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< Back A New Shift In Affordable Housing In Africa Kairu Karega, Leandry JIEUTSA Africa is experiencing a rapid urbanization, leading to a surge in demand for affordable housing. Traditional approaches, often characterized by top-down planning and reliance on expensive imported materials, have struggled to meet this growing need. Africa's population is projected to double by 2050, with most of this growth occurring in urban areas. This rapid population increase directly translates into a higher demand for housing. Millions of people are moving from rural areas to cities in search of better economic opportunities, education, and healthcare. This migration has contributed significantly to the growth of urban centers and the subsequent demand for housing. However, a new wave of innovative projects is emerging, offering a glimpse into a future of sustainable, community-driven affordable housing solutions. This article explores two such case studies, showcasing the potential of these fresh approaches. The first delves into the innovative social housing project in Bamako, Mali, by Dutch architectural firm LEVS architecten. The second examines the concept of zero-carbon affordable housing being piloted in Rwanda by the Green Fund. These projects demonstrate that affordable, sustainable housing solutions can be created with collaboration, innovation, and a deep understanding of local needs and resources. Affordable and sustainable housing in Bamako: LEVS Architecten’s prototype uses earth blocks and modular design for community growth In Bamako, Mali, LEVS architecten has developed a prototype for social housing that addresses both affordability and sustainability. This project, commissioned by the Malinese Ministry of Urban Development and Housing, aims to provide 280 living spaces using hydraulically compressed earth blocks (HCEB). These blocks are a sustainable alternative to conventional building materials, offering cost savings and environmental benefits. The design of the housing units follows a fixed grid pattern, common in African urban planning, with each unit measuring 10m x 20m. This approach allows for flexibility and variation within a standardized framework. The use of HCEB, produced on-site with a mobile compression machine, reduces transportation costs and supports local employment. HCEB offers several advantages, including improved indoor climate and reduced reliance on imported materials. The project also emphasizes community involvement, with local residents participating in the construction process. This not only fosters a sense of ownership but also builds local capacity for future projects. The key to the project's success lies in its collaborative approach. Designing the houses with modular units allows residents to adapt and expand their living spaces as their families grow. The project also prioritizes community spaces, fostering social interaction and a sense of belonging. Courtyards are an integral part of the design, they provide a safe haven for children to play and residents to gather. Affordable, zero-carbon housing in Rwanda: prefabricated, locally-built units support green growth and climate resilience goals In Rwanda, the Zero Carbon Affordable Housing project aims to provide low-cost, sustainable housing solutions that align with the country’s green growth and climate resilience strategy. This initiative, supported by the Rwanda Green Fund, focuses on developing prefabricated housing units that can be mass-produced and constructed at a target cost of $250 per square meter. The project utilizes locally manufactured building materials to minimize carbon emissions and support the local economy. The prefabrication system allows for rapid construction, reducing labor costs and ensuring consistent quality. The pilot phase includes a multi-storey building with six dwelling units, showcasing the potential for scalable, high-density housing. By integrating green building practices, the project aims to reduce the carbon footprint of new housing developments. This aligns with Rwanda’s commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Additionally, the project supports job creation and skills development in the construction sector. Affordable housing projects in Bamako and Rwanda are laying the foundation for Africa’s future This approach to affordable housing goes beyond just providing shelter. They are creating a model for sustainable urban development that can be replicated across Africa. By focusing on low-carbon technologies and local materials, they are addressing both environmental and economic challenges. The Prototype Social Housing in Bamako and the Zero Carbon Affordable Housing for Rwanda represent significant strides in addressing the affordable housing crisis in Africa. These projects demonstrate that it is possible to create housing solutions that are not only cost-effective but also sustainable and culturally relevant. By leveraging local materials, innovative building techniques, and community involvement, these initiatives offer a blueprint for future housing developments across the continent. As Africa continues to urbanize, the need for affordable housing will only grow. Projects like these provide hope and inspiration, showing that with the right approach, it is possible to meet this challenge head-on. Despite the promise of these innovative approaches, several challenges remain S ecuring adequate funding for affordable housing projects remains a significant obstacle. The African Development Bank estimates that Africa faces a housing deficit of 56 million units, requiring an annual investment of $20-25 billion. Governments, international organizations, and private investors need to play a more active role in providing financial support. For instance, the Rwanda Green Fund has committed $100 million to support green housing projects. Supportive government policies are essential to create an enabling environment for affordable housing development. This includes land reform, building regulations, and incentives for private sector participation. In Kenya, the government has introduced tax incentives for developers who build affordable housing units, aiming to construct 500,000 new homes by 2022. Such policies can significantly boost the sector and attract more investment. Building the capacity of local communities, governments, and construction professionals to implement sustainable housing solutions is crucial. Training programs and workshops can equip local builders with the skills needed to use innovative materials and techniques. For example, the Prototype Social Housing project in Bamako involves local residents in the construction process, fostering a sense of ownership and building local capacity. Scaling up these innovative approaches to meet the growing demand for affordable housing requires careful planning and coordination. The Zero Carbon Affordable Housing project in Rwanda aims to develop a scalable model that can be replicated across the country and beyond. By standardizing designs and using prefabricated materials, the project can achieve economies of scale and reduce costs Addressing the affordable housing crisis in Africa requires a multifaceted approach that includes innovative design, sustainable materials, and community involvement. While challenges such as financing, policy frameworks, capacity building, and scalability remain, the success of projects like those in Bamako and Rwanda demonstrates that it is possible to create affordable, sustainable housing solutions. With continued support and collaboration, these initiatives can serve as blueprints for future developments across the continent. The future of affordable housing in Africa lies in collaboration, innovation, and a deep understanding of local needs and resources. By working together, we can build a more equitable and sustainable future for all. Previous Next

Dakar is the capital of Senegal, in West Africa. With a high density of 6,823 inhabitants per km2, Dakar is the economic and cultural center of Senegal. It is currently experiencing strong economic development, and the city is home to 23% of the population of Senegal, but covers only 0.3% of the country’s area. This series on Dakar presents the atmosphere of these streets and its always welcoming and warm city center. Dakar-Senagal Dakar is the capital of Senegal, in West Africa. With a high density of 6,823 inhabitants per km2, Dakar is the economic and cultural center of Senegal. It is currently experiencing strong economic development, and the city is home to 23% of the population of Senegal, but covers only 0.3% of the country’s area. This series on Dakar presents the atmosphere of these streets and its always welcoming and warm city center.

