Launch of Africa’s Urbanization Dynamics 2025: Planning for Africa’s Urban Expansion report, a joint publication by the OECD, AfDB, and UCLG Africa and Cities Alliance.
Africa is undergoing unprecedented urban transformation. Over the next 30 years, the continent’s cities will double in size and add 700 million new urban residents, bringing Africa’s total urban population to 1.4 billion by 2050. This rapid expansion poses pressing challenges, but if managed well, it can offer immense opportunities for economic development, sustainability, inclusion and resilience.
On 6 March, City Alliance will co-host a webinar to present the joint report on Africa’s Urbanization Dynamics 2024: Planning for Africa’s Urban Expansion, written in collaboration with AfDB, OECD/SWAC and UCLG Africa. This publication aims to provide a comprehensive view of Africa’s urbanization trends to date and explore the implications for urban planning, governance and financing.
The virtual presentation will highlight the report’s key findings and feature discussions with leading experts to explore strategies to overcome obstacles to efficient urban expansion in African cities, such as informality and lack of funding. We will also touch on policy approaches to increase urban investment, particularly in the housing sector.
Report overview
a) Key findings (scroll to view graphic)
By 2050, 80 percent of Africa’s population growth will be absorbed by urban areas, as the even urbanization rate rises to 64 percent. Nigeria, Egypt, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo alone account for more than a third of Africa’s total urban population. Therefore, more cities will be created on the continent, especially large cities where population growth is concentrated.
Due to population growth, built-up areas will experience strong urban expansion, which will have important impacts on the overall functioning of cities, infrastructure and service provision, and the environment.
Projections of urban expansion, such as those included in this report, are critical for planning and public policy to meet future challenges.
b) Effective governance is key to managing urban expansion
Good governance will play a central role in managing this urban transition. The need to strengthen the relevance, capacity and speed of urban planning and policy requires innovation that reflects current and local realities and emerging challenges. At the national level, the National Urban Policy (NUP) and the National Development Policy (NDP) will help achieve change.
The need for multilevel governance with clear objectives is achieved through decentralization and the promotion of participatory processes. Empowering local governments and strengthening their capacity to manage land use, plan, and serve everyone is essential.
Land governance systems and jurisdictional fragmentation also need to be improved to ensure land ownership and provide land for effective use at the scale needed.
c) Financing urban growth in Africa
Urban financing remains one of the most pressing challenges for African cities. Financing urban expansion requires long-term investments in specific climate-resilient solutions that need to be built into the design of infrastructure and service delivery from the start.
Small, inexpensive projects can deliver results at the pace and scale that rapidly growing cities need.
While we need to increase spending to meet current challenges and seize the opportunities presented by urban growth, we also need to improve spending to better align investments with the needs and realities of residents and businesses. Harnessing alternative sources of financing will be critical to supporting urban expansion on the continent.
speaker
Moderator: Nana Touré, Director of the OECD/Sahel and West Africa Club
Opening Remarks: Greg Munro, Cities Alliance Director
Presentation of report findings
Philippe Heinrigs, OECD/Sahel and West Africa Club Head of Cities and Urbanization Julien Baskin, Cities League Senior Advisor François Yatta, UCLG Africa Director of Operations and Technical Support Stephane Achia, AfDB Urban Development Manager
debater
Ruth Nakatudde, President, East African Urban Planning Professional Association Kesia Rust, Executive Director and Founder, African Center for Affordable Housing Finance (CAHF)
Q&A
Closing Remarks: Solomon Quayner, Vice President, Private Sector, African Development Bank, Infrastructure and Industrialization
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