By Chris Jordan

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?

This was the overarching question for our recent meeting in Lagos between our senior management team, our city managers, urban, politics and community researchers from across the consortium. We wanted to better understand how is learning happening across individual action research projects, at the city scale – and beyond. How are we capturing and communicating the insights and broader implications that come out of this learning?

We started out with our political settlements research director Tim Kelsall  reminding people of ACRC’s conceptual framework and theory of change.  City teams set to work drawing out their learning journeys over the last couple of years, charting key milestones, challenges and successes. We rounded off by move from empirical learning to theoretical learning – interrogating what are these journeys telling us about our conceptual framework, and the other way around.

Thunderstruck

As the rain poured and thunder rolled, the second day of our workshop began with a deep dive into the learning processes, challenges and insights from the Lagos team.

Despite the challenges of coordination and communication, there was consensus that the experiences and perspectives of the wider team have been invaluable in creating real momentum – and it also provides a vital platform for learning. Insights have emerged via internal discussion, listening to communities, dialogue with city officials, through data collection, interdisciplinary approaches – and by doing the actions research projects.

Picking up from the city learning journey’s yesterday, we interrogated the empirical knowledge that has been generated and how it sheds light on ACRC’s theory of change – across mobilised communities, elite commitment, state capacity and reform coalitions. The rich experiences from Accra, Harare, Kampala, Lagos and Nairobi are already starting to paint a vivid picture of how best to catalyse inclusive and sustainable change in Africa’s growing cities.

We spent much of the afternoon in a ‘fishbowl’, discussing how these insights were being captured – and how they were shared between action research projects, city managers and urban development researchers. A fascinating dialogue flowed, highlighting the tensions between planned and emergent learning, between implementing action research project and understanding how the projects contribute to catalysing change – and by the desire to get more detail, with the challenge of making sense of complexity and nuance.

Despite these knotty issues, Diana Mitlin’s initial anxiety that learning wasn’t being fully captured proved not to be the case. The main challenge we have is making sense of the huge amount of information that we’re already generating – but recent reflections from the Nairobi team may point the way.

He bangs the drums

With the rain passed, we left the hotel behind to visit two of the action research projects that have recently got off the ground in the city.

First was a trip to Okerube, where an SDI group are pushing to provide clean water points and proper toilet facilities in the community. To ensure the project is sustainable, they’re setting up a social enterprise that will direct any profits back into maintaining and expanding the facilities.

The women led group have been working hard behind the scenes to bring the local Community Development Associations on side, as well as existing water vendors and local politicians. Indeed, we were greeted at the site by local councillor Hon. Olawale Hassan, as well as the traditional authority figures in the community, who confirmed that land would be allocated for the initiative.

The next steps will be build, then test the running of the facilities.

As we left, we were also discovered a hidden talent of urban development researcher Prince Anokye from the Accra team, ending the meeting in a party atmosphere!

The end

Our final day in Lagos focused on reflecting on discussions, the ideas we’ve had and the insights we gained.

We talked though the similarities and differences between the ACRC cities – around politics, alignment, timing, negotiation with actors within the community, unintended consequences, the ongoing influence of colonial-era laws – and how we could best navigate this complexity.

Then it was onto developing concrete city plans to further improve the ways that reflection and learning was happening within teams. Deepening communication and finding better ways to share learning was a common theme.

With Tom Goodfellow‘s arrival at ACRC on the horizon, teams brainstormed ways to bring him up to speed with all the progress so far. People who’ve met Tom described him as ‘open, strategic, published, sharp, accommodating and connected’ … and hopefully we made him blush from afar!

The workshop finished off with an impromptu opportunity for the group to shower Diana Mitlin with praise and thanks. Although she’ll be with us for a while yet, it was a lovely opportunity for us to show our deep appreciation for her thoughtful, dynamic and empathetic leadership over many years.

Photo credits: Chris Jordan

Note: This article presents the views of the authors featured and does not necessarily represent the views of the African Cities Research Consortium as a whole.

The African Cities blog is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which means you are welcome to repost this content as long as you provide full credit and a link to this original post.

Earlier this month, our CEO Professor Diana Mitlin participated at the 9th Urbanization and Development Conference, organised by the World Bank and the International Growth Centre in Cape Town.

As a former economist, Diana has long been keen to bring economists into conversation with other development practitioners and researchers.

Reflecting on the varied discussions at the conference, Diana said:

“In many African cities, we are witnessing remarkable urban innovation. This is often driven by local governments working alongside organised communities, businesses and researchers. It is crucial that we recognise and nurture this organic growth.

There is immense value in integrating economics into urban studies; this interdisciplinary approach offers profound insights into the dynamics of urban development.

Conversely, it is equally important for economists to engage directly with urban realities, moving beyond abstract data to understand the complex, interwoven relationships that define our cities.” 

You can watch Diana’s contributions to the conference below, where she presented “Understanding the contribution of housing to economic development”, pushing back again the idea of “consumption cities” and “sterile agglomeration”. Instead, she highlighted the economic potential of working with small-scale businesses located within informal settlements to generate growth from below.

Diana also acted as a discussant in a policy-focused session on solutions for prosperous African cities, emphasising the importance of understanding the realities of people within cities and the dominance of informal settlements, and also the role of urban reform coalitions.

Read our research on:

> Structural transformation

> Land and connectivity

Note: This article presents the views of the authors featured and does not necessarily represent the views of the African Cities Research Consortium as a whole.