< Back Innovative partnerships for inclusive mobility Judith Owigar & Debashish Battacherjee UN-Habitat is pioneering innovative partnerships with local start-ups to tackle urban mobility challenges, focusing on developing and implementing electric mobility solutions. By leveraging the agility and local insight of these start-ups, UN-Habitat aims to catalyze the e-mobility ecosystem across Africa, exemplified by its collaboration with Ampersand Rwanda in Kigali to develop electric motorcycles and train women as moto-taxi drivers, enhancing income and gender inclusivity. These initiatives underscore the importance of adopting locally relevant solutions and fostering collaborative efforts between global organizations, local start-ups, and governments. They highlight the transformative potential of electric mobility in improving urban transport, creating green jobs, and advancing gender equality in the workforce. Moreover, the role of universities and research institutions in innovating urban mobility solutions is emphasized, as seen in the University of Nairobi's Mobility Accelerator. These efforts contribute significantly to achieving SDGs 11 and 17, showcasing the critical role of innovative partnerships in sustainable urban development. As UN-Habitat seeks to adopt locally relevant approaches to tackle urban challenges, it has developed innovative and strategic partnerships with local start-ups that are agile and can quickly respond to rapidly changing urban environments with an understanding of the local context and an appreciation of sustainable mobility principles. To this end, UN-Habitat is supporting start-ups in several cities across the world to develop and implement electric mobility solutions that are catalysing developments across the E-mobility ecosystem in Africa. In Kigali, for example, UN-Habitat is working with Ampersand Rwanda that is developing electric motorcycles. In addition to this, in collaboration with other project partners, Ampersand is training young women to drive electric motorcycle taxis as an income-generating activity. UN-Habitat has seen the value of seeking innovation outside of its boundaries by engaging with start-ups and stakeholders who would not ordinarily partner with such a large organization. By combining UN-Habitat’s experience working on sustainable mobility, it’s extensive working relationship with local governments and its global partners, start-ups are provided with an institutional framework to work with local government to bring their innovative solutions to address local urban mobility challenges. These innovative partnerships enable UN-Habitat to achieve SDG 11: Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable, and SDG 17: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development. Innovative solutions to address mobility challenges are quickly emerging in Africa. The application of data sciences has helped to map mobility patterns, leap-frogging the time-taking travel demand and origin-destination studies that were conventionally used in the transportation sector. The results have been used to develop plans for modern Bus Rapid Transit Systems in cities such as Nairobi and Kampala and have the potential to bring together large numbers of informal transport operators to consider strategies for consolidating and modernizing their operations. Furthermore, Africa can harness the abundant potential of its increasingly cost-competitive renewable energy, pointing to the increasing relevance of electric mobility solutions. Already, power generation and transmission companies in Kenya such as KenGen and Kenya Power are rolling out EV charging stations for example. The need for innovations to address urban mobility challenges highlights the important role that universities and research institutions can play in improving urban mobility. The University of Nairobi, with assistance from UN-Habitat and the GIZ Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative, developed a Mobility Accelerator, a hub for transport and mobility innovations, and positioned itself as a facilitator for the development of new concepts of electric, connected, and shared mobility. One early result following the establishment of the accelerator, for example, has been the development of a prototype of a commercial electric vehicle by an entrepreneur (Auto-Truck Kenya) who was approached to train technicians to convert conventional Internal Combustion Engine tuk-tuks project to electric vehicles operational in Mombasa, and much later in Dar es Salaam, thus showcasing the uptake of new solutions and creation of job opportunities. A graduate of the Ampersand Electric-motorcycle taxi training program 2022 Ampersand Rwanda Under an EU-supported project (SOLUTIONSPlus), UN-Habitat is supporting start-ups in several cities across the world to develop and implement e-mobility solutions that also create jobs along the E-mobility value chain. In Kigali, for example, electric motorcycles are being developed by a startup called Ampersand Rwanda. Simultaneously, women are also being trained to drive electric motorcycle taxis to support their income-generating activities. In Dar-es-Salaam, prototypes of electric three-wheelers have been developed in collaboration with the Dar Rapid Transit Agency, and when deployed, these vehicles will serve as feeders to the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, easing mobility for people for first and last-mile connectivity. These examples not only illustrate how mobility in cities can be improved but also how a new and green industry of manufacturing and operating electric vehicles can be created. Electrification bears some transformative potential as it creates an environment for new business models or conditions to access vehicles, and brings in new stakeholders such as assemblers, manufacturers, clearing and forwarding companies, electric vehicle waste recyclers, charging infrastructure providers, battery swapping partners, and requires new skills and corresponding job positions at various phases of the supply chain: design; production and assembly phase; charging or swapping; maintenance and repairs; software development. As women are getting increasingly economically active in sub-Saharan African countries – there is a sharp increase in the number of households having a female household head from 30% in 1989 to 60% in 2011 (Priya Uteng, et al., 2021), it is becoming vital to ensure that mobility barriers do not stop progress made in advancing equality and empowerment in the workforce. Using the momentum of transitioning to electric vehicles can offer the opportunity to re-think the place and experience of women in transport. Identifying the challenge of the under-representation of women in the transport sector, SOLUTIONSplus partners in Rwanda decided to integrate a strong gender focus in the deployment of supported electric mobility solutions. UN-Habitat, The Urban Electric Mobility Initiative (UEMI), the City of Kigali together with GIZ Rwanda and Ampersand Rwanda jointly implement an electric mobility project to facilitate the inclusion of women as moto-taxi drivers in Kigali. The project, implemented by Ampersand, developed several components to create enabling conditions for selected women: ad-hoc driving training, financial support to access electric motorcycles at a reduced price, analysis of conditions for previous successful gender-inclusive projects, and research to understand barriers faced by women to provide transport services. Ensuring these enabling conditions led to a driving test success rate of 69%, much higher than previous gender-inclusive projects. 24 electric motorcycles were handed over to the women, who joined the moto-taxi industry. Continuous monitoring of their activities and barriers faced by women will enable scaling up gender-inclusive e-mobility efforts in the long run. The SOLUTIONSplus project in Kigali aimed to train a cohort of women to become moto-taxi drivers and equip them with electric motorcycle taxis. This pilot intends to reach a deeper understanding of enabling factors and barriers for women to become transport workers, to be replicated at a wider scale if successful. This demonstration action supports electric last-mile connectivity while providing a partnership framework for institutional cooperation for the uptake of electric mobility among women working in transport, and the electrification of paratransit public transport in an African context. Promoting electric two-wheelers providing feeder services to the public transport system takes the form of electric motorcycle taxis, an electric bike-share system, and electric kick-scooters. This demonstration project in Kigali is further supported with capacity-building activities, peer-to-peer exchange, and site visits, the development of a Mobility-as-a-Service app, urban design proposals, a master plan for e-bus charging in the city, and policy and financial recommendations to scale. An engineer in the Ampersand Workshop. E-mobility offers multiple job opportunities across the Electric Vehicle Value Chain 2022 Ampersand Rwanda The project in Kigali offered some lessons on providing gender-inclusive e-mobility solutions in the paratransit sector in Africa. Below are some key highlights: project implementers who may take the form of start-ups, government, or NGOs need to take the time to understand the respective contexts, especially with a specific focus on how women perceive and interact with the chosen form of mobility or technology, in order to design locally relevant and sustainable initiatives. 