Africa needs urban planning investment to deal with rapid city growth
Semafor · Alexander Onukwue ·
The number living in the continent’s cities is projected to nearly double to 1.7 billion by 2050.
Sub-Saharan African cities must invest in urban planning to create jobs for their rapidly growing populations, a new World Bank report said. Africa’s urban population is projected to nearly double to 1.7 billion by 2050, with Luanda, Lagos, and Kinshasa expected to lead the growth.
Urbanization suggests a surge in the number of young people seeking jobs, creating the need for policymakers to design environments that can “concentrate firms, workers, land, infrastructure, services, and connectivity,” the bank said. For example, Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, is one of Africa’s centers of tech and finance, but it still lacks much of the essential infrastructure — like efficient transportation — that make for a modern city. This infrastructure deficit is an “important opportunity” to attract private investment if urban planners make the right decisions about today’s underdeveloped lands, the report said.