The African Cities blog is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which means you are welcome to repost this content as long as you provide full credit and a link to this original post.

By Erika Garcia Fermin

Funding the urgent development needs of a city like Accra requires additional sources of domestically generated revenues. Property taxation could prove to be an important source of financing to pay for the infrastructure and public service investments the city requires, but implementing new taxes is always politically contentious and a technical challenge.

To address these challenges, the ACRC team in Accra, led by People’s Dialogue, recently hosted an international Urban Property Tax Workshop. Over three days, participants from ACRC cities, Ghanaian local and traditional authorities, civil society organisations, academia, professional bodies and the media came together to examine the design and administration of property taxation. The workshop explored both successful and unsuccessful approaches, and how reform efforts have enabled local governments to unlock the potential of property tax as a vital tool for domestic resource mobilisation.

The event provided a collaborative space for shared learning, aimed at generating insights to drive systemic change. Discussions covered both technical and political dimensions of tax systems, highlighting the complexity of, and opportunities for, effective property tax reform.

Reform challenges and governance insights

The workshop began with calls for collaboration and mutual learning. Remarks delivered by Madam Jemima Lomotey, Head of the Planning Department, speaking on behalf of the Greater Accra Regional Minister, highlighted the importance of collective action in tackling governance challenges, while Harriet Arjumang of Send Ghana and, Executive Director of Local Governance Network (LoGNet) emphasised the need for property tax reform to reflect Ghana’s specific fiscal and administrative context.

Irene Vance reaffirmed ACRC commitment to fostering inclusive, dialogue-driven spaces to support meaningful reform. Contributions from Paramount Chief of the Abola Traditional Area in Accra, Nii Ahene Nunoo II reinforced the importance of decentralisation and the transparent, accountable use of revenues to build public trust.

The session began with presentations by Samuel B Biitir, ACRC’s land and connectivity domain research lead in Accra, and Wilson Prichard, Associate Professor at the University of Toronto, Chair of the Local Government Revenue Initiative (LoGRI), and Research Fellow at the International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD), both highlighting persistent barriers to effective property tax reform in developing countries.

Biitir focused on Ghana, outlining long-standing issues such as outdated valuations, weak collection systems, and low public trust. These, he argued, are “wicked problems” rooted not in technical gaps but in the political economy of municipal finance.

Prichard reinforced this view with a broader perspective, noting that despite property tax’s theoretical advantages, efficiency, equity, and service linkage, it remains underused. He attributed this to colonial-era systems and the political sensitivity of taxation, especially when seen as unfair.

Hon. Ahmed Ibrahim, Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy, and Religious Affairs, acknowledged systemic barriers to property tax reform in Ghana, including unclear mandates, capacity gaps, and political resistance, but reaffirmed government resolve, stating:

“The most scarce commodity in all this has been political will. And this morning, as I stand here, I can say: we have it.”

The three speakers converged on key themes: the enduring impact of historical legacies, entrenched institutional and political constraints, and the imperative for reform strategies that are both technically sound and politically feasible.

Xaver Schenker, Technical Advisor for Local Government Revenue Mobilisation, addressed the administrative side of reform, stressing the need to align IT systems with real administrative practices, advocating a holistic approach and stronger coordination across government and external actors.

James Dzansi, Senior Country Economist at the International Growth Centre, explored the potential and risks of digital technologies in property tax administration. While highlighting their transformative power, he warned of the need for real-time monitoring and safeguards to prevent unintended consequences.

Later in the day, the third session continued with a focus on the governance dimensions of property tax.

Colette Nyirakamana, Research Lead at LoGRI, and Camille Barras, Policy Lead at LoGRI, emphasised that effective property tax administration relies on collaboration but is consistently hindered by limited data sharing, institutional silos, weak legal frameworks, and centralised control – challenges illustrated through cases from Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Benin.

Fariya Mohiuddin, Interim Deputy Director – External Affairs at Tax Justice UK, followed with a discussion on making transparency and accountability meaningful in tax policy, urging governments to make information accessible, relevant, and citizen-focused through local languages, mobile platforms, and practical formats.

Frank Ohemeng, Associate Professor at Concordia University, concluded with a presentation on the intergovernmental relationships that shape property tax in Ghana. Echoing the phrase “a vision without implementation is hallucination,” he added that the source of the vision is just as important – someone must craft it before it can be realised. He highlighted power imbalances and the need to understand the institutional context that shapes local government authority.

Bilal Choho, PhD student at the Paris School of Economics, shared insights from Dakar’s property tax reform, where outdated rolls and vague addresses had long hindered progress. He outlined a reform launched in 2017 through collaboration between researchers and tax authorities, which introduced digital tools and a large-scale property census. As a result, tax agents in Dakar now use modern IT systems with accurate, parcel-level data. 

Krishnakumar Thiagarajan, Vice President, Partnerships and Delivery at eGOV Foundation, introduced the DIGIT Property Tax System, an open-source platform that digitises the entire tax cycle using tools like GIS mapping and automated calculations. Already adopted in several Indian states, he explained how the system enhances accuracy, transparency, and citizen trust, while remaining flexible enough to adapt to local laws.

Momodou Lamin Badjie, Deputy Director of Services and Head of GIS at Kanifing Municipal Council, The Gambia, shared strategies for boosting local revenue, highlighting the use of Google Plus Codes – an open-source addressing system that enables property identification in areas without formal street names. This innovation has supported the creation of tax compliance maps now used to enhance billing and track payments.