2. When carrying out the program or initiative a key focus should be placed in the selection criteria where all partners are aware that small cohorts are best to understand and respond to the specific needs of the women. The environment where the women are carrying out the program activities needs to offer both physical and psychological safety where there are open channels to report any incidences or matters of concern. A key component of increasing the pipeline of women working in the transport sector will include working with stakeholders in the transport sector to come up with structures that will encourage women to be retained within the sector. The graduates of the gender inclusive e-mobility project 2022Ampersand Rwanda In addition to this, it was recognized that creating a community of women working in the transport sector through an Association or a cooperative would provide a place where women in the sector can come up with their own initiatives to address their challenges and successfully engage with industry stakeholders to improve conditions for women working in the sector and also improve conditions for women travelers in the respective city. The final key highlight of this initiative involves disseminating the lessons learned to encourage peer learning among stakeholders in the mobility sector on the topics of gender inclusion, paratransit electrification, and the adoption of electric mobility. While initiating, consolidating, and extending these innovative partnerships there needs to be a healthy measure of trust, patience, and due diligence among all the parties since such partnerships are mostly new and uncharted for the partners involved. Due to the fact that most such partnerships initially start off as pilots, a number of things need to be agreed prior to commencing the project: the purpose of the project, each party’s expectations clearly expectations, the project duration, the respective roles, the expected outcomes, and dispute resolution mechanisms to maintain a positive working relationship during and after the pilot. Finally, on both sides, there needs to be ample optimism and organizational support since the nature of such partnerships are challenging as they involve very different partners with different ways of operating who are co-developing and co-implementing a common project. For global organizations exploring innovative partnerships with start-ups the following 3 principles can guide these collaborations. An intrapreneurial mindset within the organization that encourages proactiveness, innovation, and a willingness to take a cautious amount of risk to pursue a partnership with a dissimilar entity such as a start-up. A collaborative mindset that is open to modifying the approach without changing the purpose of the project in case feedback from the innovative project calls for it. A local approach with a global mindset so as to customize the innovative approach to the respective local context. The handover of e-bikes at the Ampersand Rwanda Offices 2022 Ampersand Rwanda Previous Next

< Back La géopolitique de la gouvernance urbaine – une approche innovante pour coproduire des connaissances Sina Schlimmer L'Institut français des relations internationales (Ifri) lance un programme de recherche intitulé « Gouverner la transition urbaine en Afrique » pour aborder la compétition géopolitique croissante autour des infrastructures urbaines et les approches de gouvernance innovantes pour les villes de taille moyenne en Afrique. Ce programme vise à créer des connaissances sur la gouvernance urbaine en développant des approches qui lient recherche, utilité sociale et action concrète. Lancé en 2022, il se concentrera sur des études continentales, régionales, nationales et de quartiers, abordant trois domaines clés interconnectés de la gouvernance urbaine : le foncier, la mobilité et les infrastructures. Le programme traitera également des besoins en matière de financement des infrastructures, des questions foncières et de mobilité à travers des études de cas issues de capitales et de villes de taille moyenne en Côte d'Ivoire, au Kenya, au Nigeria, au Sénégal et en Tanzanie. Il vise aussi à briser les frontières de la connaissance entre le « Sud global » et le « Nord global » en intégrant les perspectives des acteurs de différents secteurs professionnels liés à la gouvernance urbaine dans la conception de la recherche. Le nombre d'initiatives de recherche sur les villes africaines et sur la manière de réguler leur croissance ne cesse de croître. De nombreux acteurs contribuent à la gouvernance urbaine et beaucoup mènent leurs propres collectes de données et produisent des résultats de recherche. Cependant, les canaux et les interactions entre ces organisations et experts restent souvent limités et sous-exploités. Ce programme de recherche, lancé par l'Ifri en mai 2022, a pour objectif de fournir une plateforme permettant à ces acteurs de se rencontrer, de partager leur expertise et de coproduire des connaissances dans trois domaines clés interconnectés de la gouvernance urbaine : le foncier, la mobilité et les infrastructures. Le programme repose sur un consortium multipartite dont les membres sont des chercheurs, des décideurs locaux et nationaux, des organisations de la société civile et des fondations, des agences de développement, des organisations internationales, des corps professionnels et des acteurs du secteur privé, tous directement impliqués dans différents secteurs et activités liés à la gouvernance urbaine. Les réflexions transversales, les ateliers de recherche, les publications et des événements plus classiques, comme des webinaires et des conférences organisés dans des villes européennes et africaines, seront les principaux composants du programme. Les activités de la première année se concentreront sur les politiques de gouvernance urbaine, la concurrence géopolitique croissante autour des infrastructures urbaines et les approches de gouvernance innovantes pour les villes de taille moyenne. Au cours de la dernière décennie, la croissance urbaine en Afrique a suscité une grande attention de la communauté internationale. Plus particulièrement, depuis que l'objectif de créer des villes inclusives et durables a été inclus dans la liste des 17 Objectifs de développement durable en 2015, divers acteurs de différents secteurs (privé, agences de donateurs bilatéraux et multilatéraux, société civile et mouvements de base, municipalités, gouvernements nationaux, etc.) et à différents niveaux (local, national et international) ont développé des programmes, lancé des initiatives et construit leurs agendas autour des dynamiques d'urbanisation sur le continent. Des programmes de politiques, des projets de développement, des initiatives de diplomatie municipale, mais aussi des modèles d'investissement et de financement – tous visant à contribuer au développement urbain du continent – ont été conçus et mis en œuvre par de nombreux types d'acteurs et d'institutions. Ensemble, ils forment un réseau dense et multi-échelle d'acteurs, d'initiatives, de relations et de compétitions qui constituent et caractérisent la gouvernance urbaine (Förster, Amman, 2018; Bekker, Fourchard, 2013, Myers, 2011). ] Les initiatives de recherche traitant de la transformation des villes africaines augmentent également, mais ne sont pas récentes. Des chercheurs issus de multiples disciplines – en particulier dans les universités occidentales – produisent des connaissances, notamment depuis les années 1950. Ce corpus comprend de nombreux débats sur la nature, les acteurs et, dans une certaine mesure, la politique de la gouvernance urbaine (voir un aperçu de la littérature dans Schlimmer, 2022). Mais la production de connaissances sur les villes africaines et la gouvernance urbaine n'est pas un domaine exclusif des salles de séminaires et des revues académiques : des agences de développement, des organisations de la société civile spécialisées, des réseaux internationaux (UCGL, FMDV, etc.) et des corps professionnels ont produit des rapports contenant des informations empiriques précieuses, basées sur des collectes de données quantitatives et qualitatives ou des restitutions d’événements. En résumé : autant les acteurs impliqués dans la gouvernance des villes africaines sont nombreux, autant les initiatives de recherche créent de la sensibilisation et des données. Dans ce contexte de débats vifs et d'expertise croissante, deux grands problèmes se posent : le premier est la communication limitée et la collaboration restreinte entre les membres de cette communauté de recherche et de gouvernance urbaine. Chaque institution étant absorbée par ses propres agendas, objectifs et centres d'intérêt, il peut être difficile d'identifier des initiatives de recherche similaires menées par d'autres organisations. Deuxièmement, il est de notoriété commune qu’après leur publication, certaines données et rapports restent inexploités tandis que de nouveaux projets et initiatives de recherche sont déjà en préparation. En lien avec ce problème, certaines institutions réfléchissent à la manière d’améliorer la promotion et l’élargissement de la diffusion de leurs produits de recherche. Le programme de recherche sur « Gouverner la transition urbaine en Afrique » coordonné par l'Institut français des relations internationales (Ifri) vise à créer des connaissances sur la gouvernance urbaine en développant des approches pour aborder ces questions, qui concernent le lien entre la recherche, son utilité sociale et l’action concrète. L'architecture même du programme reflète cette approche de recherche orientée vers la résolution de problèmes : elle repose sur l’objectif de coproduire des connaissances avec différents acteurs clés impliqués dans la gouvernance urbaine, tant à l’international, qu’au niveau bilatéral et national. À partir de 2022, le projet se concentrera sur des études continentales, régionales, nationales (Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Nigeria, Sénégal et Tanzanie) et locales portant sur trois domaines interconnectés de la gouvernance urbaine : le foncier, la mobilité et les infrastructures. L’un des principaux sujets de la première année est l’accent croissant mis par les gouvernements, la communauté internationale, mais aussi les entreprises, sur la promotion des villes de taille moyenne et des nouvelles villes. Les publications porteront, par exemple, sur les enseignements tirés du projet de « nouvelle ville » à Diamniadio. Initialement annoncé comme une initiative pour décongestionner la capitale sénégalaise Dakar, des rapports et discours sur son caractère de ville fantôme et la viabilité limitée des créations urbaines ex nihilo se multiplient. Une autre recherche porte sur les villes de taille moyenne au Nigeria, où la recherche sur les politiques urbaines s’est largement concentrée sur la croissance exponentielle de la mégapole Lagos. Les résultats de cette recherche seront présentés et discutés lors de webinaires impliquant des décideurs et des experts des pays concernés. Le centre Afrique subsaharienne de l'Ifri organise un programme de recherche sur les grands défis des transitions urbaines en Afrique (2022-2024). Il a mis en place un consortium composé d'experts d'organisations internationales, des pays cibles de l'étude, ainsi que de la France et de l'Allemagne (et le réseau est encore en expansion), qui couvrent les domaines professionnels suivants : organisations internationales multilatérales et clés dans le domaine de la gouvernance urbaine en Afrique, agences de développement bilatérales, institutions académiques, secteur privé/entreprises impliquées dans le développement des infrastructures urbaines, maires, corps professionnels (par exemple dans les domaines du foncier et de l’urbanisme), ainsi que des fondations et des organisations de la société civile. Avant