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Architect building a photo library of the Lagos cityscape is also changing the narrative on how we view African architecture

Architect building a photo library of the Lagos cityscape is also changing the narrative on how we view African architecture

WHILE commuters are trying to escape the snaking rush hour traffic backed up around the Lagos metropolis, Tolulope Sanusi is calmly setting up for work, 13 floors above the gridlock. This is Africa’s second-largest city, with an estimated population of more than 20 million people. From up on her rooftop perch, the gridlock resembles serpentine coils, choking the city. Soon, the coils will release their hold and the city will be free - at least for a few hours, before the next rush hour. Sanusi, an architecture photographer, has been commissioned to capture images of Stanbic Bank's headquarters on Victoria…
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Lagos city planning has a history of excluding residents: it’s happening again

Lagos city planning has a history of excluding residents: it’s happening again

IN Lagos, a megacity with a population estimated at 21 million, the state government has been building a satellite city, known as Eko Atlantic. At the same time, it has been destroying informal settlements, where as much as 60%-70% of Lagos’s population may live. HALIMAT SOMOTAN, Assistant Professor of African Studies, Georgetown University Makoko, a community on the mainland of Lagos, is one of the places threatened with demolition. Its residents, who originated from coastal communities in the Niger Delta, Benin, Togo and Ghana, claim to have occupied the area since the early 1900s. Half of the population resides in…
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Rising megacities: A superhighway for Africa’s shared mobility market

Rising megacities: A superhighway for Africa’s shared mobility market

AS Africa's urban centres continue to grow and with an increasing number of cities now expected to surpass 10 million residents, the shared mobility sector is expanding fast too, raising prospects of more income for cab-hailing companies and drivers. Global management firm, Oliver Wyman, has revealed in a new report that ride-hailing, scooter or e-bike rentals, and car-sharing, which together make up the shared mobility sector, could double in size on the continent by 2030, generating an additional 550,000 employment opportunities. The report, ‘Shared Mobility's Global Impact,’ supported by data made accessible for the first time by global mobility operator…
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Cities face huge climate finance gap, study says

Cities face huge climate finance gap, study says

CITIES are receiving only a fraction of the climate finance they need, especially in low-income countries, according to a study published on the sidelines of the COP28 climate talks. The Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance (CCFLA) said cities are on the front line of climate hazards and responsible for three-quarters of global emissions, but multilateral development banks (MDB) needed to adopt new strategies to address a gaping financing gap. Cities were receiving only 1% of the climate finance they required, which is estimated to be as high as $5.4 trillion per year up to 2030, according to the study, the…
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Building African cities that cope with climate shocks – experts outline what it will take

Building African cities that cope with climate shocks – experts outline what it will take

THE international climate change negotiations began almost three decades ago when many were still hesitant to accept that human activities were changing the planet. Now the scientific evidence is unequivocal. Climate change is a major threat to our wellbeing, the health of the planet and the ecosystems we rely on. DEBRA ROBERTS, Head: Sustainable and Resilient City Initiatives Unit, EThekwini Municipality; Honorary Professor, University of KwaZulu Natal and Co-Chair of Working Group II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, University of KwaZulu-Natal MEGGAN SPIRES, Director: Climate Change, Energy & Resilience, ICLEI Africa, ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability But…
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Addis Ababa faces growing climate change risks like heat, drought and floods, study warns

Addis Ababa faces growing climate change risks like heat, drought and floods, study warns

ADDIS Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital city, will likely face increased heatwaves, droughts and severe flooding over the next 67 years. These changes will pose risks to public health and infrastructure. They’ll also be felt most acutely by the city’s most vulnerable residents: those living in informal settlements. ABAY YIMERE, Postdoctoral Scholar in International Environment and Resource Policy, The Fletcher School, Tufts University Addis Ababa is one of the fastest-growing cities in Africa, and its current metropolitan population of about 5.4 million is projected to reach close to 9 million by 2035. This increase in the city’s population will be absorbed by…
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Somaliland: Berbera city’s growth is being held back by a power supply monopoly

Somaliland: Berbera city’s growth is being held back by a power supply monopoly

SOMALILAND’S main port, at the city of Berbera, accounted for two-thirds of the country’s revenues in 2020. Over the years, these revenues have mostly gone into the central state coffers, while the development of Berbera has been neglected. NASIR M. ALI, Lecturer of Political Science and International Relations, University of Hargeisa AYAN YUSUF ALI, Research Manager at the Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Hargeisa JUTTA BAKONYI, Professor in Development and Conflict, Durham University When we visited the city for our research project on port infrastructure, international politics, and everyday life, this neglect was immediately visible. Buildings in…
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Cities are central to our future – they have the power to make, or break, society’s advances

Cities are central to our future – they have the power to make, or break, society’s advances

WE live in tumultuous times. In the space of just a few years, we have witnessed a surge in populist politics across the world, a global pandemic, a spike in environmental disasters and a fraying of geopolitical relations demonstrated by the tragic war in Ukraine and escalating tensions over Taiwan. That has all occurred against a backdrop of dramatic technological changes that are fundamentally altering the way we work and relate to one another. Our future is in the balance. Cities will be central to our fate, for two reasons. IAN GOLDIN, Professor of Globalisation and Development; Director of the…
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Urban Fusion: Nairobi and Cape Town as sister cities

Urban Fusion: Nairobi and Cape Town as sister cities

NAIROBI and Cape Town recently signed a city-to-city cooperation agreement to enhance development collaboration. An event hosted in Nairobi brought together Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja and Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis to mark the occasion. "This [agreement] will allow us to remove any remaining obstacle to the free flow of people, skills and services between the two cities," Sakaja said. On the other hand, Hill-Lewis acknowledged the common agenda in both cities centred on global competitiveness. "Both our regions are tourism giants on the African continent, and both our cities are considered gateways to our countries' many attractions. Nairobi and…
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Farms in cities: new study offers planners and growers food for thought

Farms in cities: new study offers planners and growers food for thought

URBAN agriculture as a global phenomenon is widely promoted as a sustainable land use practice. On small plots and in big projects, using sophisticated technology or simple solutions, city dwellers around the world are producing food. Growing food in a city can improve local food security and express local culture. Authors JAN HUGO, Senior lecturer in Sustainable and Climate Responsive Architecture, University of Pretoria ANDY VAN DEN DOBBELSTEEN, Professor of Climate Design & Sustainability, Delft University of Technology CHRISNA DU PLESSIS, Professor and Head of Department, Architecture, University of Pretoria Little information is available, though, on what kinds of spaces…
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