Evan Trowbridge, Technical Lead at the LoGRI, presented Sierra Leone’s digital property tax reform, launched in Freetown in 2019 and now expanded to two additional cities. He explained that the reform aimed to build citizen trust through transparency and a locally tailored IT system. Digital tools – such as GIS for property mapping, CAMA for valuation, and platforms for billing, mobile payments, and staff oversight – have improved efficiency, data management, and inter-agency coordination. While still evolving, he noted, the system has been in use for five years and supports a sustainable tax cycle, from property discovery to billing, collection, and updates

These case studies underscored the power of inclusive, trust-based reform facilitated by digital tools. However, challenges such as poor internet connectivity, incomplete data, and resistance from revenue collectors were also noted.

In the afternoon, attention shifted to the political dimensions of property tax reform.

Wilson Prichard presented a thought-provoking analysis on why property tax remains one of the most underperforming revenue sources in lower-income countries. He challenged participants to reflect on political resistance to reform as a central barrier, questioning why it is so entrenched, why public support is weak, and what can be done to overcome these challenges.

Vanessa van den Boogaard, Research Fellow at the ICTD, provided an in-depth analysis of property tax reform in Sierra Leone, examining how elite resistance and citizen mistrust hinder progress and stressing the need to build broad-based coalitions. Her presentation also highlighted the complex role of traditional authorities, who can act as either enablers or spoilers of change.

Implementation, governance and the path forward

The final day focused on the broader governance context and implementation realities in Ghana.

Richard Agyepong, Senior Lecturer at the University of Education Winneba, highlighted key barriers, such as central government control over a local tax, the high cost of valuations, and deep-rooted public mistrust. A core message was that reform requires a shift in mindset and administrative culture across all government levels, not just systems.

The Land Valuation Division (LVD) presented on reforming property tax through effective rating valuation, reaffirming its legal mandate and showcasing the digital infrastructure and technical expertise available to support Metropolitan, Municipal and District Authorities (MMDAs). Their message was clear: better data and well-defined processes are essential for building public trust and improving compliance.

Experiences from the ground provided practical lessons:

The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) shared reflections from their reform journey. Key lessons included making capital projects visible to communities to build trust, enforcing digital payment systems via national directives, and investing in media and outreach to drive digital adoption.

The Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly shared the experience of the TREE Project, demonstrating how digital tools can transform administration. She also reiterated ongoing challenges like poor internet connectivity in rural areas, incomplete property data, and resistance from revenue collectors. However, an optimistic outlook suggested that with the right infrastructure, training, and public engagement, MMDAs can achieve financial autonomy and sustainable local development.

Moving the debate forward

In conclusion, the Urban Property Tax Workshop provided a rich and practical dialogue, bringing together national and international experts, local government leaders, and practitioners. It offered a compelling exploration of both the technical innovations and political challenges that are shaping the future of urban property taxation.

The discussions underscored that successful reform requires not only effective systems and data but also strategic navigation of political resistance, building public trust through transparency and visible service delivery, adapting technology to local contexts, and fostering collaboration across institutions and levels of government. We hope that local and national government, supported by researchers and civil society can maintain the momentum to create a fair, equitable and effective system of property tax in Accra.

Note: This article presents the views of the authors featured and does not necessarily represent the views of the African Cities Research Consortium as a whole.

The African Cities blog is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which means you are welcome to repost this content as long as you provide full credit and a link to this original post.

As urbanisation accelerates across Africa, cities are under growing pressure to deliver essential infrastructure and public services – such as water, sanitation, drainage and electricity. Yet this expanding responsibility is unfolding in a context where sustainable funding and reliable financing mechanisms remain limited or entirely absent, leaving many local governments struggling to meet rising demands.

How can cities manage their expanding expenditure responsibilities, particularly in the face of persistent funding shortfalls?

One potential solution lies in property taxation – a levy applied to the ownership, transfer or occupation of land and physical property. When effectively designed and administered, property taxes enable local governments to mobilise substantial revenues, which can be reinvested in essential services and infrastructure that make cities more liveable, inclusive and sustainable. More broadly, property tax revenues can support the structural transformation that has enabled cities in other parts of the world to emerge as powerful engines of economic growth and development.

Despite its potential, property taxation remains a marginal source of public revenue across much of Africa. It contributes an average of just 0.38% of GDP – far behind the 0.6% seen in other developing and transition economies, and a fraction of the nearly 2% collected in OECD countries. While some of the challenges are technical – such as outdated land cadastres, limited valuation capacity or weak administrative systems – the most persistent obstacles are political. Reforms often require confronting vested interests, navigating local resistance and building trust in the use of public funds.

As part of ACRC’s work within the land and connectivity domain, we are organising a workshop focused on effective property tax reform. Running from 19 to 21 May 2025 in Accra, Ghana, the workshop will examine what works – and what doesn’t – when it comes to the design and administration of property taxation.

Paying particular attention to the policy and implementation reforms that have enabled local governments elsewhere to unlock the potential of property taxes, the event aims to support African cities in expanding municipal revenues and strengthening infrastructure and service delivery.

