Urbanization is a mega-trend with profound implications for Africa’s growth and transformation. While the continent is 40% today, in just another 17 years, half of the population will be living in urban areas.
Africa also has the highest urban growth rate globally at 3.4% (compared to Asia- 2.10%; Latin America & the Caribbean – 1.28%). Africa’s urban population doubled between 1995 and 2015 and will double again by 2035 reaching 966 million. Africa’s urban population is likely to triple by 2050, with Africa and Asia accounting for nearly 90 percent of the world’s urban population growth. The urban transition is also taking place as the continent faces a demographic shift and a burgeoning youth population becoming located in urban areas.
Learning Objectives:
At the end of the course, participants will have an enhanced understanding of the role of urbanization in Africa’s transformation, in line with Agenda 2063 and the SDGs.
Specifically, participants will be able to:
- Identify the key concepts, trends and conditions of urbanization in Africa and how they impact the continent;
- Identify the challenges and opportunities for Africa in terms of utilizing the continent’s rapid urban growth for accelerating economic transformation;
- Understand the policy measures needed to take advantage of Africa’s rapid urban growth can boost job creation in the manufacturing sector;
- Discuss the main barriers for African cities to be productive, competitive and job-rich and how to address them through deliberate policies and strategies;
- Examine how deliberate planning can result in a balanced system of cities and adequate urban form in a manner that enables industrialization;
- Understand the potential of African cities to boost domestic resource mobilization, if they are well planned and managed;
- Discuss how African countries can strengthen the urban component of national development planning and visioning to harness urban growth for economic transformation.
Read more on the Online course here.
25th May – 19th July 2020
Web-Based E-Learning
Original source: UNECA
Published on 22 April 2020
