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ICLEI Africa | RISE Africa

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Celebrating #worldfoodday! What can a local food market tell us about the future of African cities?

Informal markets play a vital role in how people access food, earn a living and connect with their communities. But how can these everyday spaces become healthier, safer and more sustainable?

This video takes us into the informal market spaces of Langa and Bellville in Cape Town, highlighting the realities of informal food trade alongside practical interventions designed to improve food safety, infrastructure and the experiences of traders and community members.

Through the voices of those involved, we explore both the progress made and the challenges of transforming urban food environments in a real-world setting, while highlighting lessons and approaches that can be adapted by other cities and local governments.

Explore the #AfriFOODlinks market pilot projects and learn more about the interventions taking place across Cape Town:
https://afrifoodlinks.org/pilot-projects taken in Cape Town, South Africa by @futureafricancities

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2 days ago

Every year, migratory birds cross borders and continents, linking cities and ecosystems along their journeys. To rest, feed and breed, they depend on a chain of wetlands, grasslands, coastlines and stopover sites.

But those journeys are under growing pressure from habitat loss, urban expansion and climate change.

The good news is that cities and citizens can be part of the solution!

This #WorldMigratoryBirdDay, the theme is "Every Bird Counts – Your Observations Matter!" Citizen science makes a real difference in helping scientists understand migration routes, population trends and changing habitats.

But what happens in our cities matters just as much. Many of the stepping stones birds rely on now sit within urban landscapes, and local governments are uniquely positioned to shape cross-continental conservation. By integrating biodiversity into urban planning, restoring urban wetlands and ecological corridors, adopting bird-friendly infrastructure, reducing light pollution and window collisions, and joining initiatives like Journeys for Life, municipal authorities can transform cities from barriers into supportive ecosystems.

👉 Learn more about how you can get involved: https://www.worldmigratorybirdday.org/

📸: Hicham Filali Zehri (RISE Africa 2025 photo competition entry) by @futureafricancities

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6 days ago

Meet our October Ubran Champion, Meryln Nkomo

Zimbabwean conservation biologist and ornithologist Merlyn Nkomo is helping build a deeper understanding of Africa’s birds and the environments they depend on.

Through her conservation research, including work on bird movement and the impacts of wind energy on species such as the Jackal Buzzard, Merlyn has highlighted the importance of understanding how birds interact with changing landscapes.

She has also founded a youth birding club and created the One Woman’s Legacy Scholarship for African Women in Conservation, helping open pathways for young people and African women to engage with conservation.

Her work offers an important reminder of why we need to protect migratory birds and the habitats that sustain them. by @futureafricancities

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9 days ago

Beyond shelter: rethinking housing in African cities

As African cities grow and change, the question of housing cannot be reduced to how many homes are available.

Where people live, how they access services and opportunities, and whether their neighbourhoods are safe and resilient all shape their experience of the city.

Across the continent, informal settlements are home to millions of people and are an important part of how African cities function. Yet they are often underserved by infrastructure, excluded from formal planning processes and exposed to growing climate risks, from flooding and extreme heat to environmental degradation.

Rethinking housing means recognising these neighbourhoods not simply as places of need, but as communities with their own social networks, livelihoods, knowledge and capacity to shape their futures.

Rethinking housing means looking at the bigger picture:

🏘️ Integrating housing and informal settlements into urban planning
🌿 Prioritise nature, plan housing with nature, not around it.
🚍 Connecting homes to jobs, transport, services and public spaces
🌱 Strengthening climate resilience at neighbourhood level
🤝 Involving communities in shaping the places where they live

Housing is not separate from urban development. It is part of the systems that determine who can access opportunity, live safely and thrive in the city.

This #WorldHabitatDay and as #UrbanOctober, we’re looking beyond shelter and towards more inclusive, resilient and liveable African cities.

"We invite cities to commit to housing that is adequate in full — safe, affordable, resilient, and embedded in living landscapes that keep people cool, dry, healthy and connected."

📲 Copy this link into your browser to read the full article: https://talkofthecities.iclei.org/beyond-shelter-why-housing-is-africas-biggest-urban-equity-challenge
🔗Learn why nature belongs in the housing conversation this World Habitat Day: https://citieswithnature.org/why-nature-belongs-in-the-housing-conversation-this-world-habitat-day/

📸: Reflective times by Patrick Chilaisha [RISE Africa 2025 Photo Competition] by @futureafricancities

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12 days ago

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16 days ago

♻️ What if food waste wasn't the end of the story? 🌱

Food loss and waste is a huge challenge for both people and the planet. But what happens when we start seeing organic waste as a resource? The circular economy provides a way forward here.

On this International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, we're spotlighting how the Potsdam One Hectare Circular Farm in Cape Town puts a #circulareconomy approach into practice. At this site, we're testing how organic waste can be collected, processed and transformed into useful products for urban residents that can be brought back into local communities.

