Latest News + Insights
What a receding Harare City means for urban markets
In this blog miniseries looking at urban markets in Harare, this first post explores the City of Harare’s receding role in urban markets.
Community-led climate action: Strengthening resilience in Harare’s informal settlements
As part of a miniseries covering progress in the ISCCA project in Harare, this first blog post outlines the climate action goals the initiative seeks to achieve and what’s been happening so far.
A recurrent epidemic: Why anticipatory action is key to mitigating cholera in Maiduguri
On 4 May, the first case of cholera in 2026 was confirmed in Maiduguri, three days after it was reported. This index case was traced to a water point located in a densely populated informal settlement.
Harare urban markets indaba: More than just a policy dialogue
Recognising the centrality of urban markets to Harare’s economy, ACRC convened an urban markets indaba – or conference – under the theme: “Repositioning Harare’s urban markets as inclusive, productive, resilient and well-governed city systems”.
Between law and praxis: Navigating land governance in Kampala’s informal settlements
Buying a piece of land – locally referred to as a “plot”, though not in the formal sense of a plot – in Kampala’s informal settlements is a complex experience.
Podcast: The value of cross-city learning exchanges
ACRC city managers Jack Makau and Temilade Sesan join Tom Goodfellow to talk about the action research that’s underway in their cities, along with how urban communities in informal settlements can build power through their own forms of knowledge and data collection, and how two-way exchanges between cities can strengthen this process.
Supporting community responses to kush in Freetown: Next steps
Although ACRC’s funding of action research in Freetown on the synthetic drug, kush, came to an end in September 2025, its legacy continues. There is ongoing work to address the challenges of reducing kush use, building on the gains of the action research.
Unpacking the complexity of informal urban land governance in Kisenyi informal settlement, Kampala
During ACRC’s foundation phase, the Kampala land and connectivity domain research revealed how relevant and critical local councils (LCs) are in land transfers, especially in informal settlements. To deepen our understanding of this challenge, we are conducting action research in Kisenyi informal settlement in Kampala.
Building capacity and raising awareness around urban issues in Lagos
Following a capacity building workshop held by DevReporting, eight selected journalists have received one-on-one editorial guidance from mentors to help strengthen their evidence gathering and maximise story quality and impact.
Organic composting and tricycle operator cooperatives: Tackling Accra’s growing waste crisis through action research
Around 60% of Accra’s residents live in informal settlements characterised by inadequate infrastructure for solid waste management. ACRC is conducting two action research projects aimed at addressing the city’s solid waste management challenges.
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