la création du consortium, une phase de consultation d'un an avec des parties prenantes basées en France, en Allemagne et au Kenya a permis de rencontrer et de discuter avec des chercheurs, des experts et des représentants de différentes institutions afin de comprendre leurs approches et définitions de la gouvernance urbaine, d’en apprendre davantage sur leurs activités et d’identifier leurs besoins en termes de production et de diffusion de connaissances de leurs propres initiatives de recherche. Sur la base de ces entretiens et de ces sessions de travail avec les membres du consortium, une carte des initiatives et données existantes a été créée, des idées pour accroître leur impact et étendre leur portée ont été développées, et un pool de domaines de recherche qui restent à aborder a été établi. Il est nécessaire de mieux comprendre les questions foncières, le financement des infrastructures et la mobilité, que ce programme abordera à travers des études de cas portant sur des capitales et des villes de taille moyenne en Côte d'Ivoire, au Kenya, au Nigeria, au Sénégal et en Tanzanie. La coproduction de connaissances est le concept clé de ce consortium. Elle sera mise en œuvre à travers différentes méthodes de collecte de données, d'analyse et de diffusion de la recherche. “Ateliers multi-acteurs sur différents aspects de la gouvernance urbaine” En plus des webinaires classiques et d'une conférence annuelle organisée à tour de rôle dans une ville européenne et une ville africaine, les ateliers seront des moments clés pour coproduire, partager et échanger. Les partenaires du consortium se réuniront pour discuter de sujets sélectionnés. Durant la première année du programme, les événements porteront sur le financement durable des projets de « nouvelles villes ». Basé sur l’expérience de l’Ifri en tant que think tank leader sur les relations internationales, l’événement abordera la question du financement des infrastructures urbaines en tant que terrain fertile pour la concurrence géopolitique, à mesure que le nombre de partenariats public-privé (PPP) et d’accords de financement entre les gouvernements africains et des partenaires « traditionnels » et « nouveaux » (par exemple, la Turquie, les États du Golfe, la Chine) augmente. Un autre webinaire abordera différentes approches de la gouvernance urbaine dans les villes de taille moyenne, y compris la coopération décentralisée et la diplomatie des villes. Lors de ces événements, les participants partageront leurs expériences professionnelles quotidiennes en les confrontant aux perspectives et analyses d’experts et de chercheurs. Inversement, les chercheurs et experts auront l’occasion de se rapprocher des professionnels, praticiens et décideurs impliqués dans les secteurs foncier, de la mobilité et des infrastructures de la gouvernance urbaine. L'objectif est de créer un environnement d'apprentissage constructif, où tous les participants cherchent à dépasser les frontières institutionnelles et les cloisonnements thématiques. Briser les frontières de la connaissance entre le « Sud global » et le « Nord global » L’une des principales observations de la recherche sur les villes africaines est que les outils de gouvernance et de planification, les normes et les modèles sont largement inspirés d’approches occidentales, dont certaines se sont révélées incompatibles avec les réalités de la vie urbaine sur le terrain (Lindell, 2008). Le pool de chercheurs et d’experts impliqués dans le programme a travaillé dans des institutions internationales, africaines et européennes et acquis de l’expérience dans la création de villes dans différents contextes. Ils contribueront aux discussions transversales et déconstruiront les approches dominantes. Les articles comparatifs et coécrits confrontant des études de cas et croisant des approches disciplinaires sont encouragés. Les produits de recherche se concentreront sur différentes échelles d'analyse allant du niveau continental au niveau local. “Un réseau croissant de chercheurs, d'experts et de professionnels” Le consortium et les événements qui seront organisés sont conçus comme une plateforme d'échange, d'apprentissage et de mise en réseau. Le réseau se développera au fil du temps en incluant davantage d'institutions, d'experts et en particulier de jeunes chercheurs intéressés par une recherche novatrice axée sur les politiques et les actions en matière de gouvernance urbaine. Les praticiens de différents secteurs urbains soulignent parfois les impacts limités, directs et mesurables, de la recherche sur les projets urbains et les communautés cibles. Bien que ce programme de recherche n’ait pas pour objectif de formuler des solutions fixes et compactes pour la gouvernance urbaine, sa fondation sur un consortium multi-acteurs facilitera l'accessibilité et la compréhension des résultats de la recherche par un public non académique et orienté vers l'action, augmentant ainsi sa signification. Notre approche de coproduction aidera à inclure les perspectives des parties prenantes de différents domaines professionnels liés à la gouvernance urbaine dans la conception de la recherche. Les perspectives et connaissances créées se diffuseront à travers les activités et approches du programme : Événements de restitution : La plupart des études publiées (formats longs et courts), publiées en anglais et en français, seront présentées par leurs auteurs lors de cycles de webinaires et/ou lors de la conférence annuelle ouverte au grand public. La première conférence annuelle est prévue à Dakar en 2023 et réunira des experts et de jeunes chercheurs de la région pour partager des connaissances et discuter des défis liés au foncier, aux infrastructures et à la mobilité dans les projets de nouvelles villes établis dans la région. Certaines des recherches menées seront également présentées lors de petits ateliers multi-acteurs, où les praticiens du consortium pourront directement partager leurs préoccupations quant à la pertinence et à la réutilisation des résultats de la recherche dans leur travail quotidien. Si des fonds sont disponibles, des événements de restitution régionaux et locaux permettront à la population cible de projets urbains spécifiques, ainsi qu'aux représentants de la société civile et des mouvements de base, de partager leurs commentaires et d'évaluer la signification des résultats de la recherche. Collaborations scientifiques entre différentes institutions d'apprentissage : dans la mesure où les sujets le permettent, nos chercheurs seront encouragés à coécrire leurs articles avec des collègues d’autres instituts de recherche, afin de favoriser les synergies entre les institutions d’apprentissage et d’élargir le réseau. L'Ifri collabore étroitement avec les Instituts français de recherche à l'étranger (UMIFRE), qui sont des plateformes renforçant la collaboration scientifique entre les chercheurs français et les laboratoires de recherche du monde entier. Les bureaux à Nairobi, au Kenya, et à Ibadan, au Nigeria, sont des partenaires proches qui nous aident à identifier de jeunes chercheurs et experts ainsi que des initiatives de recherche traitant de sujets liés à la gouvernance urbaine. Membres actifs du consortium représentés dans nos pays cibles d’étude : en plus des chercheurs qui mènent des travaux de terrain, le consortium de recherche est composé d'organisations internationales, d'agences de développement, de fondations et d'entreprises ayant des bureaux dans nos différents pays cibles d'étude. Ils sont concrètement impliqués dans différents aspects de la gouvernance urbaine, tels que la formulation de politiques, l’urbanisme, le financement, la conception et la mise en œuvre d’infrastructures, mais aussi le soutien aux organisations de la société civile. La présence active de nos partenaires sur le terrain, y compris des chercheurs, ONU-Habitat, la Fondation Friedrich-Ebert, l'Agence française de développement, mais aussi Bureau Veritas, Egis, Meridiam, Orange et la Société, est cruciale lors de la diffusion de nos résultats de recherche, lors de leurs propres événements et activités, mais aussi lors de la coorganisation de séminaires de restitution sur place. Ils serviront également de nœuds pour les réseaux locaux que nous entendons construire et étendre pendant le programme. Conçu comme un consortium de recherche multi-acteurs, notre programme est une initiative novatrice qui vise à exploiter l'expertise des différentes parties prenantes impliquées dans la gouvernance urbaine pour coproduire une recherche pertinente et socialement utile. Après un an de revue de la littérature, de réseautage et de plusieurs séries de réunions de consultation, le programme de recherche « Gouverner la transition urbaine en Afrique » a été lancé en mai 2022 à l’Ifri à Paris. Les membres du consortium se sont réunis pour préparer et valider la feuille de route de la première année du programme et ont décidé à la fois du programme de recherche et des événements à organiser. Le foncier, les infrastructures et la mobilité seront traités comme des domaines clés interconnectés de la gouvernance urbaine. L’évaluation de ces secteurs est particulièrement pertinente dans les villes de taille moyenne, qui reflètent certains des taux de croissance urbaine les plus élevés du continent. L'agenda de la première année met également l'accent sur la politique de la gouvernance urbaine, y compris la concurrence géopolitique croissante autour des projets d'infrastructures urbaines par des pays partenaires dits « traditionnels » et « émergents ». La fondation du consortium de recherche a été lancée, mais il ne peut vivre et se développer que si d'autres experts, chercheurs et partenaires rejoignent l’aventure et alimentent nos réflexions et débats sur la gouvernance urbaine tout au long de sa mise en œuvre. Previous Next

Nairobi is Kenya's capital, premier city, and one of Africa's most important cities. Nairobi is East Africa’s largest and most industrially diversified city with a population of about 5.0 million. The city has grown and transformed significantly in recent years, in large part due to real estate and retail developments that have reshaped the city’s built environment. This series illustrates the dynamics in place in this bustling capital of East Africa. Nairobi-Kenya Nairobi is Kenya's capital, premier city, and one of Africa's most important cities. Nairobi is East Africa’s largest and most industrially diversified city with a population of about 5.0 million. The city has grown and transformed significantly in recent years, in large part due to real estate and retail developments that have reshaped the city’s built environment. This series illustrates the dynamics in place in this bustling capital of East Africa.

