Publications

All working papers, studies, policy-related briefs and journal articles from the African Cities Research Consortium can be accessed here.

FEATURED | Accra: City report

Accra is Ghana’s capital and most populous swing voting city and therefore has been a key electoral battle ground for political parties during the past two decades. This report synthesises a set of studies completed by a team of researchers in Accra. These studies used the ACRC’s holistic framework to examine how national and city-level politics, urban systems, and particular configurations of actors have shaped reform processes and their outcomes in the development domains of structural transformation; neighbourhood and district economic development; land and connectivity; housing; and informal settlements.

  • All Working Papers

    Download peer reviewed articles on urban development challenges in Africa.

    Working Paper 22 | Accra: City report


    Abdul-Gafaru Abdulai | October 2024 | Working Papers

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Working Paper 21 | Urbanisation, climate change and structural transformation in Accra, Ghana


    Michael Danquah, Bazoumana Ouattara, Williams Ohemeng and Alfred Barimah | September 2024 | Working Papers

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Working Paper 20 | Mogadishu: City report


    Afyare A Elmi and Faisal N Ali | August 2024 | Working Papers

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Working Paper 19 | Harare: City report


    George Masimba and Anna Walnycki | August 2024 | Working Papers

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Working Paper 18 | Housing: Domain report


    Miriam Maina, Ezana Haddis Weldeghebrael, Alexandre Apsan Frediani and Ola Uduku | July 2024 | Working Papers

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Working Paper 17 | Youth and capability development: Domain report


    Olha Homonchuk, Elizabeth Dessie, Nicola Banks, Katja Starc Card, Susan Nicolai, Nansozi K Muwanga, Imrana Buba, Zainab Hassan, Haja R Wurie and Eyob Balcha Gebremariam | July 2024 | Working Papers

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Working Paper 16 | Freetown: City report


    Joseph M Macarthy, Kars de Bruijne, Felix Marco Conteh, Jamie Hitchen, Braima Koroma and Francis Reffell | June 2024 | Working Papers

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Working Paper 15 | Health, wellbeing and nutrition: Domain report


    Cecilia Tacoli, Rachel Tolhurst, Paul Currie, Henry Bazira, Wiseman Chijere Chirwa, Lamech Malekano Chimphero, Ayagirwelarha Cishibanji, Katy Davis, Mary H Hodges, Muallem Kamara, Liliane Nabintu Kabagale, Regina Mamidy Yillah, Veronica Mwangi, Inviolata Njoroge, Bossisi Nkuba, Andrew Gerald Omoding, Lilian Otiso, Samuel Owuor, Nicola Rule, Gloria Seruwagi, Maria Ssematiko, Sia Tengbea and Hamid Turay | June 2024 | Working Papers

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Working Paper 14 | Maiduguri: City report


    Imrana Buba, Abubakar K Monguno, Haruna Ayuba, Kingsley L Madueke and Stephen B Ajadi | May 2024 | Working Papers

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Working Paper 13 | Lilongwe: City report


    Donald Brown, Mtafu Manda and Tuntu Mwalyambwile | May 2024 | Working Papers

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Working Paper 12 | Land and connectivity: Domain report


    Tom Goodfellow, Abdifatah Tahir, Liza Rose Cirolia and Ransford Acheampong | May 2024 | Working Papers

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Working Paper 11 | “My business challenges are far worse right now, I will go for Covid-19 vaccine later”: Post-pandemic lessons from the Covid-19 vaccine rollout in informal settlements in Harare, Kampala, Lilongwe and Nairobi


    Kate Lines, Stanley Dzimadzi, Henrik Ernstson, Joseph Kimani, Michelle Koyaro, Zilire Luka, Tarisai Manyowa, George Masimba Nyama, Patience Mudimu, Sheila Muganyi, Paul Isolo Mukwaya, Viola Nuwahereza, Teurai Nyamangara, Junior Alves Sebbanja, Elvira Songoro, Hakimu Sseviiri, Alice Sverdlik, Jane Wairutu and Happiness Zidana | April 2024 | Working Papers