Chaired by Samuel B Biitir – ACRC’s land and connectivity domain research lead in Accra – this workshop will bring together leading academics, researchers and policymakers with extensive experience in driving effective reforms across all stages of property tax system design and implementation. Drawing on their insights and practical experience, the sessions will explore a range of critical themes and questions, including:

• What are the key challenges undermining property tax performance, and how can reforms be tailored to suit the specific contexts, capacities and needs of lower-income countries?
• What lessons can be drawn from innovations across the tax cycle, including valuation, billing, collection and enforcement?
• What forms of political and administrative resistance typically emerge in property tax reform, and what practical strategies can governments adopt to address these challenges and enhance public acceptability?
• How can digitalisation improve efficiency, transparency and compliance in property tax administration?
• What strategies can help build political support for property taxation and enable reform momentum?

The three-day workshop will feature seven panel sessions and guided discussions aimed at fostering active engagement and knowledge exchange. The first two days will include presentations by experts, offering conceptual insights and case studies on property tax reform in African cities. The final day will focus on the Ghanaian context, using local experiences to draw lessons and outline strategic directions for national reform, concluding with reflections on broader implications and future research priorities.

Updates from the urban property tax workshop will be shared on ACRC’s LinkedIn page and blog, so stay tuned for recaps and key insights from the discussions.

Header photo credit: Owusu Bernard Okyere / iStock. Aerial shot of Accra, Ghana.

Note: This article presents the views of the authors featured and does not necessarily represent the views of the African Cities Research Consortium as a whole.

The African Cities blog is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which means you are welcome to repost this content as long as you provide full credit and a link to this original post.

As part of this landmark event, Dialogue on Shelter for the Homeless Trust (DoST) and its Slum Dwellers International (SDI) affiliate, the Zimbabwe Homeless People’s Federation, organised a side event on 1 November. Titled Understanding Climate Change-Induced Health Risks for Women and Children in Informal Settlements in Zimbabwe, the event attracted participants from informal settlements, community-based organisations, state representatives, academia and development agencies.

The side event highlighted pressing climate and health issues affecting women and children in marginalised communities, while providing a unique platform for residents to share locally led adaptation strategies and propose solutions to the daily challenges they face. As a result of this gathering, significant policy shifts were initiated, particularly around methodology and approach. Coinciding with the city’s Environment and Climate Policy making process, the session played a crucial role in encouraging the city to consult informal settlements separately to understand their complexities and harness additional ideas.

A gathering of voices

ACRC’s Harare research team took the opportunity presented by CHAC to share key findings from the programme’s foundation phase – particularly the informal settlements domain. To foster inclusive dialogue, speakers were carefully selected from informal settlers, international organisations, and the City of Harare.

Sekai Catherine Chiremba, one of the key speakers, opened the discussion by sharing her insights into how informal settlements – which are often excluded from development and disaster-response efforts – are disproportionately affected by climate shocks. She explained how the absence of basic infrastructure in these areas increases vulnerability to disasters like droughts, floods and poor energy access, disproportionately impacting women and children.

The second speaker, Lisben Chipfunde from the City of Harare’s City Environment Management Unit (CEMU), provided an overview of how the city is working to tackle multiple challenges sustainably. He discussed the financial and human resource constraints the city faces to maintain and expand the ageing infrastructure. He spoke on the urgent need for deeper collaboration with stakeholders as a way of ensuring inclusive resilience building across the city systems.

Additionally, he presented the Environment and Climate Policy that the city was working on, particularly highlighting its bottom-up approach, which involves consultations at the administrative ward level. However, informal settlers voiced concerns that this approach might overlook their specific needs. In response, the city committed to adjusting the consultation process to ensure that informal settlements would be consulted separately to address their unique challenges and emerging adaptation strategies.

The third speaker, Jeremia Mushosho from the World Health Organization (WHO), shared global perspectives on the intersection of climate and health, as well as talking about climate finance and how this is being employed in different contexts to address climate impacts. His discussion on climate finance generated significant interest, as participants sought clarity on how financial resources could be more effectively mobilised to address climate and health issues. The event emphasised the importance of long-term strategies to enhance climate action and urban health.

What made the session more transformative was its focus on co-production. ACRC’s Harare city manager, George Masimba, highlighted the two action research projects being implemented in Harare. Specifically, he mentioned the co-production of inclusive infrastructure at the Glen View 8 furniture complex, along with the documentation of climate change impacts in informal settlements and the targeted co-production of infrastructure works in Tafara. He reiterated the need to consolidate lessons from interventions to systematically design appropriate ways for cities to work alongside local communities, not only in responding to crises but in shaping their future development. 

Inclusivity: Shaping policy from the bottom up

In the months since the conference, the participation of the ACRC Harare research team has had ripple effects far beyond the event itself. The City of Harare has started incorporating community feedback into its policy design, recognising that policies can only be effective if they are informed by the local communities who will be most affected by them. The City of Harare’s Environment and Climate Policy methodology is using a bottom-up approach, embracing a more inclusive approach to governance.

To meet this ambition, DoST and the Federation have facilitated additional policy dialogue sessions with several informal settlements in the city. Residents from 12 informal settlements – are Dzivarasekwa Extension, Stoneridge, Hopley, Churu, Tafara, Mabvuku-Chizhanje, Boko Haram, Crowborough Paddocks, Caledonia, Budiriro, Lyndhurst and Hatcliffe – met with city officials to share their experiences and insights, directly informing the policymaking process. These discussions have elevated the voices of informal settlers, transforming their once marginalised status into a central part of the policy review and formulation process.

