Strengthening climate resilience in African cities

The research paper outlines a strategy for 'climate compatible development' in African cities, which integrates climate change adaptation and mitigation with urban development. It emphasizes the need to work with informality and inequality, as a large portion of African urban growth occurs in slums. The authors propose a vision for 'adaptive African cities' and provide a practical eight-step model for community-based development, ranging from visioning and vulnerability mapping to the prioritisation of adaptation options and the tracking of outcomes.

• African cities are experiencing an unprecedented second wave of urbanisation (1950-2030), with a significant portion of growth occurring in slums and informal settlements that lack the governance and infrastructure to absorb this expansion.
• Urban populations in Africa are projected to grow from 33 million in 1950 to over 1.2 billion by 2050, with some cities in East, Central, and West Africa seeing informal settlement proportions as high as 60–80%.
• Slum and informal settlement residents are particularly vulnerable to climate impacts because they often live on marginal land and lack the infrastructure to withstand extreme events such as floods, heat waves, and storm surges.
• The authors propose a vision for 'adaptive African cities' that includes accepting informality as a core part of the city fabric, prioritising slum upgrading, and investing in low- and high-tech solutions like biogas digesters and solar water heaters.
• Climate compatible development in African cities should prioritise adaptation over mitigation, as per capita greenhouse gas emissions are relatively low, although mitigation co-benefits should be sought to leverage financing.
• The proposed framework for in situ development in informal settlements is based on eight principles, including achieving rapid results for safety, ensuring affordability of technologies, and enhancing security of land tenure.
• The document outlines an eight-step process for applying a community-based development model: 1) develop a vision, 2) map climate-sensitive linkages, 3) assess current vulnerabilities, 4) consider future vulnerability via projections, 5) identify adaptation options, 6) assess mitigation co-benefits, 7) prioritise options, and 8) establish tracking mechanisms.
• Effective climate compatible development requires partnerships between grassroots organisations, government agencies, and research institutions to bridge gaps in technical data, local knowledge, and analytical tools.

APA

Taylor, A., & Peter, C. (2014). Strengthening climate resilience in African cities. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/CDKN_ACC_WP_final_web-res.pdf

Chicago

Taylor, Anna, and Camaren Peter. Strengthening climate resilience in African cities. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2014. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/CDKN_ACC_WP_final_web-res.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Taylor |first1=Anna |last2=Peter |first2=Camaren |title=Strengthening climate resilience in African cities |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=May 2014 |url=http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/CDKN_ACC_WP_final_web-res.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{taylor2014strengthening, author = {Taylor, Anna and Peter, Camaren}, title = {{Strengthening climate resilience in African cities}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2014}, month = may, url = {http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/CDKN_ACC_WP_final_web-res.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }