Latest News + Insights
Journalism and urban challenges in Lagos
Media coverage can play a critical role in securing political traction for urban issues and ensuring accountability of decision makers. While researchers are ideally placed to highlight new trends, problems and potential solutions, in practice, there is often a gap.
Is soil filling a solution to flooding in Kampala’s Ggaba Market?
Ggaba Market, located on the shores of Lake Victoria in Makindye Division, Kampala, is one of the city’s most lucrative markets for fish, fresh produce and basic essentials. For years, the market has battled with seasonal flooding, most significantly in 2021.
Uncovering the hidden dynamics of solid waste management in Mathare, Nairobi
Informal waste workers are the unseen backbone of Nairobi’s waste value chain. Moving from households to dumpsites, then to recyclers, farmers, businesses and other end users, they keep solid waste flowing – filling the gaps left by formal systems.
Melting metropolis? Why Lagos urgently needs an inclusive heat action plan
With a current population of approximately 20 million, the current rate of growth indicates that Lagos might become the largest city globally by 2100. Physical development patterns associated with the current urbanisation rate result in urban heat island (UHI) effects.
Expanding school feeding in Nairobi’s informal settlements
On 4 February 2026, LVCT Health and ACRC convened a validation workshop to review findings from a pilot study examining the potential of school feeding programmes in Nairobi’s informal school sector.
Empowering Mogadishu’s young people in civic activism and urban citizenship
Building on ACRC’s research in Mogadishu, the Heritage Institute for Policy Studies organised a three-day workshop on “Empowering youth for civic activism and urban citizenship”, in collaboration with ACRC and the Somali Gender and Equity Movement (SGEM).
Watch: Water, sanitation and dignity in Mukuru Viwandani
A new video showcases the power of collaboration between government, civil society organisations, development partners and local communities in delivering transformative and inclusive water and sanitation services to marginalised residents of the Mukuru informal settlements in Nairobi.
Streetlights in Lagos can boost safety and grow the economy – why not everyone benefits
Streetlighting plays a crucial role in public safety and security, and it promotes inclusive social and economic development by boosting local commerce, street businesses and community engagement.
In the shadow of Nairobi’s expansion: From peasants to paupers
In a new open access book, Peasants to Paupers: Land, Class and Kinship in Central Kenya, Peter Lockwood – former Hallsworth Fellow at The University of Manchester and now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Goettingen – tells the human stories behind Kenya’s rapid urban expansion and the families being left behind.
Crime-fighting in Lagos: Community watch groups are the preferred choice for residents, but they carry risks
Criminal activities have developed into a security crisis in Nigeria. Alongside the responses of security agencies such as the police and military, there has been a huge local response, with community groups mobilising in the face of criminal attacks.
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