Specifically, residents identified insecure tenure as the biggest hurdle limiting climate resilience of informal settlements. Communities believe that appropriate regularisation modalities will unlock community potential and empower them to be equal co-production partners. To operationalise this ambition, communities identified the co-generation of climate vulnerability assessments across settlements and co-development of climate action plans as key. Additionally, communities presented the institutionalisation of community participation in infrastructural development, environmental stewardship and the inclusion of slum upgrading as a sustainable way of building resilience in settlements.

The shift is profound. In the past, informal settlements were criminalised and ignored by local authorities. Now, these communities are recognised as essential stakeholders, with the potential to contribute to creating climate-resilient cities and policies. The Federation has also mobilised its members in other city wards, ensuring broader participation in future consultation meetings.

Consolidating the gains from collaboration and co-creation

As the ACRC Harare research team continues to implement action research projects, the lessons learned from these engagements will play a pivotal role in shaping future urban policies. The city has recognised that communities are not a homogeneous group, and the need to further accommodate residents who were once marginalised, such as informal settlers. The knock-on effects of these engagements have enhanced the institutional profile of the alliance as a key player in urban development.

Going forward, with a strong foundation for meaningful collaboration, the ACRC Harare team plans to continue its policy-related engagements and create pathways for innovative pilots to be integrated into actual policies. Through its role in the ACRC Harare action research, DoST has already been invited to join the technical team working on finalising the Environment and Climate Policy, and discussions are underway to explore more inclusive ways of reviewing the city Housing Policy.

Photo credits: Tarisai Manyowa, Teurai Nyamangara and Evans Banana

Note: This article presents the views of the authors featured and does not necessarily represent the views of the African Cities Research Consortium as a whole.

The African Cities blog is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which means you are welcome to repost this content as long as you provide full credit and a link to this original post.

Insights from the waste management community initiative in Mathare

We were delighted to be invited to the informal settlement of Mathare, to hear from the researchers and waste workers involved in the Nairobi team’s waste management community knowledge project, led by Wavinya Mutua.

The team presented the work they have conducted so far, including their workplan creation, data collection methodology, mapping of dumpsites and waste holding grounds around the settlement, and insights into the waste management value chain. It was fascinating to see first-hand the invaluable contribution of community knowledge and to hear what the research has uncovered so far. Initial conversations with Nairobi County officials suggest the insights of the waste workers may have the power to improve local regulations.

Day 1: Action research portfolio development

Our first official day of meetings focused on the action research projects underway across all five of our implementation cities: Accra, Harare, Kampala, Lagos and Nairobi.

Day 2: Scaling impact and driving change

The second day began with a focus on the development of action research project portfolios in the five implementation cities. Dividing up into groups, representatives from each of the cities told their stories of portfolio development so far.

Next, the city managers shared their perspectives on turning localised action research projects into city-level initiatives and ways to achieve this. Nairobi’s Jack Makau explained how insights from the waste management community knowledge initiative in Mathare has the potential to impact how waste is handled across the entire city, stressing the importance of presenting findings within the right circles.

Building on this, Accra’s Rachael Annan noted the need to build evidence to take to authorities, Kampala’s Hafisa Namuli talked about why having a sense of ownership over the action research initiatives is key to scaling up, Harare’s George Masimba highlighted preparedness for challenges and political awareness as critical requirements, and Lagos’s Temilade Sesan pointed to the power of reform coalitions in advocating for change, using evidence and capabilities generated over time.

Shifting the focus over to research uptake – or ensuring that the knowledge we generate is used – Diana Mitlin explored why this is such a central part of ACRC’s integrated approach. She highlighted how academia is only one piece of the puzzle and that we need to move beyond the constraints of formal knowledge to recognise the value of other forms of evidence and experience.

Passing over to Chris Jordan and Ismail Ibraheem to present on ACRC’s uptake approach and our uptake journey so far, participants were invited to reflect on three things: what uptake looks like to us, what has worked, and what has proved challenging. Many commonalities cropped up, including around how to engage different stakeholders and the challenges of framing research in engaging ways without misrepresenting the evidence.

We then heard from Nairobi’s uptake officer Jerry Okal on their city strategy and some of the highlights from the uptake work so far. He was followed by Accra’s Hamza Bawa, who shared experiences around more non-traditional means of engagement that have been successful in the city.

The final breakout session of the day saw us split out into four groups and rotate around the four key outcomes of ACRC’s Theory of Change: reform coalitions, elite engagement, community mobilisation and state capacity. Participants shared examples from their cities, highlighting challenges and gaps, as well as potential opportunities.

Day 3: Action plans for inclusive transformation

The third and final day ended on a high – as city managers, uptake officers and the senior management team came together with community researchers from Accra, Kampala, Harare, Lagos and Nairobi.

Better understanding the potential of community knowledge is a key focus for ACRC and one which we think will significantly boost our impact.

This was followed by insights from Kampala from Suzie Muwanga, exploring how the team had effectively navigated engagements with city and national authorities. Mojeed Alabi rounded up the day by highlighting a series of media engagements that have helped the Lagos team gain real traction.

While we were in Nairobi, it was also great to meet up with Kenya’s Housing Secretary, Said Athman, FCDO representatives Emmeline Skinner and Mark Povey, as well as our Consortium Advisory Group Chair, Hastings Chikoko. We look forward to taking forward all the ideas and opportunities that were discussed. 

