insert_link South Africa S.A’s Human Settlements minister talks global human settlement reforms S.A's Human Settlements minister Mmamoloko Kubayi has confirmed Team South Africa’s commitment to global human settlement reforms at the 12th World Urban Forum in Cairo, Egypt. This marks the forum's first African session in 20 years. Kubayi emphasised South Africa’s focus on sustainable cities, advancement and implementation of sustainable urbanisation and supporting vulnerable communities as it reflects on 30 years of democracy: todayNovember 5, 2024 15
insert_link Environment Urban greening in Africa will help to build climate resilience – planners and governments need to work with nature By Sintayehu W. Dejene, CGIAR System Organization and Razak Kiribou, Haramaya University Nature-based solutions are actions that use nature to solve environmental problems. Examples in cities would be setting up a wetland near a group of buildings to absorb floodwater, or building permeable pavements. The world’s developed countries have been implementing nature-based solutions since 2015 but Africa has fallen behind. We are part of […] todayJuly 26, 2024 34
insert_link Africa Walking in African cities can be a miserable experience: Accra study shows planners ignore needs of pedestrians By Seth Asare Okyere, University of Arizona; Daniel Oviedo, UCL; Louis Kusi Frimpong, University of Environment and Sustainable Development ; Matthew Abunyewah, Charles Darwin University, and Stephen Leonard Mensah, University of Memphis African cities aren’t welcoming places for pedestrians. Yet walking is free and, given the shortage of decent public transport, it’s often the only way for people to move around. More than 70% of Africa’s […] todayMay 8, 2024 12
insert_link Africa Lagos: drugs, firearms and youth unemployment are creating a lethal cocktail in Nigeria’s commercial capital By Adewumi I. Badiora, Olabisi Onabanjo University Lagos is the most populous city in Africa and a regional economic giant, having west Africa’s busiest seaport. It is the centre of commercial and economic activities in Nigeria. The city’s population is estimated to be 20 million people. The existence of informal settlements makes it difficult to come up with a more precise number. Lagos has grown rapidly since […] todayFebruary 21, 2024 18
insert_link Africa Slums and guns in Bamako: what’s driving the illegal weapon trade in Mali’s capital city By Oluwole Ojewale, Institute for Security Studies As west Africa urbanises, many cities have become interconnected through trade, travel and technology, and crime has increased in complexity and scope. The proliferation of arms in west African cities, especially in the aftermath of conflicts in Libya (2011) and Mali (2012), has added to these challenges in Bamako, Mali’s capital. In 2018, the Small Arms Survey estimated that roughly […] todayFebruary 19, 2024 11
insert_link Business / Economics The rise of robo-retail: Who gets left behind when retail is automated? By Mathew Iantorno, University of Toronto Canada’s first robotic cafe, RC Coffee, opened in Toronto in October 2020. The flagship location of the coffee chain revived the long-dormant retail concept of the automat: a restaurant where food and drinks are served by technology, rather than human staff. The new coffee automat consisted of a touchscreen for placing orders, a window that allows customers to watch a […] todayFebruary 15, 2024 22
Africa Ghana: Kumasi city’s unplanned boom is destroying two rivers – sewage, heavy metals and chemical pollution detected By Stephen Appiah Takyi, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and Owusu Amponsah, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Ghana’s urban population has more than tripled in the past three decades, from 4 million to nearly 14 million people. Competition for land in cities has increased among various land uses. These trends have led to encroachment in ecologically sensitive areas such as wetlands. Kumasi, […] todayFebruary 8, 2024 17
insert_link Environment Why are floods in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal so devastating? Urban planning expert explains By Hope Magidimisha-Chipungu, University of KwaZulu-Natal The devastation caused by the recent floods in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa demonstrates again that the country is not moving fast enough to adopt appropriate urban planning. It should be integrating risk assessment and management in the design and development of cities. This is becoming more urgent as the frequency of floods increases. Most South African cities were built a long time ago, before […] todayJanuary 22, 2024 16
insert_link Namibia Ondangwa allocates land to the Namibian Police for Omashaka substation The Ondangwa Town Council has allocated a portion of land to the Namibian Police Force to construct a substation at Omashaka. Here’s the town’s mayor Paavo Amwele. todayJanuary 8, 2024 28