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The iShack project in Enkanini, South Africa, provides solar home systems to households in an informal settlement, reducing reliance on hazardous energy sources and creating local employment. Supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and South Africa's Green Fund, the initiative has installed 1,026 solar systems, saving 92,556 kWH per year and creating 11 jobs for residents. The project focuses on incremental upgrades to slums through green technology and skills training for community-based 'iShack Agents'.

The document examines the proliferation of slums in Ghana, identifying drivers such as rapid urbanization, poverty, and the failure to implement national housing and environmental policies. Based on research in Accra and Sekondi-Takoradi, it highlights the severe lack of sanitation, healthcare, and secure housing, as well as the negative impacts on children and the environment. It argues that current housing policies are deficient because they ignore the needs of the poor and the role of social networks. The brief recommends against forced evictions, calling instead for slum upgrading, strategic private-sector partnerships for affordable housing, and the integration of slum dwellers' perspectives into urban planning.

The report examines the development of slums in Ghana, specifically within the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA). It identifies key drivers such as rural-urban migration, poverty, and systemic policy failures in housing. The study highlights the negative impacts of slums on child development, public health, and urban security, while also noting the potential for economic contributions through informal recycling and food services. It argues that the Ghana National Housing Policy is weak and fails to specifically address slums or cultural norms. The report recommends against forced evictions, calling instead for coordinated stakeholder collaboration, the upgrading of existing settlements, and a comprehensive revision of national housing policy to foster urban resilience.

The document asserts that informal settlements, which house over a billion people, are critically exposed to climate change yet largely excluded from climate planning and finance. It advocates for the meaningful participation of these communities in urban development and calls for a redirection of climate finance to reach the urban poor to avoid deepening vulnerabilities and carbon lock-in.

Africa is experiencing unprecedented urban growth, with its urban population expected to reach 1.4 billion by 2050. While this transition offers economic potential, it is occurring alongside slow structural transformation and pervasive poverty. The paper highlights the rise of megacities—such as Lagos, Cairo, and Kinshasa—and warns that without integrated urban planning and inclusive economic growth, cities will face increasing slum proliferation and urban violence.

The brief examines gender-sensitive approaches to climate compatible development in urban Kenya, focusing on the 'People’s Plans into Practice (PPP)' project in Kisumu. It finds that including vulnerable groups and women in decision-making improves the addressing of practical needs and enables women to assume leadership roles, although cultural attitudes continue to allow men to dominate planning processes.

The report examines how gender relations influence vulnerability to climate risks in urban Kisumu, Kenya. Using the People’s Plans into Practice (PPP) project (2008–2013) as a case study, it finds that while gender-sensitive programming—such as participatory design of water and sanitation facilities—can improve outcomes and empower women, deep-seated cultural biases and structural barriers like male-dominated land ownership persist. The study argues that for climate compatible development to be effective, it must move beyond 'gender-blind' or 'gender-aware' approaches toward 'gender-transformative' strategies that address the root causes of vulnerability and are supported by coordinated county-level policies.

The document argues that the current trajectory of urbanization in the Global South—characterized by rapid population growth outpacing economic growth and the 'urbanization of poverty'—risks locking cities into unsustainable patterns. It proposes a new categorization of cities based on economic productivity and population growth, focusing on 'struggling' and 'emerging' cities. The authors contend that providing equitable access to core services (housing, water, sanitation, energy, and transport) is the essential entry point for broader transformative urban change. Using case studies from Medellín and Surat, the paper illustrates how solving a 'seminal problem' can trigger a virtuous cycle of improvement across governance, finance, and planning, ultimately enhancing the quality of life for all residents.

The document assesses SEI's global urban research portfolio to identify strengths and gaps that can be leveraged for a new programme in sub-Saharan Africa. It finds that while SEI has diverse expertise across 64 projects, there is a lack of cross-centre collaboration and significant research gaps in Central and West Africa, as well as in specific areas like urban solid waste management and green infrastructure in the Global South. The report recommends replicating successful global projects in Africa and expanding research into under-studied regions and strategic themes such as urban governance and inclusive cities.

The report examines climate variability and projections for Kampala, finding that while annual rainfall has remained stable, temperatures rose by approximately 1ºC between 1979 and 2005. Future projections suggest temperature increases of 1.5ºC (RCP 4.5) to 3ºC (RCP 8.5) by 2095. The study highlights that flooding is the most significant climate impact, exacerbated by the encroachment of human settlements into wetlands and poor urban drainage. Economic estimates indicate that annual flood damages could rise from US$1.3–7.3 million in 2013 to US$33.2–101.7 million by 2050 under a business-as-usual scenario. The cost of climate-proofing buildings and roads between 2015 and 2050 is estimated at US$3.2 billion (RCP 4.5) to US$3.7 billion (RCP 8.5), with residential buildings accounting for 72% of these costs. A cost-benefit analysis of drainage improvements in four catchments showed mixed results, with only two projects yielding a positive net present value. The report recommends revising building codes and the Kampala Physical Development Plan, strengthening the enforcement of Environmental Impact Assessments to protect wetlands, and integrating informality into climate resilience strategies.