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Working Paper 10 | African cities in the wake of Covid-19: Tracing multiple inequalities, official responses and grassroots strategies in Harare, Kampala, Lilongwe and Nairobi


    Alice Sverdlik, Stanley Dzimadzi, Henrik Ernstson, Joseph Kimani, Michelle Koyaro, Kate Lines, Zilire Luka, Tarisai Manyowa, George Masimba Nyama, Xola Mteto, Patience Mudimu, Sheila Muganyi, Paul Isolo Mukwaya, Viola Nuwahereza, Teurai Nyamangara, Junior Alves Sebbanja, Elvira Songoro, Hakimu Sseviiri, James Tayler, Jane Wairutu and Happiness Zidana | April 2024 | Working Papers

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Working Paper 9 | Informal settlements: Domain report


    Smith Ouma, Daniela Cocco Beltrame, Diana Mitlin and Beth Chitekwe-Biti | February 2024 | Working Papers

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Working Paper 8 | Improving health, wellbeing and nutrition: What limits or enables the uptake of healthy diets in Nairobi’s informal settlements?


    Samuel Owuor, Lilian Otiso, Veronica Mwangi and Inviolata Njoroge | February 2024 | Working Papers

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Working Paper 7 | Safety and security: Domain report


    Patience Adzande, Paula Meth and Stephen Commins | February 2024 | Working Papers

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Working Paper 6 | Data portraits: Covid-19 vaccine rollout in informal settlements in Harare, Kampala, Lilongwe and Mumbai


    Kate Lines, Stanley Dzimadzi, Thomas Karakadzai, Edris Lubega, Diana Mitlin, Patience Mudimu-Matsangaise, Vinodkumar Rao, Junior Alves Sebbanja and Happiness Zidana | October 2022 | Working Papers

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Working Paper 5 | Towards a comparative understanding of community-led and collaborative responses to Covid-19 in Kampala, Mogadishu and Nairobi


    Alice Sverdlik, Henrik Ernstson, Paul Mukwaya, Jane Wairutu and Jackie Waithaka | June 2022 | Working Papers

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Working Paper 4 | Understanding the politics of Covid-19 in Kampala, Nairobi and Mogadishu: A political settlements approach


    Badru Bukenya, Tim Kelsall, Jacqueline Klopp, Paul Mukwaya, Tonny Oyana, Eliud Wekesa and Abdhalah Ziraba | May 2022 | Working Papers

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Working Paper 3 | Annotated bibliography on urban politics and political economy in African cities


    Lewis Abedi Asante | Dec 2021 | Working Papers

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Working Paper 2 | Uneven development, politics and governance in urban Africa: An analytical literature review


    Michaela Collord, Tom Goodfellow and Lewis Abedi Asante | Nov 2021 | Working Papers

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Working Paper 1 | Politics, systems and domains: A conceptual framework for the African Cities Research Consortium


    Tim Kelsall, Diana Mitlin, Seth Schindler and Sam Hickey | Sep 2021 | Working Papers

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

  • Journal Articles + Book Chapters

    Making money moves: Rural women, returnees, and renegotiations of sex work through the street in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia


    Gender & Development | September 2024 | Elizabeth Dessie

    View (open access)

    Living through the future: rural youth, livelihoods and the production of gendered aspirations in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia


    International Development Planning Review | August 2024 | Elizabeth Dessie

    View

    Road corridors as real estate frontiers: The new urban geographies of rentier capitalism in Africa


    Antipode | July 2024 | Tom Gillespie and Baraka Mwau

    View (open access)

    Informality, gender, and alternative citizenship: The lives and livelihoods of rural migrant youth in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia


    In Young People in the Global South: Voice, Agency and Citizenship | 2024 | Elizabeth Dessie

    Book | Chapter

    Fight against indiscipline? The governance of street trader displacements in Oshodi Market, Lagos


    Geoforum | December 2023 | Ademola Omoegun

    View

    Ring roads, revived plans & plotted practice: The multiple makings of Nairobi’s urban periphery


    Habitat International | December 2023 | Miriam Maina and Liza Cirolia

    View (open access)

    Opportunistic obedient resistance: “Taking the state at its word” in resisting state-led inner-city redevelopment in Addis Ababa


