Urban Resilience in Africa (Knowledge Series on African Urban Resilience)

The Knowledge Series for African Urban Resilience is a continent-wide review designed to establish the first comprehensive evidence base on the state of urban resilience across Africa. Anchored in the Africa Urban Resilience Programme (AURP) of the African Union Commission, and supported by GIZ’s Resilience Initiative Africa, UNDP, UN Habitat and UNU-EHS, it reviews resilience practices, gaps and opportunities across 50 urban areas across Africa. 
Through its novel six-step analytical framework, the project documents how African cities understand and operationalize resilience: assessing systems at risk, major stressors, critical urban functions, existing capacities, resilience enhancing attributes, and pathways for advancing resilience. It draws on structured document reviews, regional expert consultations and in depth qualitative case studies in five urban areas, namely, Bargny (Senegal), Damietta (Egypt), Ngaoundéré (Cameroon), Windhoek (Namibia) and Zanzibar (Tanzania), to ensure both continental breadth and local depth. 
The findings reveal an urban resilience landscape characterized by rapid urbanization, governance fragmentation, deep socioeconomic inequalities, and escalating climate and environmental stresses. While infrastructure and basic services dominate current resilience efforts, social inclusion, ecological systems, anticipatory capacities and transformational governance remain underdeveloped. At the same time, the study highlights emerging good practices, including nature-based solutions, participatory upgrading, youth-led innovation, multi actor coordination and risk informed planning.
It provides actionable insights and recommendations to strengthen evidence-based policymaking, shape investment priorities, and advance coordinated, inclusive and locally-grounded resilience strategies across African cities. It positions resilience as a foundational pillar for Africa’s urban development and a catalyst for equitable, climate-resilient futures.