🎧 PODCAST | The value of cross-city learning exchanges In this conversation, recorded at our last city managers meeting in Kampala, ACRC's incoming CEO @goodfellowtom.bsky.social is joined by two of ACRC’s city managers: Jack Makau, Nairobi city manager, and Temilade Sesan, Lagos city manager.

📣 We're looking for a Research Fellow to join the ACRC team!

NEW | Neighbourhood and district economic development: Domain report 80% of urban workers in sub-Saharan Africa are employed in the informal sector and the vast majority work in household microenterprises (HMEs).

BLOG | What is urban development? Reflections from Zimbabwe and Harare “Urban development” is a term that is widely used but rarely unpacked. It often evokes images of new roads, housing estates and expanding city skylines.

💡 Cross-city learning exchanges: Lessons from Lagos and Nairobi Action research projects in our five implementation cities span an array of issues and systems – from solid waste management and urban markets to land tenure, property tax, climate resilience, and more.

PODCAST | Comparative learning through community exchange: A conversation with Jack Makau and Temilade Sesan This episode of Urban Radar explores how urban communities in informal settlements can build power through their own forms of knowledge and data collection.

Opportunity for early-career researchers in Africa! UNU-WIDER & the African Union launch a Winter School on Public Finance. 🗓️ Online: 28–30 July | In-person: 14–18 Sep (Addis Ababa) Apply by 7 June 2026: 🔗 go.unu.edu/s59tW

PODCAST | Building community-driven WASH solutions in Lagos In the informal settlement of Okerube in Lagos, the community faces significant challenges in accessing clean water and sanitation, which disproportionately impacts women and children.

📣 Webinar: Measuring de-facto land rights: Approaches, progress + persisting challenges Insights from the #MetRe project – a systematic + critical review of leading land governance measurement frameworks used worldwide. 📆 21 May 🕒 3:00-5:30pm BST sites.google.com/view/metre-p...

MetRe - Webinars

“Measuring De-facto Land Rights: Approaches, progress and persisting challenges”

sites.google.com

In Nairobi, the rain does not arrive quietly. It comes with a rhythm the city knows well: darkening skies, sudden downpours, and the slow but inevitable pooling of water along roads and footpaths.

PODCAST | Urban markets, informality and climate resilience in Harare In the latest African Cities episode, @chrisjords.bsky.social and Rosebella Apollo are joined by Harare-based practitioners George Masimba and Shiela Muganyi to explore what inclusive urban reform looks like in practice.

🌡️ BLOG | Melting metropolis? Why Lagos urgently needs an inclusive heat action plan Climate change has unveiled challenges for urban centres in Africa, especially large cities like Lagos.

NEW | Dumpsites: A community-led study of waste accumulation in Mathare, Nairobi Informal waste workers are the unseen backbone of Nairobi’s waste value chain – filling the gaps left by formal systems.

📑 NEW | Worlding Mogadishu: “New cities” and material modes of urban speculation Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, has undergone rapid transformation over the past 15 years. Following the state’s collapse in the 1990s, and subsequent rebuilding, it has become a site of diaspora return and investment.

"Universities have a choice: do they engage with these complexities and learn together with other urban residents – or stand back and risk defining their own irrelevance to the immediate communities around them?" New blog post on the value of reform coalitions from our CEO Diana Mitlin 👇

LSE Impact@lseimpactblog.bsky.social · 6mo ago

💥New | Reform coalitions can bridge the gap between community and academia ✍️ Diana Mitlin #AcademicSky #UrbanStudies #Universities @africancities.bsky.social @globaldevinst.bsky.social

💡 How are marginalised urban communities in Africa driving innovation? In this brilliant article for @d-and-c.bsky.social, our community knowledge lead Teurai Anna Nyamangara explores how residents of Harare's informal settlements are quietly innovating everyday 👇 www.dandc.eu/en/article/w...

How marginalised urban communities in Africa are driving innovation | D+C - Development + Cooperation

Africa’s cities are growing fast, and so is the need for inclusive, community-driven innovation. Residents of informal settlements are already developing practical solutions to the challenges they fac...

dandc.eu

NEW | Understanding the polemics around streetlighting in Lagos Safe streets make for safe cities, but a lack of lighting can exacerbate the everyday insecurity of urban residents. ACRC’s safety and security research in Lagos found the absence of streetlighting to be a key concern among residents.

