Latest News + Insights
Equity and digitisation in the property tax system in Lagos: A win-win for all?
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 urban residents.
Tackling Freetown’s kush epidemic through action research
Kush is a type of synthetic drug that is widely used by young people in Sierra Leone, especially in the informal settlements of Freetown. It is inexpensive and readily available, making it highly accessible to unemployed and marginalised youth. Its use is associated with a range of harmful effects, including extreme sedation, organ damage and mental health complications.
Podcast: Unpacking housing challenges in African cities
ACRC’s housing domain co-leads Alexandre Apsan Frediani and Ola Uduku join Diana Mitlin for a conversation around housing justice in African cities, drawing on insights from the seven cities studied in their report: Accra, Addis Ababa, Dar es Salaam, Freetown, Lagos, Lilongwe and Nairobi.
Nouvelle étude : Mieux comprendre les dynamiques urbaines et l’arrangement politique de Bukavu
Dans un nouveau rapport de l’ACRC, Emery Mushagalusa Mudinga, Aymar Nyenyezi Bisoka et Philippe Mulumeoderhwa Kaganda examinent comment la politique et les systèmes urbains influencent et sont influencés par les défis du développement urbain à Bukavu dans divers domaines.
New research: Understanding Bukavu’s urban dynamics and political settlement
A new ACRC report by Emery Mushagalusa Mudinga, Aymar Nyenyezi Bisoka and Philippe Mulumeoderhwa Kaganda analyses how politics and urban systems shape urban development challenges in Bukavu.
New research: How political and urban systems shape access to healthy diets in Kampala’s informal settlements
A new ACRC working paper explores the challenges that informal settlement residents in Kampala face in accessing healthy food, the political and systemic issues underpinning these, and potential ways to improve health, wellbeing and nutrition in the city.
Building partnerships in development: What needs to change?
The International Development Committee recently launched an inquiry into the future of the UK’s international aid and development assistance programmes. We believe the design and experiences of ACRC offers important insights and our CEO Diana Mitlin submitted written evidence to the inquiry.
Reevaluating research partnerships: Insights from the Early Market Engagement Forum in Nairobi
Jack Makau and Wavinya Mutua from ACRC’s Nairobi city team shared their insights about community-led led research initiatives at FCDO and PwC’s Evidence Fund Early Market Engagement (EME) event earlier this year.
Is Lagos moving in circles on local government autonomy?
In July 2024, Nigeria’s Supreme Court delivered a unanimous judgment affirming the financial autonomy of the country’s 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs). Yet a lack of autonomy over the years has impacted local service provision across all LGAs in Nigeria, leaving them unable to satisfactorily provide core urban services, such as primary education, sanitation, waste management and primary healthcare.
Learning in Lagos
As a consortium, we’re trying to learn what catalyses inclusive urban reform across African cities. But what does that really mean in practice, as well as in theory?
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