 

Successful DRR strategies often work when there is collaboration between the community and the government. African governments should support and collaborate with local communities in developing and expanding initiatives that work for the local community to minimize their risk to climate change. Most often, internationally defined and donor-sponsored strategies do not work well as they have their own interests, and many do not have the primary interests of the community in mind. It is therefore important for the government, through state institutions, to collaborate and work with local communities, particularly those most vulnerable to implement workable solutions like the case of Mokoko slum in Lagos and the Ecovillage in Cape Town.

 

IN CONTEXT: URBAN LAND USE AND PLANNING SUCCESS STORIES IN AFRICA