< Back Les jardins de Ben M'sik : construits par la communauté, pour la communauté Tarik Zoubdi Ben M'sik, un projet de logements sociaux à Casablanca, vise à améliorer les conditions de vie de 240 familles du bidonville "Douar Khalifa" dans le cadre du programme "Villes sans bidonvilles". Le projet, inspiré par l'histoire et le patrimoine du Maroc, présente une faible profondeur, une double orientation et des vues dégagées sur un grand parc. Le projet est partiellement autofinancé, avec 47 % financé par le "Fonds de solidarité habitat et intégration urbaine" et 38 % par les futurs résidents. En 2003, les attentats de Casablanca ont fait 41 morts. Les terroristes étaient tous originaires du bidonville de Sidi Moumen. Manifestement, ces quartiers manquent des moyens les plus élémentaires. Ce sont souvent des terrains fertiles pour ce type de tragédie (criminalité, chômage, extrémisme, ...). Par conséquent, l'accès à un logement décent, à une éducation de qualité et à des services publics adéquats est une solution viable pour restaurer un minimum de "justice sociale". C'est dans cet esprit et dans le cadre du programme "Villes sans bidonvilles" que les logements sociaux construits à Ben M'sik ont été créés pour améliorer les conditions de vie de 240 familles du bidonville "Douar Khalifa" situé à proximité du site du projet. De plus, contrairement à plusieurs autres projets de logements, la proximité de celui-ci avec l'emplacement du bidonville concerné a évité le déracinement des habitants de leur environnement habituel, sans perturber considérablement leur quotidien. Vue globale-2022-Alessio Mei Photographie Le projet bénéficie d'un emplacement privilégié au milieu de plusieurs équipements et services locaux, notamment une mosquée, un centre de santé, un centre de jeunesse (en construction), un centre social, un complexe sportif local, un centre de formation professionnelle et plusieurs autres écoles. Tarik Zoubdi né le 22 février 1982, est un architecte marocain, diplômé de l'École nationale d'architecture en 2006, et titulaire d’un « Master of resilient, sustainable, and smart building and cities » de l'Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique en 2020. Son atelier d’architecture TZA a été fondé en 2008. En 2018, il remporte avec Mounir Benchekroun le Prix du jury et celui du public aux Architizer A+Awards dans la catégorie « Primary and High school »1 à New York2, et le Prix du meilleur bâtiment éducatif et culturel aux « Arab Architects Awards » à Beyrouth3. Depuis 2019, il est enseignant à l’École d’architecture de l’Université internationale de Rabat. La faible profondeur des bâtiments permet à 83 % des appartements de bénéficier d'une double orientation garantissant une abondante lumière naturelle et une ventilation transversale très efficace. De plus, la morphologie serpentine du complexe permet des vues dégagées sur le grand parc adjacent. Le vocabulaire architectural du projet s'inspire de l'histoire et du patrimoine du Maroc, de la beauté de sa lumière et de ses paysages naturels. Les formes, les couleurs et les textures permettent aux bâtiments de s'ancrer fortement dans leur contexte géographique et culturel, tout comme les maisons du quartier avec leurs teintes variées d'ocre. Ce respect exprimé envers l'identité locale permet une intégration du projet dans son environnement, facilitant son adoption par les futurs résidents et leurs voisins. Pour l'aspect bioclimatique, la ventilation naturelle transversale des appartements à double orientation rafraîchit les intérieurs. De plus, les jardins extérieurs inspirés des "Ryads" marocains seront couverts de végétation dense qui adoucit l'atmosphère en été, et laisse passer les rayons du soleil en hiver, grâce à la prédominance des arbres à feuilles caduques. Les passages sous les sabats stimulent la ventilation naturelle de ces "patios ouverts", évitant ainsi le phénomène d'îlot de chaleur. Prévus sur des terrains publics, le projet a coûté l'équivalent de seulement 230 euros le mètre carré, malgré l'installation d'ascenseurs dans tous les 18 bâtiments. L'ensemble de l'opération a été partiellement autofinancé jusqu'à environ 47 % ; grâce à la vente de la surface commerciale, 15 % du budget ont été fournis par le "Fonds de solidarité habitat et intégration urbaine (FSHIU)", et seulement 38 % seront fournis par les futurs résidents, principalement par le biais d'un crédit à long terme garanti par l'État à travers son fonds Damane Assakan. Previous Next

< Back Reaping the Urban Dividend: Sustainable and Safe Urban Mobility in Africa Debashish Bhattacharjee and Stefanie Holzwarth Rapid urbanization in Africa brings both opportunities and challenges. While urban areas have seen significant economic growth, issues like traffic congestion, road crashes, and lack of safe transport hinder progress. The "Reclaiming Streets for Pedestrians and Cyclists in Africa" project aims to address these challenges. It promotes safer street designs, integrating walking and cycling infrastructure. Through capacity building and pilot initiatives in Kenya, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Guinea, and Rwanda, the project enhances road safety and urban mobility. By emphasizing pedestrian and cyclist safety in national road safety frameworks and facilitating regional collaboration, it paves the way for safer and more sustainable urban transport systems across Africa. The world’s most rapidly growing cities are in Africa. Since 1990, the number of cities in Africa has doubled and their cumulative population has increased by 500 million people , with one-third of Africa’s per capita GDP growth due to urbanisation . But, the full potential of urbanisation is yet to be realised. Among the underlying causes holding back the potential of the continent are the high levels of traffic congestion and road traffic crashes that occur in the region which is also linked with the lack of affordable, safe and convenient public transport and proper footpaths and bike-lanes As African cities grow and attract more people, there is an opportunity to shape them in more resource-efficient ways, that minimise travel and provide vibrant spaces for economic activities and social interaction, making them engines of social and economic development. This requires “a whole of society approach” led by the government but where business, civil society and academic institutions play crucial roles. Impactful “solutions” can be found in walking and cycling if put at the heart of policy and planning. Safe and vibrant streets can solve many challenges that African cities currently face and their implementation is usually at lower cost than the alternatives. By reviewing experiences from various cities and putting in place processes that build on successes from within the region, such a “learning from doing” approach can help Africa to make urbanisation work for the benefit of its people and for the planet. Intersection redesign in Quelimane Mozambique. 2022 UN-Habitat Africa’s urban population has tripled in size in little more than two decades since 1990 and its cities will gain over 900 million new residents by 2050, making Africa the most rapidly urbanizing region in the world . While one third of per capita, GDP growth has been attributed to urbanisation, the informal sector accounts for more than 80 % of jobs in African cities. The Covid 19 pandemic severely affected this sector decimating livelihoods of large sections of the population who have little or no support from social protection measures. In addition to putting in place social safety nets for the vulnerable, restoring and improving livelihoods for the large section of society who depend on informal sources of employment in cities should therefore be amongst the top priorities across the countries of the region. It is in this context that decent “urban mobility” should be seen as a key enabler for people to pursue livelihoods, access basic health and education services and engage in social interaction all contributing to building their resilience and capabilities particularly of those who are the most vulnerable. People in Dar es Salaam crossing over to the BRT station. 2018. Julius Mwelu - UN-Habitat Currently, Africa has the lowest emissions amongst the regions of the world. But emissions are rapidly increasing together with the growth in car ownership driven mainly by import of used vehicles from other regions . Transportation also is a large source of multiple pollutants and air pollution is now the second largest cause of death in Africa (1.1 million deaths in 2019 alone). In addition, road traffic crashes are a major cause of death and disability in the region. Globally, Africa accounts for 3% of registered vehicles but 20% of fatalities from road crashes. 