By: Dr. Isaac Yaw ASIEDU – AFAM President
Abstract
Africa’s urbanization is accelerating at an unprecedented rate, with profound implications for sustainability, equity, and resilience. Against this backdrop, the TICAD9 Youth Dialogue—supported by JICA and key Japanese universities—provided a transformative platform for African and Japanese youth to co-develop innovative urban visions. This paper synthesizes the outputs from multiple youth groups, focusing on actionable frameworks, diagnostic analyses of real and imagined African cities, and policy recommendations that bridge grassroots innovation with global urban development paradigms.
1. Introduction: Youth at the Forefront of Urban Transformation
The TICAD9 Youth Forum convened 24 students from across Africa and Japan to examine the urban future of the African continent through a youth-centered lens. Participants proposed people-oriented, climate-sensitive, and inclusive urban frameworks grounded in both theoretical insight and experiential awareness.
Far from being passive observers, these youth emerged as knowledge producers and change agents, reflecting a shift in development discourse toward participatory and intergenerational planning.
2. Critical Urban Diagnostics: Challenges and Opportunities
2.1 Structural Urban Challenges in Africa
Across multiple case studies, the following urban challenges were recurrently highlighted:
• Urban Sprawl and Informality: Particularly in cities like Kigali and Addis Ababa, over 60% of urban populations reside in informal settlements.
• Transportation Burdens: In Addis Ababa, households spend up to 72.3% of income on transport due to weak systems and fuel dependency.
• Land Use Dysfunction: Disconnected development zones and weak planning enforcement exacerbate congestion, pollution, and inequity.
• Governance Deficits: Public distrust, corruption, and lack of transparency hinder inclusive urban development.
• Environmental and Climate Risks: Rising sea levels, urban heat islands, and inadequate waste management threaten the urban poor disproportionately.
2.2 Unique Opportunities
Despite these challenges, the youth emphasized:
• Digital Potential: Rwanda’s ICT leadership presents a scalable model for smart urban transformation.
• Renewable Resources: Ethiopia’s reliance on hydropower (90%) provides a foundation for green mobility.
• Demographic Dividend: A youthful population offers innovative capacity if engaged properly.
3. Visionary Urban Models: From Imagination to Policy
3.1 The JERUS Model City
The fictional but conceptually grounded city of JERUS (Japan, Ethiopia, Rwanda, South Sudan) embodies:
• Dignity, Inclusiveness, Equal Opportunity
• Smart mobility and clean energy integration
• Holistic wellness and active civic life
This construct operates as a policy prototype; it visions city that synthesizes aspirations with actionable systems.
3.2 Vision for Addis Ababa
Defined as a “self-sustaining city,” the proposed model emphasizes:
• Integrated mixed-use neighborhoods
• AI-enabled traffic optimization
• Protection of farmland through vertical expansion
• Equity in housing, mobility, and green access
3.3 Vision for Kigali
Focused on slum upgrading and spatial equity, the youth proposed:
• Public–private partnerships for affordable housing
• Strengthened enforcement of land use planning
• Microfinance for low-income earners
• Enhanced intercity connectivity
4. Strategic Framework: The Four-Pillar Urban Development Model
The youth expanded JICA’s original three-pillar model to include Governance as a cross-cutting enabler:
1. Green Cities: Eco-conscious planning, EV promotion, AI-driven transport, and nature-integrated design.
2. Resilient Cities: Infrastructure, disaster preparedness, and inter-municipal cooperation.
3. Inclusive Cities: Social equity in planning, disability access, gender inclusion, education and housing access.
4. Governance: Fiscal transparency, participatory planning, and PPP innovation.
This model is not only aligned with the SDGs—particularly Goal 11—but also bridges state–community interactions and horizontal partnerships.
5. Actionable Interventions and Implementation Pathways
5.1 Policy and Regulation
• Revise and enforce land-use master plans with youth input.
• Expand civic education into urban schools to build a culture of planning.
5.2 Transportation and Connectivity
• Invest in AI-driven traffic management.
• Expand non-motorized transport networks and subsidize clean mobility.
5.3 Housing and Informality
• Facilitate microfinance and community savings schemes.
• Incentivize mixed-income housing developments.
5.4 Disaster Risk and Climate Resilience
• Apply CityRAP and community-based early warning systems.
• Integrate climate adaptation in slum upgrading programs.
5.5 Urban Governance and Finance
• Establish youth policy fellowships in municipal departments.
• Mobilize diaspora bonds, land value capture, and blended finance for implementation.
6. Innovative Methodologies: Imaginary Cities as Pedagogical Tools
The use of “Imaginary Cities “proposed urban blueprints unconstrained by existing bureaucratic limitations, enabled students to:
• Envision long-term sustainable systems
• Integrate ecology and economy seamlessly
• Focus on governance as a soft infrastructure
This approach can be scaled into gamified urban planning simulations for civic education across Africa.
7. Commentary: Youth-Led Urbanism as a Governance Model
This collective youth vision presents a compelling alternative to top-down urban planning models. It is:
• Empirically grounded in local contexts (Kigali, Addis Ababa)
• Theoretically aligned with global urban agendas (SDGs, UN-Habitat’s New Urban Agenda)
• Politically astute, acknowledging institutional bottlenecks and proposing accountability tools
• Imaginatively ambitious, using fiction (JERUS) to free discourse from institutional inertia
8. Policy Recommendations for International Cooperation
1. Pilot Youth Micro-Urban Projects: Through JICA and UN-Habitat, test feasibility of youth-designed neighborhood upgrades.
2. Establish African Youth Urban Fellowships: Embed students in city planning offices across TICAD countries.
3. Develop a TICAD Urban Toolkit: Codify models like JERUS into replicable templates.
4. Foster Trilateral Exchanges: Promote Japan–Africa–Global South partnerships through city-to-city learning platforms.
9. Conclusion: Toward Intergenerational and Equitable Urban Futures
The TICAD9 youth forum marks a paradigm shift in Africa’s urban discourse—from reactive, elite-led planning to anticipatory, youth-driven co-creation. If these voices are embedded into policy frameworks, Africa’s cities could move from being symbols of disorder to beacons of democratic design and environmental harmony.
The future of cities in Africa lies not in skyscrapers, but in the soft power of collaboration, empathy, and courage to imagine better systems.
This article is based on the proceedings of the 2025 JICA Thematic Event on Youth-Driven Visions for Sustainable African Cities, held as part of TICAD9.
References
• UN-Habitat Strategic Plan 2026–2029
• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
• African Union Agenda 2063
• JICA People-Centered Infrastructure Principles
• CityRAP Toolkit, UN-Habitat
• ACCP (African Clean Cities Platform)
• Rwanda Urban Planning Documents
• Addis Ababa City Master Plan (selected excerpts)
• World Bank Urbanization Reviews for Sub-Saharan Africa