🎉 We’re excited to welcome @goodfellowtom.bsky.social to @manchester.ac.uk as our incoming CEO! Tom is also joining as Professor of Urban Development at the @globaldevinst.bsky.social and will take over ACRC’s CEO role from Diana Mitlin in August this year.

🏙️ Equity and digitisation in the property tax system in Lagos: A win-win for all? Taxation is crucial for financing development. This new blog post explores how property tax reform in Lagos could benefit all urban residents 👇 www.african-cities.org/equity-and-d...

Equity and digitisation in the property tax system in Lagos: A win-win for all? - ACRC

Equitable taxation is about building fairer systems which align with a much-needed path to inclusive urban development. The Lagos property tax system can be improved to facilitate a win-win for all ur...

african-cities.org

NEW | Empowering youth through collaborative efforts: Addressing kush use and related challenges in Freetown Kush is a type of synthetic drug that is widely used by young people in Sierra Leone, especially in the informal settlements of Freetown.

Podcast | Unpacking housing challenges in African cities The housing challenge in African cities is far from consistent. Differing historical, sociopolitical and economic contexts mean cities are seeing urbanisation play out along differing trajectories – impacting housing.

📰 Where to now for African cities? A great feature in Nature Africa with Edgar Pieterse – and brilliant to see our work highlighted too! @nature.com @acc-uct.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/d44...

Where to now for African cities?

Researchers are crafting a new ‘African urban science’, rooted in local realities and embedded in collaborative practice.

nature.com

NOUVEAU | Bukavu : Rapport sur la ville La ville de Bukavu en République démocratique du Congo (RDC) est confrontée à des problèmes importants et complexes en matière de développement, liés à la gouvernance, à la décentralisation, à l’urbanisation et à la gestion des ressources.

NEW | Bukavu: City report The city of Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) faces significant and complex development challenges – related to governance, decentralisation, urbanisation and resource management.

NEW | Kampala: Health, wellbeing and nutrition More than 60% of Kampala’s 2.3 million residents reside in informal settlements. Yet despite the city being food-abundant, communities living in these neighbourhoods face significant barriers to accessing nutritious diets.

How can African cities reach net zero without sidelining development? As COP30 ends, our new blog shows why climate finance needs must reach local governance in order to advance both resilience and decarbonization. 🔗 go.unu.edu/p4vTm @africancities.bsky.social @globaldevinst.bsky.social

🎙️What opportunities exist for strengthening food systems in Lagos? This is the focus of our latest podcast conversation between Ismail Ibraheem, Taibat Lawanson, Folasade Adeboyejo and Deji Akinpelu.

New episode out now! A great listen for researchers, students, and advocates for knowledge coproduction Featuring Diana Mitlin, Melanie Lombard, myself & @goodfellowtom.bsky.social @coprofutures.bsky.social @africancities.bsky.social @sheffielduni.bsky.social @unishefplayer.bsky.social

Sheffield Urbanism @sheffieldurbanism.bsky.social · 11mo ago

New #UrbanRadar! URBAN INFORMALITY & TRANSLOCAL LEARNING In this feature, we discuss how urban community organisations in the global North - in Manchester & Sheffield - have learned from those in the South. open.spotify.com/episode/1dYQ... @goodfellowtom.bsky.social @itsbethperry.bsky.social

In Sheffield - in person event on 18th September - register below @africancities.bsky.social @goodfellowtom.bsky.social @itsbethperry.bsky.social sheffield.ac.uk/urban-instit...

Join the book launch for "Legal Empowerment in Informal Settlements: Grassroots Experiences in the Global South" – exploring community-led justice strategies that advance the human rights of residents in informal settlements. 📆 17 September 🕐 1pm BST 💻 us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Webinar - Informal Settlements: Communities Fight for Rights and Dignity. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting...

How can legal empowerment strategies transform life in informal settlements and put residents at the center of justice and development? Join us for the launch of "Legal Empowerment in Informal Settle...

us06web.zoom.us