UN-Habitat recently announced the publication of ‘The State of African Cities 2010: Governance, Inequality and Urban Land Markets’, the latest report in the series.
The report emphasises the rapidity of African urban population growth (the total urban population is expected to triple over the next 40 years) in the context of increasing climate-related risks. However, the report also highlights the progress made towards improving the lives of slum dwellers across the continent, and notes that the total proportion of slum dwellers in North Africa has been reduced from 20 to 13 percent over the last decade.
The document sends strong messages to African policymakers:
Urbanization is here to stay and within a few decades, Africa will be predominantly urban. Already huge urban corridors across Africa are engines of economic growth… The issue now is for regional and national governments, local authorities and all other stakeholders to pull together to ensure the efficient management of urban agglomerations. Smart urban policies could help spread the benefits and lift the continent out of poverty…
It is interesting to note that today in many parts of the world, poor people take advantage of urban-rural mobility to live in multiple locations. This is especially true of slum dwellers who retain links with their rural homesteads. Policymakers and planners need to take such fluidity into account when planning the shelter needs of the poor.
Click here to download the report.
