The World Urban Forum (WUF) concluded on Thursday with a high-level engagement of African Ministers of Housing, Urban Development and Local Government in collaboration with the African Union, ECA and UN-Habitat.
As Africa responds to the effects of multiple crises, Ministers stressed that the way in which cities and planned and managed will determine economic recovery and risk mitigation.
The role of local governments and effective decentralisation was considered central to addressing the vulnerability of households and communities in the current context of overlapping crises.
The urgent need to enhance financing and investment in African cities was underlined as essential to optimise their role in domestic resource mobilization and economic diversification.
In particular, the need to strengthen urban and spatial planning in policies for Africa’s regional trade integration was underscored.
Given the high risks for cities arising from climate-related disasters, the need for a clear urban track at COP27 was emphasized.
A roadmap was defined to elevate the urban agenda at the highest levels of decision-making and to advance concrete instruments to strengthen urban finance, housing delivery and climate action.
ECA facilitated the deliberations at the forum by organizing a number of events on cities and regional integration, the economic power of cities, and urban finance.