261 pedestrians and 18 cyclists are killed in Africa every day. According to a World Bank report the total cost of fatalities and serious injuries in the region in 2016, amounted to $128 billion and 9% of GDP -the highest in the world . According to the WHO 2018 Global status report, only 11 African countries have design standards for pedestrians and cyclists. In the region, people spend on an average nearly one hour on walking and cycling – not by choice but due to a lack of other options . Public transport is largely informally operated in African cities with fleets comprising so called “minibus taxis” known by various names in different countries e.g matatus in Kenya and dala dalas in Tanzania. These operate in an erratic manner in responding to travel demand, with operators competing for passengers on the road and generally provide a poor level of service associated with road safety challenges. However, for the majority of people, this may be the only “public transport” option available. Moreover, based on data analysed by UN-Habitat from 138 African cities, only around 32% of people living in these cities can access convenient public transport services within a distance of 500m/ 1000m (depending on carrier capacity). A modern, efficient and safe multi-modal transport system, comprised of public transport accessible to people by a short and comfortable walk or bike ride should thus be a part of the vision of African cities to stem the huge drain on resources and boost their economies in addition to addressing the human tragedy and suffering caused by road traffic crashes. Cycling fighting his way on Nairobi roads. 2020. UN-Habitat A large majority of the African urban residents rely on walking and cycling, with data for many cities showing up to 50-70% of the transport trips. At the same time, the infrastructure for active mobility is often lacking or in poor condition, causing severe safety impacts for the urban population. This alarming situation is often compounded by the lack of integrated transport and urban planning practices, resulting in a priority towards car-oriented transport policies and practices and outdated street design standards with little reference to “complete streets” in urban areas. It is against this background that UN-Habitat is coordinating the “Reclaiming Streets for Pedestrians and Cyclists in Africa” project funded by the United Nations Road Safety Fund, and implemented in collaboration with the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP). The project aims to significantly reduce road fatalities among the most vulnerable road users in the countries of Kenya, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Guinea and Rwanda. The project implements large-scale capacity building programmes on safe street designs, for instance in Kisumu, Kenya, where a Minecraft workshop (digital lego for urban design) was organized with local communities to identify their main proposals for better streets. These proposals were tested through a tactical urbanism intervention showcased at the Africities conference in 2022. Safe Routes to School Campaign in Mombasa 2023. Vipul Patel Through the provision of technical assistance, the “Reclaiming Streets” project also contributes to the implementation of pilot initiatives. Public spaces and footpaths that are better designed to safely accommodate rather than hinder street-vending and other such small businesses, can actually boost social activities, employment and potentially also land values. One pilot initiative supported by the “Reclaiming Streets” project is the Nairobi River Life Project, a joint initiative of the Kenyan Government, UN-Habitat and other partners. Under this initiative, opportunities are being developed for regenerating inner city neighbourhoods, supporting local economies, providing alternative connectivity through a network of green and public spaces and a safe network of walkways and bicycle paths, managing storm water, and creating water reservoirs and water parks. Participatory Minecraft workshop on Street Designs. Kisumu 2022. UN-habitat The “Reclaiming Streets” project furthermore assists countries in strengthening their national road safety frameworks for instance by emphasizing the need for safe walking and cycling in Mozambique’s National Road Safety Masterplan, or through its support to the development of Rwanda’s National Street Design Manual. Through regional dissemination of good practice, the project inspires countries across the continent to follow successful pathways towards safer mobility. Together with partners, the project contributed to the first Africa-wide convening for walking and cycling in Kigali, Rwanda. The Forum addressed the long-standing issues with walking and cycling on the continent and initiated the drafting of regional action plans. Lastly, the project also strengthens the collaboration with development banks and financiers and offers support for in providing NMT audits to externally financed mobility projects. As walking and cycling should be considered part of an integrated, multi-modal transport system, the project emphasizes the links with public transport in the context of transit-oriented development. Over the years, UN-Habitat has also assisted African cities in planning for modern public transport systems and provided expertise towards operational planning or corridor design in cities such Kampala, Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Kigali or Dar es Salaam. Road Safety Campaign in Mozambique 2022. UN-Habitat Safe and sustainable mobility is essential for economies to thrive in Africa. Improving accessibility and mobility for all is enabling more people, particularly women and those that were previously constrained by a variety of reasons, such as disabilities and poverty to participate in economic, social and cultural activities and access educational, health and other social services making cities more vibrant engines of economic growth and social development, while also restraining the growing emissions in the region. The Reclaiming Streets project is significantly reducing road fatalities in its partner cities by implementing safer streets for pedestrians and cyclists. Through tactical urbanism interventions and technical assistance for street designs, the project results in safer infrastructure for vulnerable road users while encouraging design features that slow down the speed of motorized transport. The project contributes to safer urban street designs under a complete streets approach, for instance in Rwanda at the Kinamba and Akabuga intersections, or in Ethiopia in 2 school areas in Addis Ababa. In collaboration with the local governments, the project assists during the implementation phase and will assess reductions in injuries/fatalities in a sample number of locations. Cyclist in Mozambique. 2022. UN-Habitat Previous Next

< Back African Cities Magazine 2 October 31, 2021 This second edition of our magazine takes up some of the major axes that underlie the development of African cities. A special feature is devoted to education in architecture and urban planning in Africa in the first part. Then we address major issues of the urban future of the continent including public spaces, urban resilience, smart city. etc. You will have the opportunity to discover special interviews with some of the major actors of architecture and urbanism on the continent, who will present their visions for the African cities of tomorrow. Inspiring projects in architecture and urbanism are also presented, especially those that promote better social inclusion, integration of local communities, and local economic development. Finally, this second edition of the magazine shows the place of religious cultures in architecture in Africa before highlighting inspiring urban art projects. Special feature: Education in architecture, planning and design in Africa: challenges and vision for more sustainable and resilient African cities A series of interviews with academics, researchers and heads of urban studies teaching institutions to understand the challenges and draw a common vision of how to teach architecture and urban planning to build more sustainable cities in Africa. Interview with Professor Jérôme Chenal Academic Director Excellence in Africa (EXAF - EPFL) I n this interview conducted by Patrick Emmanuel Somy ij Abidjan in Ivory Coast , the themes mentioned are the challenges of African cities, the role of education in urban studies for more sustainable cities in Africa, the models of the urban planners of tomorrow, the vision of the African city of tomorrow, etc. Portrait of Hayate Ndiaye, president of the national order of architects of Chad The sustainable city is above all a city thought locally by the inhabitants... English version Version française Previous Next

Marrakech, one of Morocco's most captivating cities, is renowned for its vibrant culture, historic architecture, and bustling souks. Known as the "Red City" due to its famous red sandstone walls, Marrakech is situated at the foothills of the stunning Atlas Mountains. It serves as a major economic center and tourist destination, blending ancient traditions with modernity. The heart of Marrakech is its UNESCO World Heritage-listed medina, a labyrinth of narrow alleys where travelers can explore palaces, mosques, and markets. The city is also famous for its beautiful gardens like the Majorelle Garden, and lively squares such as Djemaa el-Fna, where food stalls, snake charmers, and performers offer a taste of Moroccan life. Marrakesh-Morocco Marrakech, one of Morocco's most captivating cities, is renowned for its vibrant culture, historic architecture, and bustling souks. Known as the "Red City" due to its famous red sandstone walls, Marrakech is situated at the foothills of the stunning Atlas Mountains. It serves as a major economic center and tourist destination, blending ancient traditions with modernity. The heart of Marrakech is its UNESCO World Heritage-listed medina, a labyrinth of narrow alleys where travelers can explore palaces, mosques, and markets. The city is also famous for its beautiful gardens like the Majorelle Garden, and lively squares such as Djemaa el-Fna, where food stalls, snake charmers, and performers offer a taste of Moroccan life.

