Africa to chart new roadmap for urban renewal, says ex-CoK mayor

A pan-African approach to catalyse urban renewal will be the focus of a conference in Nairobi, senior officials of the UN Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat) have said.The New Urban Agenda for Africa conference, scheduled for December 4-6, will bring together 100 delegates from 40 African countries to discuss homegrown solutions to urbanisation challenges, including crime, pollution, traffic congestion and slums.“This is an opportune moment for Africa to reflect on the impact of urbanisation to sustainable development,” said Aisa Kacyira Kirabo, the deputy executive director of UN-Habitat.UN-Habitat will host the three-day conference on strengthening partnerships for a new urban agenda in Africa.Participants, drawn from government, civil society, academia and the private sector, will attend the conference to discuss imperatives for sustainable urbanisation in Africa.Kirabo said sustainable urbanisation in Africa can only be realised if countries forge strategic partnerships to share experience and know-how.She regretted that policy, legal and infrastructural hiccups have worsened urbanisation challenges in Africa.“The major factors that have contributed to current urban poverty and chaotic physical expansion in African cities is lack of prioritisation of urbanisation in national development,” said Kirabo, a former City of Kigali (CoK) mayor.Currently, 40 per cent of Africa’s population live in cities and could reach 60 per cent by 2050 as countries experience rural-urban influx. “Rapid population growth in cities has created a backlog on basic services such as water, sanitation, health and housing,” said Mariam Yunusa, the coordinator of Partners and Inter-agency Coordination Branch, UN-Habitat. In 2012, African ministers for housing and urban development agreed on four key pillars to revitalise sustainable urbanisation, including integrated national urban policies, institutional and legal reforms, partnerships and efficient urban planning.

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Africa to chart new roadmap for urban renewal, says ex-CoK mayor