Although lots of work remains to achieve our ambitious aims in cities, we all left the workshop with a renewed sense of common purpose, plenty of ideas to trial and a collective commitment to push forward locally led, inclusive transformations for African cities. Watch this space for more updates on our progress…

Photo credits: Hannah van Rooyen, Chris Jordan, James Tayler

Note: This article presents the views of the authors featured and does not necessarily represent the views of the African Cities Research Consortium as a whole.

The African Cities blog is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which means you are welcome to repost this content as long as you provide full credit and a link to this original post.

From “what?” to “how?”

However, what emerged as most interesting for us was how abruptly the conversation around pro-poor development – limited in this context to projects centred around informality – veered from the “what?” (highlights of the research plans presented) to the “how?” (addressing the very real challenges of conflicting interests and preferred approaches by various stakeholders in the development space).

The bone of contention was how best to engage with government actors. One group maintained that the way to get the government to prioritise development in informal settlements is to confront them with hard, empirical evidence from the work of engaged scholars and activists working with communities. But the other group preferred a more conciliatory approach, stating that confrontational approaches invariably alienate government actors and further strain the already complicated relationship between the “gown” (academic institutions) and the “town” (the rest of society). Adopting a more middle-of-the-road stance, the government stakeholders in attendance presented the state as a rational actor and suggested that either approach could be appropriate, depending on the situation at hand.

As it relates to Lagos, the confrontation vs conciliation debate is likely to keep raging, especially when we consider the fact that government is a behemoth. Lagos state government alone has over 168 ministries, departments and agencies (MDA), including 22 ministries. When it comes to the development question, there are many different contexts and indeed different ramifications to the implications of government decision making. Putting the conversation into perspective, Diana Mitlin pointed out that it is the feeling of powerlessness that drives otherwise repressed groups to agitate and confront the state where all else has failed. Tempers are wont to flare because the stakes are high for citizens whose lives are impacted by government action or inaction. In any case, as the grassroots activists who have worked most closely with communities pointed out, confrontational tactics have not yielded much by way of progress for the people. The question then remains: what does work for the people?

What emerged from the stakeholder discussion as being most productive to pursue are concrete development wins for informal communities and under-served groups. And when we think about conflicting interests and approaches, this is where melding sound technical interventions with constructive political engagement becomes important.

The power of proposition

What we are realising on the ACRC Lagos team is that researchers, as knowledge brokers, need to go beyond “blue sky” or idealistic research and push for a paradigm shift – what Diana Mitlin referred to as harnessing the power of proposition. In other words, rather than problematising or opposing existing systems as we often do, we need to put forward alternative solutions while bearing in mind the political nuances at play.

In practice, this means that researchers will propose interventions aimed at filling specific innovation gaps identified through rigorous research, test those interventions by implementing relatively small community-based projects, and iterate based on the learnings from those projects. Crucially, all of this activity needs to link to a broader reform agenda, lest the gains be limited to pilot projects in marginal communities – a trend that has bedevilled the field of development for a long time.

For real and scalable impact, the key, we are finding, is to understand the scale at which reform can most realistically be achieved and sustained within the ambit of prevailing political dynamics in the city. Bearing in mind that political dynamics are multi-scalar, this requires us to identify the most potentially responsive set of stakeholders – what we have come to refer to as legitimate constituencies – for particular domain-context combinations, and to doggedly engage these stakeholders in coalition-building efforts.

The questions we are taking forward as a team working in an exclusionary political city context include:

• What actors and alliances are needed to drive and deliver change in different contexts?
• At what scale (the local committee, the community or the city) is the change we seek politically feasible?
• And how can reform coalitions, constituted at any of these scales, function as a force for catalysing and sustaining change for the majority of informal-settlement residents?

To take the example of Okerube, the community in Alimosho local government in which our proposed WASH project is situated, the potential reform actors we have identified include: women-led water committees working at the community level; local government officials, especially in light of the recent restoration of their constitutional autonomy (at least in principle) by the federal government; and champions at the district/city/federal levels who are keen to domicile their political influence in their home bases. 

This graduated approach to constituting reform coalitions is opening up new, inclusive spaces for dialogue and action. It also provides a fruitful alternative to the stalemate that often results from the confrontation vs conciliation debate.

This denotes a process whose meaning can be captured by a range of terms that are increasingly shaping our thoughts and actions as urban researchers and practitioners: collaboration, co-learning and co-production. After all, we as ACRC are not starting this journey from scratch. We are fortuitously positioned to mobilise stakeholders and build alliances as we keep pace together on the road to the urban transformation of our beloved city.

Photo credits: peeterv / Getty Images (via Canva Pro). Street market in Ikorodu district, Lagos.

Note: This article presents the views of the authors featured and does not necessarily represent the views of the African Cities Research Consortium as a whole.

The African Cities blog is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which means you are welcome to repost this content as long as you provide full credit and a link to this original post.

By Jerry Okal and Rosebella Apollo

On 7 February 2025, ACRC convened more than 100 stakeholders in Nairobi to officially launch the city’s foundation phase report. This report brings together diverse perspectives on Nairobi’s urban trajectory, offering an in-depth analysis of the political dynamics that drive urban change and examining the key city systems influencing access to services across the city.

During the foundation phase, between 2020 and 2024, ACRC worked in partnership with city-based researchers to conduct studies in Nairobi. The research team embarked on an inquiry to generate insights around the challenges affecting urban development and identify practical pathways for catalysing change in Nairobi, especially for disadvantaged communities living in urban informal settlements. This collaborative exercise involved meaningful engagement of stakeholders, including community organisations, researchers, practitioners, key state actors and non-state agencies.

