Sustainable Cities in sub–Saharan Africa

Sustainability especially of African cities is an important area of focus of DC L’Afrique. One of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), established by the UN General Assembly in 2015, focuses on the development of “sustainable cities and communities.” The aim of SDG 11 is to “make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.” In the same vein, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emphasizes on actions cities need to take in the next decade and how important these are. It further outlines the fact that cities, the world over, have a chance to increase resource efficiency and significantly reduce GHG emissions specifically through smart design and green infrastructure. 

Across the world, urban populations have been predicted to rise from 55 to 68 percent of the world’s population and cities are significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. For this reason, the goals and demands of international actors concerning the establishment of sustainable cities are legitimate and absolutely needed. However, big questions for the African continent are how does this play out currently? At what pace should African countries move towards the building and creation of these cities? And of course, what actions have been taken so far in some of Africa’s major cities.   

The population of Africa is on the rise, with its total predicted to double by the year 2050 and two-thirds of this population predicted to be absorbed into urban areas.  The yearly population growth rate, across the continent, a few years ago, between 2010 to 2015, was 1.3 percent compared with that of the world’s standing at 1.018 percent during the same period. Even more, the urban population in Africa has rapidly grown from 27 percent in 1950 to 40 percent in 2015 and is predicted to reach 60 percent by 2050.

Goal 7 of the African Union Agenda 2063 reiterates calls for the building of environmentally sustainable and climate resilient economies and communities across the continent and so far, some African states have taken initiatives towards achieving this goal.

A few African cities have shifted to powering their transport systems with renewable energy. Cape Town (South Africa) has been the trailblazer when it comes to providing  affordable and secure energy access. This is particularly profound as the city finds itself in a country where coal made up 83% electricity generation as of 2016 compared to renewables chalking just 8%. Transportation is the main sector when it comes to energy demand, so the city is exploring the use of renewables for this sector. In terms of its transport mitigation strategy, the aim is to build an efficient and electric transport network through their EASIA framework (Enable, Avoid, Shift, Improve, Adapt). This entails ensuring productivity and efficiency in terms of governance, land use, multimodal systems, road space usage and vehicles and proper adaptation of infrastructure to climate hazards. Simply put, the changes are shifting to walking and cycling, use of Electric Vehicles in transport and a proactive rail and public transport system.

Other cities take a more holistic approach. The City of Cocody, north of Abidjan, (Côte d’Ivoire) released its Green City Plan in 2017, which covers upgrading energy use and generation, transport, habitat restoration and land use, conservation and protection of water resources, community sensitization and adoption. The plan pledges to reduce carbon emissions by 70% by 2030 to combat climate change.

The aim of the plan was to complement the national goal of 42% renewable electricity generation by 2030 according to Côte d’Ivoire‘s 2016 Nationally Determined Contribution submitted during COP21. More specifically the plan seeks to reduce local GHG emissions while simultaneously creating jobs (100,000 direct and 400,000 indirect jobs) while pushing opportunities for women and increasing citizen participation in adopting sustainable living.

As of 2017, 23 measures were under development to help reduce carbon emissions as part of the Green City Plan for Cocody. These include:

• the use of solar energy to power large public buildings

• installing 5,000 solar lamp posts -installing 1,600 solar traffic lights at -400 crossroads 

• supplying 200,000 solar PV power kits to households. 

• distributing to households 300,000 efficient cook stoves that run on ethanol (sourced from local sugarcane manufacturers)

• producing 1,000 solar dryers for community women

• distributing solar water heaters 

• setting up four wind farms on the banks of Ebrie lagoon.

In Dakar (Senegal), the country’s national economic and social development plan  (Plan Senegal Emergent, PSE 2025) targets a 23% share of on-grid renewables in power generation by 2030. The Master Plan for Urban Development of Dakar and Its Surroundings (PDU) seeks to secure 15% local electricity production from renewables by 2035 and to decrease dependence on diesel power generation from 90% in 2013 to 5% in 2035. Dakar also seeks to solve the high energy demand in the  transport sector, which is made of inefficient transport networks and aging vehicle fleets, leading to urban mobility challenges.

In response, the national transport organization, Conseil Exécutif des Transports Urbains de Dakar (CETUD), has piloted the city’s mobility and urban planning strategy, the (PDUD 2008-2025). This entails three major projects – the Express Transit Train (TER), bus rapid transit and renewal of the on-road transport fleet. The target with these initiatives is to increase the share of electrification and reduce fossil fuel dependence across these transport modes and simultaneously decrease drastically air pollution from on-road transport emissions by 2030.

Undoubtedly, as Africa’s population continues to rise  and with a projected doubling of the numbers by 2050, the continent does face a growing challenge. Yet still, there are huge opportunities to create the sustainable African cities we want and need for the future. We believe that countries must begin to look proactively at a plethora of sectors like renewable energy, electric transportation forms, basic infrastructure, creation of jobs and housing.  Governments and the private sector alike must push ample resources to support development in these sectors. Investment in the right infrastructure is the way to go to successfully create sustainable African cities – true to their culture yet friendly to the environment.