African Cities Research Consortium

NEW | Kampala: City report Kampala is Uganda’s capital city, serving as its major administrative and commercial centre. One of Africa’s fastest-expanding cities, it is growing at an annual rate of 5.6%, with a daytime population of over 4.5 million. Yet the city’s urban planning functions and infrastructure are struggling to keep pace with the needs of its growing population. A new report by Paul Mukwaya, Judith Mbabazi and Henrik Ernstson draws on political, systems and domain studies to analyse urban development in Kampala. It explores how national and city-level politics and urban systems have shaped development across four key domains: >  informal settlements > youth and capability development > land and connectivity > health, wellbeing and nutrition The authors identify priority reforms that Kampala urgently requires and highlight the huge potential for citizen agency across the city, with residents demanding urban reform around key service delivery challenges. With thanks to the following researchers for their contributions: Daniel Ochieng, Ritah Nakanjako, Kareem Buyana, Hafisa Namuli Nsibambi, Gloria Seruwagi, Henry Bazira PhD, Maria Ssematiko, Peter Kasaija, ACTogether Uganda, Eria Serwajja, LUNYAGO MUHAMED, Kobusingye Doreen Nancy PhD., Nansozi Suzie Muwanga and Patricia Liola Tona Katto.

Over the past few days, we engaged with The University of Manchester Kenya #Campaign #Outreach and hosted a field visit to #Mathare, reinforcing the vital role of community-led research in shaping policies on health, climate resilience, and urban development. Shack Dwellers International Kenya (SDI Kenya) through our Executive Director Kimani Joseph highlighted the need for co-creating solutions with researchers, policymakers, and communities to drive sustainable urban planning, infrastructure development, and accessible healthcare. By leveraging grassroots data and lived experiences, we can build evidence-based policies that foster resilience and systemic change. The Mathare visit showcased how research translates into action including: ✅ #Waste Management Strategy – The Mathare 4B Buyback Centre enables local youth and households to earn from sorting and recycling. ✅ #Physical Address System – Structured addressing has improved #service #delivery, emergency response, and #urban #planning. ✅ #Resilience Hubs – Supported by Nairobi City County, these hubs will enhance knowledge-sharing on #waste #management, #climate #adaptation, and #disaster #preparedness. This action research, part of the African Cities Research Consortium, is designed to integrate waste management with economic empowerment, ensuring scalable, sustainable, and community-driven solutions. These aspects will guide the research as it is implemented in the 13 villages of Mathare. #ClimateResilience #UrbanDevelopment #CommunityLedResearch #SustainableCities #ACRC #Decentwork #Urbanplanning

We attended the African Cities Research Consortium Nairobi City Foundation Phase Report Launch, a significant moment for evaluating Nairobi’s urban future. As ACRC transitions from research (2021–2024) to implementation (2024–2028), the focus is now on converting insights into action. Our key takeaways from the discussions were: 🔹 Realism in decision-making is crucial for achieving meaningful change. Strategies must be aligned with on-the-ground realities to ensure lasting impact. 🔹 Job creation and employability need to evolve beyond traditional methods. Enhancing economic opportunities requires rethinking the generation of employment, rather than merely preparing individuals for existing jobs. 🔹 Development must be measurable and sustainable. Progress is often celebrated but can fade quickly, raising concerns about development gravity and the durability of urban interventions. 🔹 Mindset is the foundation of transformation. No organization can grow beyond the constraints of its prevailing mindset. Addressing mental infrastructure is as essential as physical infrastructure in shaping Nairobi’s future. As part of the four projects entering the implementation phase, SDI Kenya is spearheading efforts to develop a waste management business model that integrates economic opportunities for communities while tackling Nairobi’s waste challenges. This represents an exciting step toward creating sustainable and inclusive solutions.

Day 3: As a partner institution in the African Cities Research Consortium we were delighted to host a delegation from the The University of Manchester for a field visit to Mathare. During this visit, we showcased our action research project focused on developing a comprehensive waste management strategy that incorporates a strong business component. The delegation explored several key aspects of our initiative, including: ✅ Waste Management Strategy Development (Buyback Centre in Mathare 4B) – We observed how local youth and households engage in waste sorting and recycling, generating income while promoting environmental sustainability. ✅ Physical Address System – We witnessed community efforts to establish a structured addressing system that has improved service delivery, emergency response, and urban planning in the Mathare settlement. ✅ Resilience Hubs – We highlighted the Nairobi County Government’s support in allocating space for resilience hubs, which serve as community information centers to enhance knowledge-sharing on waste management, climate adaptation, and disaster preparedness. This action research emphasizes the importance of integrating waste management with economic empowerment, ensuring that our solutions are scalable, sustainable, and community-led. We remain committed to co-producing strategies that bridge research, policy, and grassroots action for a cleaner, healthier, and more resilient Mathare.