The 4PCCD project in Maputo's Chamanculo C neighbourhood demonstrated that participatory planning allows local residents to integrate climate change concerns into immediate development priorities, such as sanitation, which simultaneously reduces their vulnerability to climate-related impacts.

The project 'Public, Private, People Partnerships for Climate Compatible Development' (4PCCD) focused on the Chamanculo C neighbourhood in Maputo to test participatory planning methods. By establishing a community-led Climate Planning Committee (CPC), the project enabled residents to integrate climate concerns with local development priorities, such as drainage and waste management. The findings suggest that local citizens are eager to engage in climate action and that participatory methods can bridge the gap between technical climate information and the lived experience of vulnerable urban populations.

The report provides a guide for city practitioners to build climate resilience in African cities, specifically focusing on the challenges of informality and inequality. It proposes an eight-step process for climate compatible development that integrates climate dynamics with socioeconomic and political dimensions, ranging from developing a vision and mapping linkages to the informal sector to assessing vulnerabilities and tracking progress.

The 4PCCD project (2011-2013) implemented a participatory urban planning tool in Maputo, Mozambique, to identify local priorities for climate action. The project demonstrated that involving citizens from informal settlements can accelerate climate policy development and empower communities to present collective visions to government and private sectors. However, the findings indicate that meaningful community consultation and scientific climate impact assessments require sufficient allocations of time and financial resources.

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.

The 4PCCD project (2011-2013) implemented a Participatory Action Plan Development methodology in Maputo, Mozambique, to integrate local community knowledge into climate adaptation planning. By establishing a Climate Planning Committee (CPC) in the Chamanculo C bairro, the project empowered residents to develop a Community Plan for Climate Change Adaptation focused on drainage, waste management, and infrastructure to combat recurrent flooding. The project demonstrated that municipalities can accelerate climate policy development by engaging local communities, though it highlighted the need for sufficient time and funding for meaningful consultation and detailed scientific impact assessments. While formal long-term partnership commitments were not fully proven within the project's lifetime, the initiative fostered new networks between residents, the National Fund for the Environment of Mozambique (FUNAB), and other institutional actors.

The report examines flooding in Cape Town's informal settlements, specifically in the Philippi area, highlighting how social dynamics, political conflict, and poor infrastructure exacerbate vulnerability. It argues for a shift from top-down, technocratic 'government' to a 'collaborative governance' approach that integrates community leadership and various city departments. Additionally, it addresses the long-term threat of sea level rise and storm surges, advocating for 'set back lines' and buffer zones over hard engineering solutions.

The RISE Urban Challenge is a competition seeking innovative, scalable solutions to build climate resilience for vulnerable populations in urban informal settlements in low- and middle-income countries. Selected winners will receive cash prizes up to US$50,000, tailored mentoring, and access to a virtual Leadership Academy to refine and scale their projects between 2025 and 2026.

The briefing outlines the systemic failures of traditional municipal service delivery in South Africa, where over 7.32 million households in approximately 4,298 informal settlements face severe constraints. It proposes Alternative Service Delivery (ASD) as a paradigm shift based on Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD), emphasizing decentralization and public-private partnerships. The document establishes a framework of technical, social, and financial 'best practice norms' to ensure sustainability and community ownership. Through case studies like Peco Power (energy), Kaloola (sanitation), Regenize (waste), and Gcwalisa (food/waste), it demonstrates how off-grid and community-led solutions can provide interim services while working toward long-term goals. It concludes by recommending a systems approach to integrate ASD into provincial planning and calling for flexible policy and funding mechanisms.

The Alternative Service Delivery Unit (ASDU), implemented by GreenCape, is seeking a service provider to deliver decentralized energy services to at least 300 households in the Nomzamo Agricultural Village, Mpumalanga. The project, funded by the Embassy of Denmark and the New Zealand High Commission, aims to establish a financially sustainable, community-led energy provision model. The contract runs from 1 March 2024 to 30 September 2024, after which the project is intended to operate as an independent entity. Bidders are evaluated on technical competence, financial proposals, B-BBEE status, and site visit attendance, with a requirement for experience in South African informal settlements.