A collaborative approach

At the report launch event, speakers from the government, academia and the private sector engaged with the report findings, emphasising the need for a collaborative approach to tackle the numerous challenges facing African cities. Their key question was: how can the integrated development of cities occur in this era of urban growth coupled with development challenges across Africa’s rapidly evolving landscapes?

It was noted that slow to minimal growth will be witnessed across African cities if the “business as usual” attitude persists. There is a critical need to create sustainable cities that work for everyone, with ACRC’s urban development research director Shuaib Lwasa suggesting that a mix of both skyscrapers and low-rise buildings could cater to the needs of everyone.

Physical versus “mental infrastructure”

To transform Africa’s development, it is imperative that we ask critical questions that are relevant to the continent, if we are to find answers for sustainable urban development. For example, what criteria should we use to measure urban development? This is a challenging question, inviting us to consider whether we should equate infrastructure development with civilisation.

Wale Akinyemi, a renowned urban specialist and a consultant in organisational culture and leadership, pointed to the significant challenge that arises when physical infrastructure progresses faster than shifting positive attitudes or the development of what he called “mental infrastructure”. He called for a shift in mindsets and attitudes about development, the need to acknowledge the challenges we are facing, and then to adopt an effective and visibly impactful transformational agenda – one that promotes meaningful change akin to the metamorphosis of a butterfly.

We need to move away from engaging in excessive or unnecessary activities at various stages of transformation, said Wale. Instead, we have to deliberately shift our approach to advancing people-centered development so that the physical infrastructure does not go to waste.

Planning for the future

Silvester Kasuku, advisor in the Governance Office of the Executive Office of the President, emphasised that to achieve its development goals, Kenya must integrate planning into all its decision-making processes. Funds allocated for planning are not wasted; rather, he stressed that planning is the fundamental driver and organiser of development. If the country does not plan for development, it will plan to fail. So there is a need to deepen and strengthen governance structure within government and to ensure that government and private sector work together for sustainable development.

Planner Mairura Omwenga, from the University of Nairobi, highlighted the reality that rapid population growth often does not coincide with the necessary infrastructural development, such as roads, housing, water and sewer systems. This gap is largely due to inadequate planning, duplicated efforts, lack of resources and insufficient data. For instance, some policy statements are either unsupported by data or rely on outdated information.

The road ahead

The launch of the Nairobi city foundation phase report went beyond merely presenting research findings; it served as a call to action. This report embodies a collective commitment to transforming Nairobi into a city that is inclusive, sustainable and resilient. By collaborating, stakeholders can ensure that the strategic pathways outlined in the report lead to progressive advancements for the city’s residents.

As Nairobi enters the implementation phase of the ACRC initiative, the insights and evidence gathered during the foundation phase will be vital in shaping the city’s future by galvanizing key sectors in the society. The four planned action research projects aim to tackle key urban challenges by utilising the knowledge co-produced with stakeholders to drive meaningful change. Successfully executing these projects will improve living conditions and urban services for Nairobi’s residents, especially those from disadvantaged communities.

Photo credits: Know Your City TV Kenya

Note: This article presents the views of the authors featured and does not necessarily represent the views of the African Cities Research Consortium as a whole.

The African Cities blog is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which means you are welcome to repost this content as long as you provide full credit and a link to this original post.

Theory of change and conceptual framework: A dynamic duo

ACRC’s ToC serves as a roadmap for achieving desired outcomes, while the CF serves as a tool for understanding the complexity of the urban context in which projects operate. Together, they empower project teams to identify the enablers and inhibitors of urban systems functioning in Kampala City, develop targeted interventions, anticipate challenges and monitor progress. 

The workshop emphasised the importance of aligning the ToC and CF with ACRC’s broader goals, to ensure that the portfolio of action research projects being implemented in Kampala will contribute meaningfully to improving the lives of urban citizens in the city.

Key takeaways and next steps

The team further explored the practical application of the frameworks, examining how projects interact with various city systems (for example, water, energy, waste management, transportation, healthcare, education, food distribution, law and order) and specific urban development domains (for example, youth and capability development, health wellbeing and nutrition, land and connectivity, and informal settlements). The team was also mindful of the crosscutting issues, including climate change, municipal finance and gender.

Discussions focused on leveraging opportunities within the political settlements framework and city systems to achieve project goals, fostering collaboration, and co-producing knowledge among diverse stakeholders (such as researchers, policymakers and communities).

Following on from the workshop, the team’s next steps include incorporating the ToC and CF into their next set of project proposals and actively engaging with the frameworks throughout the project lifecycle.

Key (re)learnings

The workshop was not just about frameworks and theories; it was about igniting a passion for urban transformation. The discussions were lively, the insights were sharp, and the atmosphere was electric. It was a reminder that academic research can be both rigorous and engaging, as well as informative and inspiring.

Key workshop outcomes included:

• Underscoring the importance of understanding the political context in which urban development systems and projects operate;
• Participants gaining a deeper understanding of the ToC and CF and their practical application in project planning and implementation;
• Fostering a collaborative learning environment, encouraging knowledge sharing and exchange of ideas among participants.

The workshop was also an opportunity for the land and connectivity team to refine its project idea around forming a reform coalition with land stakeholders. The team is in the process of developing a proposal for their project.