    Political Geography | November 2023 | Ezana Haddis Weldeghebrael

    View (open access)

    Ascendant recentralisation: the politics of urban governance and institutional configurations in Nairobi


    Journal of East African Studies | November 2023 | Smith Ouma

    View (open access)

    Post-conflict statecraft, land governance and exclusion in Hargeisa, Somaliland


    Environment & Urbanization | October 2023 | Abdifatah Ismael Tahir

    View (open access)

    Participation as ‘city-making’: a critical assessment of participatory planning in the Mukuru Special Planning Area in Nairobi, Kenya


    Environment & Urbanization | October 2023 | Smith Ouma

    View (open access)

    Covid-19 vaccine rollout: data from informal settlements in Harare, Kampala, Lilongwe and Mumbai


    Environment & Urbanization | February 2023 | Kate Lines, Stanley Dzimadzi, Edris Lubega, Patience Mudimu-Matsangaise, Vinodkumar Rao, Junior Alves Sebbanja, Happiness Zidana and Diana Mitlin

    View (open access)

    Realising rights in complex informal settlements contexts: The case of Mukuru informal settlements, Nairobi


    In Reimagining Urban Planning in Africa | 2023 | Smith Ouma

    Book | Chapter

    Electoral politics and violence in Somalia: Implications for livability in Mogadishu


    Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies | 2022 | Abdifatah Ismael Tahir

    View (open access)

    The contribution of reform coalitions to inclusion and equity: Lessons from urban social movements


    Area Development and Policy | December 2022 | Diana Mitlin

    View (open access)

    Legal pluralism, obscure reforms and adjudication of land conflicts in Hargeisa, Somaliland


    Land Use Policy | September 2022 | Abdifatah Ismael Tahir

    View

  • City Research

    Accra: City research brief


    October 2024 | Research Brief

    View | Download ⇩

    Accra: City report


    Abdul-Gafaru Abdulai | October 2024 | City Report

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Urbanisation, climate change and structural transformation in Accra, Ghana


    Michael Danquah, Bazoumana Ouattara, Williams Ohemeng and Alfred Barimah | September 2024 | City Domain Report

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Mogadishu: City research brief


    August 2024 | Research Brief

    View | Download ⇩

    Mogadishu: City report


    Afyare A Elmi and Faisal N Ali | August 2024 | City Report

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Harare: City research brief


    August 2024 | Research Brief

    View | Download ⇩

    Harare: City report


    George Masimba and Anna Walnycki | August 2024 | City Report

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Freetown: City research brief


    June 2024 | Research Brief

    View | Download ⇩

    Freetown: City report


    Joseph M Macarthy, Kars de Bruijne, Felix Marco Conteh, Jamie Hitchen, Braima Koroma and Francis Reffell | June 2024 | City Report

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Maiduguri: City research brief


    May 2024 | Research Brief

    View | Download ⇩

    Maiduguri: City report


    Imrana Buba, Abubakar K Monguno, Haruna Ayuba, Kingsley L Madueke and Stephen B Ajadi | May 2024 | City Report

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Lilongwe: City research brief


    May 2024 | Research Brief

    View | Download ⇩

    Lilongwe: City report


    Donald Brown, Mtafu Manda and Tuntu Mwalyambwile | May 2024 | City Report

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Improving health, wellbeing and nutrition: What limits or enables the uptake of healthy diets in Nairobi’s informal settlements?


    Samuel Owuor, Lilian Otiso, Veronica Mwangi and Inviolata Njoroge | February 2024 | City Domain Report

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Accra: City Scoping Study


    Ransford A. Acheampong | June 2021 | City Scoping Studies

    View | Download ⇩

    Addis Ababa: City Scoping Study


    Ezana Haddis Weldeghebrael | June 2021 | City Scoping Studies

    View | Download ⇩

    Bukavu: City Scoping Study


    Aymar Nyenyezi Bisoka, Emery Mushagalusa Mudinga and Tom De Herdt | June 2021 | City Scoping Studies

