ACRC, researchers to accelerate Lagos urban transformation, reforms
THE African Cities Research Consortium ( ACRC) plans to embark on action research that seeks to catalyse urban transformation and urban reforms, including enhancing service delivery and equitable local governance systems.
ACRC Senior officials disclosed this in Lagos, during a four- day programme organised by ACRC Lagos Uptake team, which drew community representatives, academic researchers and practitioners that focused on exploring learning approaches with the potential to address Priority Complex Problems ( PCPS), leading to economic development and poverty reduction, while addressing salient issues relating to climate change in the ACRC cities.
ACRC is funded by the UK’S Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office ( FCDO) as part of UK Aid initially focused on 13 African cities that undertook focused, inter- connected research that delivered real insights for local authorities, civil society and donors.
The African cities participating in the programme include Lagos and Maiduguri ( Nigeria), Accra ( Ghana), Addis Ababa ( Ethiopia), Bukavu ( DRC), Dar es Salaam ( Tanzania), Freetown ( Sierra Leone), Harare ( Zimbabwe), Kampala ( Uganda), Khartoum ( Sudan), Lilongwe ( Malawi), Mogadishu ( Somalia), and Nairobi ( Kenya).
The Guardian gathered PCPS action research will be implemented in all cities - with the four selected cities, such as Lagos, Accra and Nairobi going for four years, while non selected cities will have funding for 12- 18 months for single PCPS. The vision of the implementation phase is to use evidence from the foundation phase to support coalitions of urban reformers in selected African cities. ACRC has the ambitious aim of generating new evidence to catalyse integrated, sustainable, inclusive approaches to urban development challenges.
Lagos ACRC Project Lead, Prof. Taibat Lawanson said: “For the phase II, we are moving to action research - working to achieve three things: interventions that address challenges of vulnerable communities, engagement that strengthens institutional capacities and alignment with state policy on climate crisis and Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGS).”
On the emerging findings regarding Cities of Systems ( COS) and Domains on Lagos State Development Plans ( LSDP), Lawanson revealed the conflicting roles of the state as regulator and service provider, demand and supply deficits in urban infrastructure, influence of land holding families and spatial ( re) configurations, as well as effects of climate change in flooding, migration waves, social consequences, and food security. Among the proposed initiatives are creating a resilient and equitable housing market by increasing the share of formal housing to 70 per cent in line with leading peers, streamlining and fully automating the approval process for building and construction permits.
Speaking on catalysing reforms through action research, Chief Executive Officer, ACRC, Prof Diana Mitlin, said robust new knowledge and evidence on African ‘ cities of systems’ will lead to development of, and investment in more effective economic development and poverty reduction policies and programmes in African cities.
She disclosed that over one billion people live in informal settlements globally, while 56 per cent of urban residents live in informal settlements in cities and towns in sub- Saharan Africa and 45 per cent ( about 500 million) live in urban areas in sub- Saharan Africa - predicted to reach 666 million in 2030.
According to Mitlin, ACRC is looking for four preconditions for urban transformation such as political commitment from elites, formal and informal reform coalitions, agencies able to build short- and long- term state capacity and mobilised citizens pushing for change.
“We’ll help to generate evidence that creates, accelerates and sustains urban reforms through three connected approaches, political informed systems analysis, domain analysis of city policy and programming and action research. Insights and evidence that will help improve the living conditions, services and life chances of all residents, particularly for disadvantaged communities,” she said.
The professor of global urbanism at the University of Manchester, said ACRC and its partners plan to tackle complex problems in some of Africa’s fastest growing urban areas as the research will generate new evidence to catalyse integrated, sustainable, inclusive approaches to urban development.
Also, ACRC will support learning to advance the action research projects and advance the urban reform frontier, contribute to African academic scholarship by providing capability development and publications support, as well as outreach of findings to a wide range of international networks.
She stated that the longterm prospects for much of Africa would hinge on creating more sustainable, equitable and inclusive cities, adding that the consortium will tease out the complexities and highlight potential solutions to improve urban centres across the continent.
Earlier, the Lagos State Commissioner for Housing, Moruf Akinderu, said the stakeholders in Lagos are working together to make the city better and ensure no one will be left behind in urban development.