A collective endeavour

The ToC and CF will guide the work of the ACRC Kampala team, ensuring that projects contribute to the creation of inclusive, productive, safe and sustainable cities. The journey of urban transformation is a collective one, and the workshop was a testament to the power of collaboration and shared learning.

Photo credits: Hafisa Namuli

Note: This article presents the views of the authors featured and does not necessarily represent the views of the African Cities Research Consortium as a whole.

The African Cities blog is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which means you are welcome to repost this content as long as you provide full credit and a link to this original post.

By Rosebella Apollo, ACRC research uptake officer

ACRC held its second city managers meeting in Accra, Ghana from 11-15 November 2024. The five-day engagement convened a total of 15 delegates, including ACRC’s senior management team (SMT), city managers and representatives from the operations and research uptake teams.

The biannual convening provided an opportunity to collectively reflect on the implementation phase of the programme, taking stock of the action research (AR) portfolio projects, harnessing cross-city learning across our implementation cities and sharpening understanding of ACRC’s theory of change.

A preview of ongoing action research initiatives

Currently, the portfolio of action research initiatives that have kicked off include a zero-waste project in Accra, which seeks to organise women into cooperatives to manage waste at the Old Fadama informal settlement, with an element of compost production. Nairobi is running with a school feeding initiative targeting the informal schools that have been left out of the mainstream school feeding system in the informal settlement of Mukuru. Harare has been working on a proposal targeting the informal sector to upgrade the Glenview 8 furniture complex, with potential for a city-wide scale-up across other informal markets.

In addition to a plethora of pipeline projects across the different cities, progress is being made around a sanitation project at Ggaba market in Kampala, and streetlighting initiatives in Lagos.

Inclusivity in the zero-waste project

The first day of the Accra meeting provided an opportunity to engage with People’s Dialogue on Human Settlements (PD, ACRC’s lead implementing agency in Accra) for insights on the zero-waste project. Working closely with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), traditional rulers and the Old Fadama community, PD has made great strides in securing land from AMA to set up a sorting and compost facility for processing compost manure from organic waste.

PD has been keen on changing the narrative on waste management by introducing women into waste management – a space that has been dominated by men. Currently, the team is organising women into cooperatives to run the waste management initiative and exploring linkages to access markets for compost manure.

Strengthening portfolio development of action research initiatives

As traction builds around ACRC’s implementation phase, the city managers are constantly looking out for ideas to spark proposals for new action research initiatives. The meeting therefore included time dedicated to deepening understanding around portfolio development and management.

Operationalising ACRC’s theory of change

The city managers meeting reiterated the centrality of ACRC’s theory of change to the design of portfolio initiatives and research uptake activities across the implementation cities. The four preconditions for urban transformation outlined in the theory of change are: greater elite commitment, enhanced state capacity, mobilised citizens and strengthened reform coalitions. These are deemed by ACRC as integral elements in advancing the reform frontier.

Elite commitment emerged as a crucial factor in scaling up action research initiatives, either through state programmes or market driven interventions. To further operationalise the theory of change, there might be need to adapt it to city and perhaps even project level contexts. With respect to uptake, the theory of change was found to be a useful tool in defining strategic partners for advancing reforms. Further, research uptake tests how well the theory of change is working with potential for refining it.

Launch of the Accra city report

As part of broader uptake initiatives, PD organised a launch for the Accra city report at the San Marino Hotel. The launch attracted 120 participants, including traditional rulers from Accra and Old Fadama, representatives from government agencies, ministries and departments, FCDO, UN-Habitat, civil society organisations, members of the community, academic partners and friends from the media.

The two-hour event was moderated by Accra’s city manager with brief presentations from the Director for Local Governance and Decentralisation, Samuel Seth Passah; ACRC’s CEO, Diana Mitlin; and professors Nana Ababio and Abdul-Gafaru Abdulai from the University of Ghana. The launch was presided by the Minister of State for Local Government Decentralisation and Rural Development, Hon. Osei Bonsu Amoah.  

According to Hon. Amoah, the report provides an assessment of the current situation with a vision for the future and practical guidelines to steer progressive policies. Overall, the city report highlights how Accra is facing non-sustained growth and development, due to failures relating to politics, institutional fragmentation and siloed city systems, in addition to other coordination challenges. On the brighter side, Accra housing deficits have reduced from 2.8 million in 2010 to 1.8 million in 2030, even though informal settlements have proliferated in the city.

A glimpse of urban agriculture

Later in the week, the ACRC team visited an urban agriculture site in Accra. The farm is located behind JA Plant Pool – along a 30-metre-wide railway reserve in the heart of the city – and is divided into neat rows of farming beds allocated to 35 registered members (farm holders). Using water pipes connected to a borehole, the farmers can sustain agricultural activities throughout the year.

PD is exploring collaboration with the farmers’ association to test feasibility of compost manure from the zero-waste initiative, as well as opportunities for the market end of the compost manure value chain.

A personal highlight from the week-long engagements in Accra is that in addition to advancing the reform frontier, ACRC is nurturing some serious soccer talent! This was eminent during an epic seven-aside soccer match with fellow ACRCers at the Peduase Valley Resort. Research directors Tim Kelsall and Shuaib Lwasa, along with uptake director Ismail Ibraheem, are certainly ones to watch…

Photo credits: Rosebella Apollo and Know Your City TV

Note: This article presents the views of the authors featured and does not necessarily represent the views of the African Cities Research Consortium as a whole.

The African Cities blog is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which means you are welcome to repost this content as long as you provide full credit and a link to this original post.