    View (EN) | Download (EN) ⇩ | View (FR) | Download (FR) ⇩

    Dar es Salaam: City Scoping Study


    Milla Nyyssölä, Tim Kelsall and Tim Ndezi | Jun 2021 | City Scoping Studies

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    Freetown: City Scoping Study


    Alexandre Apsan Frediani | June 2021 | City Scoping Studies

    View | Download ⇩

    Harare: City Scoping Study


    George Masimba | June 2021 | City Scoping Studies

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    Kampala: City Scoping Study


    Henrik Ernstson and Paul Mukwaya | December 2021 | City Scoping Studies

    View | Download ⇩

    Khartoum: City Scoping Study


    Enrico Ille and Griet Steel | June 2021 | City Scoping Studies

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    Lagos: City Scoping Study


    Ola Uduku, Taibat Lawanson and Oghenetega Ogodo | June 2021 | City Scoping Studies

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    Lilongwe: City Scoping Study


    Kate Strachan, Jessica Kavonic, Tim Kelsall and Tom Hart | June 2021 | City Scoping Studies

    View | Download ⇩

    Maiduguri: City Scoping Study


    Marissa Bell and Katja Starc Card | June 2021 | City Scoping Studies

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    Mogadishu: City Scoping Study


    Lucy Earle | June 2021 | City Scoping Studies

    View | Download ⇩

    Nairobi: City Scoping Study


    Alice Sverdlik | June 2021 | City Scoping Studies

    View | Download ⇩

  • Domain Research

    Urbanisation, climate change and structural transformation in Accra, Ghana


    Michael Danquah, Bazoumana Ouattara, Williams Ohemeng and Alfred Barimah | September 2024 | City Domain Report

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Housing: Research summary


    Miriam Maina, Ezana Haddis Weldeghebrael, Alexandre Apsan Frediani and Ola Uduku | July 2024 | Research Summary

    View | Download ⇩

    Housing: Domain report


    Miriam Maina, Ezana Haddis Weldeghebrael, Alexandre Apsan Frediani and Ola Uduku | July 2024 | Domain Report

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Youth and capability development: Research summary


    Olha Homonchuk, Elizabeth Dessie, Nicola Banks, Katja Starc Card, Susan Nicolai, Nansozi K Muwanga, Imrana Buba, Zainab Hassan, Haja R Wurie and Eyob Balcha Gebremariam | July 2024 | Research Summary

    View | Download ⇩

    Youth and capability development: Domain report


    Olha Homonchuk, Elizabeth Dessie, Nicola Banks, Katja Starc Card, Susan Nicolai, Nansozi K Muwanga, Imrana Buba, Zainab Hassan, Haja R Wurie and Eyob Balcha Gebremariam | July 2024 | Domain Report

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Health, wellbeing and nutrition: Research summary


    Cecilia Tacoli, Rachel Tolhurst and Paul Currie | June 2024 | Research Summary

    View | Download ⇩

    Health, wellbeing and nutrition: Domain report


    Cecilia Tacoli, Rachel Tolhurst, Paul Currie, Henry Bazira, Wiseman Chijere Chirwa, Lamech Malekano Chimphero, Ayagirwelarha Cishibanji, Katy Davis, Mary H Hodges, Muallem Kamara, Liliane Nabintu Kabagale, Regina Mamidy Yillah, Veronica Mwangi, Inviolata Njoroge, Bossisi Nkuba, Andrew Gerald Omoding, Lilian Otiso, Samuel Owuor, Nicola Rule, Gloria Seruwagi, Maria Ssematiko, Sia Tengbea and Hamid Turay | June 2024 | Domain Report

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Land and connectivity: Research summary


    Tom Goodfellow, Abdifatah Tahir, Liza Rose Cirolia and Ransford Acheampong | May 2024 | Research Summary

    View | Download ⇩

    Land and connectivity: Domain report


    Tom Goodfellow, Abdifatah Tahir, Liza Rose Cirolia and Ransford Acheampong | May 2024 | Domain Report

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Informal settlements: Research summary


    Smith Ouma, Daniela Cocco Beltrame, Diana Mitlin and Beth Chitekwe-Biti | February 2024 | Research Summary

    View | Download ⇩

    Informal settlements: Domain report


    Smith Ouma, Daniela Cocco Beltrame, Diana Mitlin and Beth Chitekwe-Biti | February 2024 | Domain Report

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Improving health, wellbeing and nutrition: What limits or enables the uptake of healthy diets in Nairobi’s informal settlements?


