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13/08/2024

Sustainable Low-Cost Housing in Sub-Saharan Africa

Review of the working group's kick-off workshop in Windhoek, Namibia

The participants of the kick-off workshop | Photo: Connective Cities

The Working Group on Sustainable Low-Cost Housing for Sub-Saharan Africa held a successful kick-off workshop from June 4-6 in Windhoek, Namibia. This pivotal event brought together key stakeholders from across the region to address the pressing challenges of sustainable and affordable housing.

Graced by Namibia’s Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Hon. Erastus Uutoni, and other notable attendees, the workshop facilitated dynamic peer learning sessions among participating cities from Namibia, Kenya, Zambia, South Africa, Rwanda, and Tanzania. The discussions focused on slum upgrading, funding mechanisms, and sustainable building technologies, with participants exchanging innovative solutions and best practices.

Notably, the workshop highlighted the importance of integrated planning and sustainable development, emphasizing the need for improved funding models, research into affordable building materials, and the expansion of social housing initiatives. The collaboration between cities, international organizations, and local institutions was a cornerstone of the event, ensuring a holistic approach to addressing the housing crisis.

Attending cities and their project Ideas:

  • Windhoek, Namibia: Integrated planning and slum upgrading programme. Currently exploring strategies and options on how to supplement public funding.
  • Rundu, Namibia: In-situ upgrading project for an informal settlement.
  • Mariental, Namibia: Currently researching and developing materials and strategies to create affordable building materials that withstand soil cracking.
  • Lusaka, Zambia: Phased upgrading of informal settlements.
  • Mazabuka, Zambia: Joint integrated and proactive planning process to address informal settlements.
  • Mangaung, South Africa: Addressing sustainable low-cost housing needs through local initiatives.
  • Nairobi, Kenya: Integration of social housing across different income classes.
  • Kisumu, Kenya: Development of a prototype low-carbon model house.
  • Kitengela, Kenya: Provision of social housing through a public-private partnership (PPP) model.
  • Huye, Rwanda: Densification model of social housing.
  • Urban Municipality Zanzibar, Tanzania: In-situ slum upgrading.

Next steps of the working group:

This kick-off workshop marks a significant step forward in the collective effort of the Connective Cities network on exploring how to create resilient, livable, and affordable housing solutions in Sub-Saharan Africa. Looking ahead, the working group plans to continue supporting participating cities via:

  • Insight Sessions / Webinars: to present and exchange emerging knowledge in short learning sessions.
  • Best practices: Innovative solutions of the collaborating cities are published and distributed within the Connective Cities network.
  • Conferences / Workshops: Connect city experts in live sessions to scale up peer to peer and associated learning.
  • Proposal development: City experts will be supported to develop and deliver proposals to funding partners for technical assistance. The City Climate Gap Fund and the African Development Bank have already indicated interest in collaboration with the working group.

Author:
Connective Cities


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