On November 9, 2023, the prestigious K Hotel in Douala was the vibrant scene of the fourth edition of the captivating World Cities Day Talk. < Back World Cities Day Talk edition 4 On November 9, 2023, the prestigious K Hotel in Douala was the vibrant scene of the fourth edition of the captivating World Cities Day Talk. On November 9, 2023, the K Hotel in Douala hosted the fourth edition of the World Cities Day Talk . This annual event, organized by the Africa Innovation Network (AIN) in collaboration with architecture firms NANDHAA, Focus Group and FAH'SI Group , brilliantly explored the theme of urban resilience in Cameroon, attracting nearly 50 participants to an enriching evening at the K'Hotel in Douala. It was also the ritual opportunity to unveil the new issue of the African Cities Magazine by the AIN. This vibrant magazine highlights the multiple facets of African cities, celebrating innovations and best practices in architecture, urban planning, design and urban art (download edition 4 of the magazine at: https://www.africinno.com/africancitiesmagazine?lang=fr ). The evening began with a warm welcome from the organizers, followed by a captivating recap of past editions of the World City Day Talk, providing fascinating historical insight. AIN then opened the discussions by presenting both an interactive Quiz and a video which provided an understanding of the current context of urban resilience in Cameroon, thus laying the foundations for future discussions. The interventions were dynamic and fascinating. Dr. Magloire Olinga brilliantly moderated a discussion on the key actors involved in urban resilience in Cameroon. In his speech, he presented the role and responsibilities of each actor. He insisted on the blocking points to be corrected to allow concerted intervention by each actor. The rest of his speech strongly engaged the audience who did not fail to provide contributions and questions to better understand the subject raised. The following topics brilliantly explored the challenges to achieving this resilience, while Horcel Sokeng shared key perspectives on the action levers essential to this urban resilience, including the subject of concerted urban governance for good coordination and consistency in actions that contribute to the development of cities; and also citizen participation through civic and informed acts to avoid exposing oneself to any risk in order to understand urban resilience. The practical discussions on the acquisition and security of real estate in Cameroon, led by Wisdom International, allowed participants to better understand the regulatory and security process of acquiring real estate in Cameroon; this through the presentation of each step and the key players that each person wishing to settle in a place should consult. Dongmo Justice's dynamic presentation on the importance of research and innovation in building resilient cities highlighted the crucial impact of these elements in urban transformation. An energetic conclusion closed the evening, followed by a photo and networking session, allowing participants to exchange and nourish the ideas shared. The appointment has already been made for next year for a new edition of this annual meeting which promises to be just as exciting. Previous Next

< Back Cameroon museums: The language of symbols for cosmo-architecture The Route des Chefferies is a program in Cameroon that focuses on safeguarding and promoting heritage for over twenty years. It aims to restore and create spaces that promote the heritage of populations, chiefdoms, and the region as a whole. The program has led to the nomination of several traditional buildings to the World Heritage list with UNESCO. The contemporary architecture of the museums and heritage huts is inspired by the traditional aspects of the Grassfields, contributing to the scenographic development of the territory. The Museum of Civilizations is an interpretation center of Cameroonian civilizations, open to the public since 2010. It features a nautical base, beach volleyball court, playground, craft center, and a Garden of Civilizations. The Royal Museum of Foumban combines tradition and modernity, featuring the coat of arms of the Bamoun Sultanate. The Bamendjinda community museum highlights the specificities of the Bamendjinda chiefdom under the theme "Arts-Tradition and Slavery." The Route des Chefferies is a program of safeguarding and promotion of heritage in Cameroon, which, for about twenty years. It works in the restoration and creation of spaces aimed at promoting the heritage of the populations, the chiefdoms, and the region as a whole. This program, innovative in Africa, integrates a large pole dedicated to the development of the territory, to architecture, and to the design of heritage. This pole works on the cultural and tourist development of the territory by proposing buildings and places imbued with an «African» scenography that allows for the reinforcement of a rural cultural centrality. The urbanity here is specific because it navigates in a world where the living rub shoulders with the world of the ancestors, the invisible world. It also contributes to the rehabilitation of traditional buildings in danger, and participates in their safeguard in the case of various programs. Thus, since 2018, the restoration work carried out by several chieftaincies has led to the nomination of several traditional buildings (traditional palaces of Bandjoun, Bapa, Batoufam, Mankon, Bafut ...) to the list of World Heritage with UNESCO. The contemporary architecture of the museums and heritage huts (14 heritage huts have been built to date) is fundamentally inspired by the traditional aspects of the Grassfields, which will be recalled in the first part of this article, in order to contribute to the scenographic development of the territory, notably through the creation of cultural buildings detailed in the second part, all within the framework of work in communion with local craftsmen and artists, but also with the elements offered by nature in the Grassfields. The Museum of Civilization The Museum of Civilizations is an interpretation center of the civilizations of Cameroon open to the public since November 20, 2010. This building, located on the shores of Lake Dschang, has become an authentic place of leisure and culture thanks to its nautical base (2005), its beach volleyball court, its playground (2006), its craft center (2010) and very soon a Garden of Civilizations. After an introductory presentation of Cameroon over the centuries, the visitor is invited to discover the Cameroonian people in its identity both plural and fusional: the peoples of the forest with their totemic expression, the peoples of the sea with the revival of the Ngondo cultural festival, the Sudanese-Sahelian peoples with their lamidats, chieftaincies, sultanates and the peoples of Grassfield with their mysterious chieftaincies. It is an interpretation center that promotes an integrated approach to cultural heritage that allows visitors, especially local communities, to reconnect with their roots while learning about the cultures of other regions. This approach is part of cultural tolerance, an important vector of cultural diversity. The contemporary African architecture, signed by the architect Sylvain Djache Nzefa, founder of La Route des Chefferies, is characterized by the symphony of symbols: spider, buffalo, elephant woman, Abbia jettons, and local languages. The Museum of Civilization, with its multiple functions, is endowed with history, knowledge, and intelligence. In the world of the living, in the Bamileke cosmogony, men and animals dialogue, and this dialogue is also done in representation. Among the living, the one who possesses the sum of all experiences is the old man. Everywhere in Black Africa, the old man «was» considered to be the wise man, the connoisseur, the one who «held» the truth, through his multiple experiences. It is his knowledge that is symbolized through the spider. According to Pierre Harter: The spider-mygale, symbol of knowledge, often takes the form of a small single or double circle, with four crossed legs and not eight, which makes it possible to compose on certain mask headdresses or certain engravings of libation horns, a sort of diamond or square mesh net. The spider thus appears as the central element of the architecture of the Museum of Civilization: it is taken here as an architectural element that gives rhythm to the façade. The façade is treated as a mask through blue moldings. There is a desire to