In our latest 'GDI in Discussion', we had the pleasure of speaking with Smith Ouma, a Leverhulme Early Career Researcher at GDI 📽️ Prior to this role, Smith was also a postdoc research fellow with the African Cities Research Consortium. In the interview, Smith talks to us about his work on the political economy of informal settlements and social housing, as well as his collaborations with ACRC, Shack Dwellers International Kenya (SDI Kenya), and Community Savers CLASS. In the clip below, we asked Smith about his favourite part of being a researcher. Watch in full on our YouTube: https://lnkd.in/euT6pDbu

Urban transformation requires bold conversations and decisive action. As a partner of the African Cities Research Consortium, we were honored to join ACRC, SDI. (Slum Dwellers International), and others in launching the Nairobi City Foundation Phase Report. Key messages included: 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗮𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 Evidence-informed decision-making was echoed amongst speakers. Planner Mairura Omwenga of the University of Nairobi pointed out that "enough data that is integrated helps in informing decisions." Dr. Silvester Kasuku from the Executive Office of the President noted that "numbers tell a stubborn truth,“ reminding us that statistics should not just sit in reports—they must drive implementation. ACRC's Nairobi City Manager, Mr. Jack Makau, outlined key findings, including political settlements, housing, health, safety, & security. 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 Mr. Abdul Kargbo, Charge d’Affaires, High Commission of Sierra Leone, Nairobi, emphasized that "reality is fundamental in contextualizing transformation in our cities." He opined that urban development cannot be based on abstract ideas alone; it must be deeply rooted in the realities and contextualised for people and places. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 Dr. Wale Akinyemi, a renowned publisher and organizational culture consultant, observed that while physical infrastructure can be improved, the real challenge lies in shifting the "mental infrastructure," which is “the rough and ready ways that have become entrenched in our cities.” Development must therefore overcome past promises recycled every electoral cycle if true transformation is to be achieved. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 "A city is a concentration of services.". Former diplomat Ambassador Makdwallo recounted with a lot of nostalgia a time in the 1970s when urban services functioned seamlessly. He argued that while urbanization comes with taxation, corruption stifles planning, and people fuel the market for illegal settlements and trading. He wondered whether our cities should be allowed to grow organically or be deliberately planned. 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻-𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝗨𝗿𝗯𝗮𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 Prof. Lwasa suggested designing African cities in a context to include even those in informal settlements. While acknowledging that standardization and universalization are important, he encouraged embracing a hybrid design approach tailored to African realities. The day's moderator, ACRC Political Settlement Research Lead, Dr. Susan Mwanzia, challenged everyone to ensure effective strategies and monitoring plans are in place to turn the findings into action. The question remains: 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙙𝙤 𝙬𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙙𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙩? Full report: https://bit.ly/41csyv1 Pauline Ngimwa, PhD. Dr. Sam Oando Rosebella Apollo M. PRSK Jerry OKAL Amollo Ambole Wavinya Mutua

An ACRC research team of waste workers in Mathare, Nairobi (including waste collectors, aggregators, and scavengers) has been conducting a study to understand how local residents are involved in the waste value chain. Waste work is often viewed as dirty and undesirable, typically done out of necessity rather than choice. The knowledge gained from the analysis will equip the workers with a deep understanding of issues and solutions related to solid waste across an entire jurisdiction, rather than just within their specific working area. Stay tuned for a detailed blog post where we'll dive deeper into the findings and explore the broader impact of this research. #MakingSlumsVisible #InclusiveCities

NEW | Nairobi: City report Nairobi is central to the Kenyan economy, as a key political battleground and a hub for business networks and national and transnational trade. Yet it faces an increasingly complex set of socioeconomic, health and spatial inequalities. A new report by Alice Sverdlik, Linda Nkatha Gichuiya, Zoltán Glück, karuti kanyinga, Wangui Kimari, Joshua Magero, Ph.D., Miriam M. Maina, George Michuki, Veronica Mwangi, Baraka Mwau, Inviolata Njoroge, Lilian Otiso and Samuel Owuor synthesises insights on Nairobi’s urban development from ACRC’s research in the city. Exploring how national and city-level politics, urban systems and configurations of actors, agencies, ideas and practices have shaped Nairobi’s development, the report examines key challenges and emerging opportunities. The research focuses on urban development domains with potential to catalyse progressive interventions: > safety and security > health, wellbeing and nutrition > housing > structural transformation Key opportunities to foster inclusive urbanisation include vibrant policy networks, start-ups and mobilised civil society actors – such as a flourishing network of grassroots social justice centres – which make Nairobi a fertile ground for innovations and reform coalitions.

Call for applications | Chapter scientist to support the IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Cities The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is in the process of preparing the IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Cities to be delivered in the first quarter of 2027. In this call for applications, Working Group II (WG II) is seeking highly motivated individuals from developing countries to apply as Chapter Scientist to support author teams for the Special Report. Further information on the report outline can be found here: https://lnkd.in/euPfkbSA Deadline: Friday 14 February 2025 (midnight CET) Submit your application >> https://lnkd.in/ewDk_2tP

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