In many African cities, informal food traders sell everything from fresh produce to fried chicken feet at affordable prices to people who need the food most. Luke Metelerkamp is convinced: informal trading is hunger-proofing Africa's cities, arguably providing the continent's largest nutritional safety net.
When faced with stereotypical images of refugee camps as isolated places without ways of contribution or interaction the example of Palestine refugee camp Marka proves these expectations wrong. Dina Dahood Dabash sheds light on factors that contributed to the current agency of the Marka camp in Jordan.
Access to housing finance is an enormous challenge in Egyptian cities. Raed Fares and Safa Ashoub portray the approach by Habitat for Humanity Egypt: a microfinancing programme that also offers technical assistance and ensures to include local communities.
Grzegorz Puda, Polish Minister of Development Funds and Regional Policy, writes on how Polish cities have managed to transform into friendly metropolises bustling with city life. What were the development paths, how did they learn to capitalise on their advantages? Those questions will certainly be among topics that Poland will be presenting at the World Urban Forum (WUF) in Katowice.
How to rebuild a city after a devastating war? Dalia Mokayed emphasises the crucial role of cultural heritage.
With disasters forcing people to move, how can host cities ensure adequate living conditions for displaced communities? Saut Sagala, Danang Azhari, and Medhiansyah Putra make a case for Urban Living Labs.
Education and learning are key to empowering women, says Damietta's Mayor Manal Awad in an interview with URBANET.
Almost a year ago, Mongolia launched the e-Mongolia platform to streamline public service delivery. The goals were to reduce bureaucracy, decrease duplication of effort between government organisations, and counter citizens' frustration with inefficient public services. Bolor-Erdene Battsengel on learnings and successes.
With children spending their days at their parents' market stalls, how can we turn markets into safe places for them, where they are free to learn and play? Amowi Phillips from the Mmofra Foundation shares an inspiring example of community engagement in Accra, Ghana.
How to improve access to education in small municipalities? Scott Frank and Ronald Kibirige from the InteRoots Initiative present a community-led example from Kasasa, Uganda.
The global debate on agriculture under urbanisation has often focused a priori on the replacement of agricultural uses by built-up space. It thereby often overlooks new opportunities for agriculture at the urban periphery.
Transitioning to holistic economic systems that support the 1.5 °C target is key for cities. The Circular Turku Roadmap is an excellent example of radical institutional support in favour of circular production and consumption systems. By Marion Guénard from ICLEI
The future of our cities is circular, argues Maíra Valladares from 3R - Reduzir, Reusar e Reciclar, a recycling company aiming to circularise Mozambican cities' waste management.
In Burkina Faso, women are taking up the challenge of diversifying their professional choices. With the support of CFIAM, they are proving that non-traditional occupations are not the exclusive domain of men. Bernard Zongo shares the main lessons learned.
Highlighting yet another long-lasting effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, Phil Myrick takes a look at the concept of central business districts – and argues that its upcoming end is something to look forward to.