hide what is behind. Let us not forget that in the Negro-African, the masks speak; the wearer is possessed by his mask. Here, the wearer is the museum. The mask representing the spider expresses the contents of this building, that is, knowledge. The buffalo and elephant masks symbolize strength, power, grandeur, and wealth. Another façade of the museum is covered with alphabets and the word «welcome» written in several languages and dialects spoken in Cameroon. The eye is busy here capturing the multitude of information, codes, landmarks, which are symbols representing the objectives, the roles of the building namely: educate, preserve, transmit, innovate... Through these symbols, a man approaches what is knowledge, intelligence, society, cosmology, and cosmogony. The motifs used for the moldings on the facades are stylized forms of masks, motifs such as the spider, the buffalo, the woman, and the elephant. The act of building or conceptualizing objects and habitats is seen as a support for knowledge and understanding of the other. It leads to a review of all that is at stake in the constitution and foundations of the different civilizations of Cameroon. The visitor is thus led to question his cultural identity by a better knowledge of himself, which facilitates in principle the dialogue between civilizations. The Museum of Civilization is developing an African museographic experience that aims to put the public at the heart of the process through didactic support and contextual settings that allow visitors to immerse themselves in the heart of Cameroonian cultures. It is not so much a matter of showing as of creating an experience of a visit by provoking sensations and emotions. Realized by a Franco-Cameroonian team, the content of the exhibition is based on a scientific and interdisciplinary approach (history, archaeology, ethnography, sociology, architecture, and heritage...). Dynamic and educational. The exhibition has been conceived, in space and time, in such a way as to integrate current events. With more than 500 objects, 1500 illustrations, video spaces, the museography integrates in an important way the traditional African materials worked in a contemporary approach by the local craftsmen (varnished or burned bamboo, banana bark, obom bark, cowries, beads, raffia, earth, coconuts...) This is the first time that we discover how traditional skills can be highlighted in contemporary scenography. The Museum of Civilizations does not find its justification in the existence of a collection of objects of its own; the pieces presented illustrate the discourse chosen by the designers and come mostly from loans and deposits of the chieftaincies. Royal Museum of Foumban The Bamoun Sultanate is located in the Western Region of the Republic of Cameroon in Central Africa. The Sultanate is at an altitude of 1200 meters and covers an area of 7,625 Km². The current Sultan, Ibrahim MBOUOMBOUO NJOYA, 19th of this dynasty, animated by the immeasurable concern to safeguard this rich multi secular heritage bequeathed by his ancestors, has undertaken for nearly two years, the construction of a new museum adapted to the museum rules and spacious enough to contain all the objects of the collection. The architect Issofa MBOUOMBOUO has thought of a symbolic architecture that combines tradition and modernity and which, in itself, is enough to be a museum. This symbolic architecture is a set composed of the coat of arms of the Kingdom such as: 1 - Double bell: Symbol of patriotism. It is an instrument used by the King to stimulate and galvanize his troops at the front. 2 - The spider: Symbol of work. The King wants his people to be as hardworking as the spider who spends all his time weaving webs. 3 - Snake with two heads : Symbol of the simultaneous victory of the Bamoun people on two fronts. It symbolizes the power of the Kingdom. The result of this masterpiece is the first vector of communication of this museum, through its cosmogonic architecture, following the example of the Museum of Civilization in Dschang. Heritage hut, community museum of the Bamendjinda chiefdom: art, tradition and slavery Its permanent exhibition, unique in the region and in Cameroon, highlights all the specificities of Bamendjinda under the theme «ARTS-TRADITION AND SLAVERY». The Bamendjinda chieftaincy has been marked by slavery, whether it be slave trade or customary slavery. Some cultures still commemorate this past. Its historical and social consequences are perceptible in its plastic production, in its cultural expressions, in the organization and functioning of its chieftaincy. SM TANEFO, the current chief of the Bamendjinda, actively participates in the work of memory on this part of the history of Cameroon. The Bamendjinda community museum plays a role in the collective memory at the social, cultural, educational, and economic levels. Through objects, illustrations, paintings, videos, and a library, this museum is accessible to the general public. It is playful, complete, and enhances the cultural heritage of the chiefdom. The visitor, through the decorations, is led to discover not only Bamendjinda from its origins to today, but also the history that has marked the social organization of the chieftaincies of the West and of Cameroon. The architect Sylvain DJACHE NZEFA once again highlights on the main façade of the museum a mask called «Katso mask» or «Batcham mask». This mask is generally used in secret societies and its presence on the façade is a sign of celebration of this object. Slavery is a historical phenomenon common not only to the Bamendjinda people, but to Cameroonians, Africans, and many others. It is our past, our history, our heritage, our future. This museum is the embodiment of the memory and cultural vitality of the Bamendjinda people. Heritage case of the Bapa chiefdom, rock village The permanent exhibition of this museum has 7 spaces related to the central theme: «MAN, NATURE AND BELIEFS». The spaces defined by the Bapa traditional chief, SM David SIMEU, are the following: Discovering: which presents the history and relations between Bapa and the neighboring villages, and the organization of the chieftaincy and the place of the secret societies; Soak up: presents the nature and physical geography of Bapa; Create and build, presents the different poles of activity found in Bapa, as well as the evolution of architecture, from bamboo constructions with interpretations of weavings, to earthen brick construction and spouted earth; Savor, highlights the gastronomy of the 4 cultural areas of Cameroon, the methods of conservation of traditional foods and the food prohibitions of the past and present; Warrior, presents the power to heal as well as the place of totemic animals in the Bapa culture; To think, invites us to reflect on the protection of the environment with a nod to CIPCRE, and also unveils the modified model of the Bapa chiefdom; Blending in, displays nature, the medicinal and edible plants that nature offers us, with a miniature map of the Bapa village, and the tchui waterfall. This museum is marked by its picturesque architecture, which values the conical roofs of the West, the stabilized earth brick and especially its entrance in the shape of a cave which calls upon the various caves and rocks found in the locality and its surroundings. The scenography here highlights the local know-how in a process of transformation of vegetable waste. Thus, the work carried out by the architects of the DRC with the craftsman Banana Fashon led to the innovation of wall coverings from: dried banana leaves, peanut shells, dried corn leaves, colored woven straws...These decorations extend the understanding of the theme of the exhibition which is to bring man closer to nature. In addition to the need to highlight the know-how and beauty of the Bapa culture, to perpetuate it for the education and edification of future generations are the main motivations of the chief. Drawing inspiration from traditional architecture in order to create the architecture of tomorrow is a guarantee of safeguarding and promoting traditional know-how. The Route des Chefferies, through a creative scenography of the territory, proposes a reinterpretation of the great architectural principles without denigrating them. It uses symbols, materials, and traditional elements to give a new vision of the territory. The Route des chefferies is currently working on new concepts within the framework of the Route des Seigneurs de la forêt, Route de l’eau and Route du sahel programs. Previous Next