🥕🐔🔄The initiative brings together black soldier fly farming, composting and worm farming to create a loop in which waste becomes an input for food production.

This is one example of what a circular food future can look like. Swipe through to learn how the loop works 👉

#IDAFLW2026 by @futureafricancities

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19 days ago

The #AfriFOODlinks Learning Summit is underway in Tunis!

This week, cities, researchers, practitioners, partners, innovators and funders from across the AfriFOODlinks network are coming together to celebrate the progress made through the programme and explore what comes next for urban food systems transformation.

From local innovations and city-level action to partnerships, knowledge and investment, the Summit is creating space to connect the lessons and experiences gathered across the programme with the possibilities for the future.

A celebration of four years of collaboration, learning and action #throughfood. 🌍✨ taken in Tunis, Tunisia by @futureafricancities

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25 days ago

CITY FEATURE: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

🚍 Dar es Salaam is showing what people-centred mobility can look like.

As one of Africa’s fastest-growing cities, Dar es Salaam is investing in ways to connect people with jobs, services and opportunities while supporting a more sustainable urban future.

Its Dar Rapid Transit (DART) system demonstrates how investment in public transport can contribute to more connected and accessible urban development. But sustainable mobility is also shaped by urban planning and local government action.

Through their mandates for urban planning, land-use management, roads, public spaces and local services, local governments have an important role in shaping the places where people live, work and move. These mandates provide a foundation for integrating mobility into wider urban development and creating environments that support public transport, walking and cycling.

🌍 By putting mobility at the heart of urban planning, local governments can help build more connected, inclusive, healthy and resilient African cities.

#UrbanMobility taken in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, East Africa by @futureafricancities

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a month ago

🌧️ Local knowledge. Timely warnings. Stronger communities.

In Beira, Mozambique, communities are working with ICLEI Africa and partners to develop Community-Based Flood Early Warning Systems (CBFEWS) that help people prepare for potential flooding and take action to reduce risk.

By placing communities at the heart of early warning systems, the INACCT Resilience project is supporting locally driven approaches to climate resilience, helping people access critical information when they need it most.

Because effective climate action isn't just about responding to disasters. It’s about empowering communities to prepare for them. 🌍

🎥 Watch to discover how communities in Beira are taking action to strengthen their resilience to flooding. taken in Beira, Mozambique by @futureafricancities

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a month ago

For communities facing the growing risks of flooding, local knowledge is an essential part of building solutions that work.

Through the INACCT Resilience project, relationships and trust between communities, universities, knowledge brokers and local government are helping ensure that community knowledge is not only heard, but integrated into local resilience planning.

As Dr Hayley Leck explains, “Local knowledge has been central to the work we’ve been doing.”

By bringing knowledge together and sharing it with municipalities, communities can help shape approaches to flood preparedness that reflect their lived experiences and local realities.

When communities are part of the process, resilience is built from the ground up. by @futureafricancities

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a month ago

🌧️ Building flood resilience, from the community up.

In Durban, communities living in informal settlements are working alongside ICLEI Africa and partners to develop Community-Based Flood Early Warning Systems (CBFEWS).

By connecting local knowledge with timely flood warnings, these systems help communities prepare, respond and take action before flooding strikes.

It’s a powerful reminder that climate resilience starts with people. When communities have access to the right information and tools, they can play a leading role in protecting lives and building safer, more resilient neighbourhoods. 🌍

🎥 Watch to see how communities in Durban are strengthening their resilience to flooding.

#ICLEIAfrica #INACCTResilience taken in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal by @futureafricancities

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a month ago

🌍 What does clean air have to do with cities? Everything.

From the way we move around our cities to the energy we use at home and in our markets, local action can make a real difference to the air we breathe.

🚶🏾‍♀️ Designing for walking and cycling
🚌 Investing in sustainable mobility
🌳 Creating greener urban spaces
🍳 Expanding access to clean cooking
🏙️ Bringing air quality into urban planning and decision-making

Across Africa, cities and local governments are already showing what this can look like in practice.

In Uganda, ICLEI Africa’s #ENACT programme is helping clean cooking markets take root in hard-to-reach urban markets, working with local governments, businesses and communities to expand access to cleaner cooking solutions.

These locally anchored actions can deliver more than cleaner air. They can support healthier communities, stronger local economies and progress on climate goals.

This International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies, we’re highlighting the role of cities and local governments in turning integrated climate and clean air action into change on the ground.

👉🏾 Want to learn more? Copy the link below and paste it into your browser to read the full story:
https://africa.iclei.org/inclusive-clean-cooking-markets-are-taking-root-in-hard-to-reach-urban-markets-in-uganda/

#CleanAirForBlueSkies taken in Kampala, Uganda by @futureafricancities

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a month ago