The Sustainable Development Goals have increased conversations around how cities and towns can be planned and organised to fulfil their roles as drivers of sustainable development. Making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable is the focus of goal seven. This topic is of crucial importance to Africa’s development efforts for some reasons and at the same time present challenges to achieving sustainable cities in the continent.
Africa’s population is projected to double in the next three decades more than any other continent of the globe with an additional 1.2 billion people to the current inhabitants of 1.3 billion people. Rapid and uncontrolled population growth strain towns and cities by increasing the pressure on administrative structures, infrastructure, and services.
By 2050, more than half of the continent’s population is estimated to live in cities. This has been attributed to different causes including the availability of better services, fall in the agrarian economy, conflict and the continent’s huge youth population. It is common knowledge that few cities are currently equipped to adequately support its population in meeting their wellbeing needs. Poor urban planning, decaying infrastructure, increasing slum communities, ineffective local administration, and corruption are some challenges cities on the continent face. These challenges would worsen the human security of the inhabitants if not urgently tackled.
Urban poverty is growing in Africa. Poor people in cities and towns face peculiar poverty challenges than those living in rural communities. People, especially the youths, for lack of livelihood opportunities emigrate to urban centres fueling the worsening poverty indices there. Gentrification is also creating internally displaced persons most of whom end up creating another slum in another part of the city and worsening their vulnerabilities.
Added to these challenges are disasters. Fire outbreaks and flooding are the two most common disasters experienced in urban areas on the continent. Both disasters destroys properties, disrupts access to services, result in loss of lives, and promote displacements. When people lose properties to these disasters and in the absence of social protection, multidimensional poverty rises as they struggle to get back on their feet. Different studies have linked fire outbreaks to informal setlements and tenure insecurity. Besides, those living in slums or unplanned settlements are not only more exposed to these disasters but also lose more valuables. The city of Lagos, Nigeria’s economic hub, has already recorded more than ten fire incidents this year.
From the circumstances already explained regarding the grave problems confronting the achievement of sustainable cities on the continent, few practical strategies are proposed.
Sustainable energy: With increasing population, some countries in the continent have the largest inadequate access to electricity globally including Nigeria, Kenya and Tanzania. Addressing the electricity gap on the continent requires a multifaceted approach that prioritises contextual circumstances including public-private partnership. Electricity generation must be devoted to the lowest administrative level in the country while providing adequate manpower and resources to effectively respond.
Basic services: Much of the urban centres on the continent still lack sufficient provision of basic services including water, sanitation, healthcare, and educational facilities. Urban administrators need to start thinking of ingenious ways of promoting equitable access to these services. One approach that could work is increased community-led initiatives supported by municipal authorities. When people are given a voice to raise their service concerns and deliberate with authorities regarding how best to address them, it not only unlocks their empowerment but also heighten sustainability.
Security: Safety and security concerns are rife in towns and cities. Sections of urban communities often those with inadequate infrastructure and services are likely to experience higher insecurity. Absence of facilities like public toilets can aggravate public health safety and lack of well-built roads and effective transportation systems can result in social exclusion of segments of the population like the physically disabled. In poor, crowded and unplanned communities, houses are built without considerations for shelter standards. Alongside the provision of these services and access to basic necessities, community policing in line with the United Nations guidelines can supplement inadequate policing arrangements.
Pollution control: Urban centre on the continent face pollution challenges. However, in research, policy, and practice, waste management is the prioritised pollution in African cities. Even this is inadequately managed due to inappropriate laws, not implementing regulations, limited funding, and low technical capacity. While these need to be provided, more attention should be paid to other pollution like air to guarantee the wellbeing of inhabitants. Research, urban planning and green means of energy and transportation will be crucial to pollution control.
Disaster risk management: With rapid urban population growth comes concerns for disasters. Flooding and fire are the most common disasters in urban centres and the local administration and the people are not often equipped to deal with the risk. While more research, funding and infrastructure are needed, a participatory and information sharing approach is vital. The City Resilience Action Planning Tool, CityRAP, developed by UN-Habitat between 2014 and 2019 is a laudable approach at enhancing the resilience of urban centres.
Poverty eradication: Poverty, in this era of the Sustainable Development Goals should be measured as deprivation in material and non-material needs. An income-focused view of poverty excludes destitution, oppression, sense of personal freedom, and esteem to mention a few, which represent some acute poverty indices. The overall societal arrangement in an urban area including laws, land governance, infrastructure, and institutions, both formal and informal, determine opportunities for poverty eradication and must be fashioned to achieve this. Population boom can also be an opportunity for enhancing and guaranteeing the substantive wellbeing of the people.
Bolaji Ogunfemi is the Administrator of Afrodevelopment. He can be reached on b.ogunfemi@afrodevelopment.org or on Twitter @BolajiOgunfemi.
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