    Samuel Owuor, Lilian Otiso, Veronica Mwangi and Inviolata Njoroge | February 2024 | City Domain Report

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

    Safety and security: Research summary


    Patience Adzande, Paula Meth and Stephen Commins | February 2024 | Research Summary

    View | Download ⇩

    Safety and security: Domain report


    Patience Adzande, Paula Meth and Stephen Commins | February 2024 | Domain Report

    Abstract | View | Download ⇩

  • Reports + Briefings

    Download key background research reports and briefing materials from the African Cities Research Consortium.

    ACRC | Accra: City research brief


    October 2024 | Research Brief

    View | Download ⇩

    ACRC | Mogadishu: City research brief


    August 2024 | Research Brief

    View | Download ⇩

    ACRC | Harare: City research brief


    August 2024 | Research Brief

    View | Download ⇩

    ACRC | Housing: Research summary


    Miriam Maina, Ezana Haddis Weldeghebrael, Alexandre Apsan Frediani and Ola Uduku | July 2024 | Research Summary

    View | Download ⇩

    ACRC | Youth and capability development: Research summary


    Olha Homonchuk, Elizabeth Dessie, Nicola Banks, Katja Starc Card, Susan Nicolai, Nansozi K Muwanga, Imrana Buba, Zainab Hassan, Haja R Wurie and Eyob Balcha Gebremariam | July 2024 | Research Summary

    View | Download ⇩

    ACRC | Freetown: City research brief


    June 2024 | Research Brief

    View | Download ⇩

    ACRC | Health, wellbeing and nutrition: Research summary


    Cecilia Tacoli, Rachel Tolhurst and Paul Currie | June 2024 | Research Summary

    View | Download ⇩

    ACRC | Maiduguri: City research brief


    May 2024 | Research Brief

    View | Download ⇩

    ACRC | Land and connectivity: Research summary


    Tom Goodfellow, Abdifatah Tahir, Liza Rose Cirolia and Ransford Acheampong | May 2024 | Research Summary

    View | Download ⇩

    ACRC | Lilongwe: City research brief


    May 2024 | Research Brief

    View | Download ⇩

    ACRC | Informal settlements: Research summary


    Smith Ouma, Daniela Cocco Beltrame, Diana Mitlin and Beth Chitekwe-Biti | February 2024 | Research Summary

    View | Download ⇩

    ACRC | Building a shared approach to action research


    Compiled by Irene Vance | February 2024 | Briefing Paper

    View | Download ⇩

    ACRC | Safety and security: Research summary


    Patience Adzande, Paula Meth and Stephen Commins | February 2024 | Research Summary

    View | Download ⇩

    ACRC | Decolonising ACRC report


    Edwin Kibui Rwigi | October 2023 | Internal Report

    View | Download ⇩

    Covid Collective | Redefining urban social protection programmes in Malawi: Lessons from the Covid-19 Emergency Urban Cash Intervention (CUCI)

    Happiness Zidana and Zilire Luka | September 2023 | Policy Brief

    View | Download ⇩

    Covid Collective | Informal settlement communities as first responders to disasters: Covid-19 pandemic experiences in Harare


    Tarisai Manyowa, Sheila Muganyi and Teurai Nyamangara | September 2023 | Policy Brief

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    Covid Collective | Nairobi in the wake of Covid-19: Civil society organisations key to building resilient capacities


    Michelle Koyaro, Elvira Songoro, Jane Wairutu and Joseph Kimani | August 2023 | Policy Brief

    View | Download ⇩

    Covid Collective | Covid-19 effects and responses in Kampala’s informal sector: Promises for social justice and resilient livelihoods in the face of multiple crises


    Hakimu Sseviiri, Paul Isolo Mukwaya, Viola Nuwahereza and Junior Alves Sebbanja | June 2023 | Policy Brief

    View | Download ⇩

    ACRC | Decolonisation temperature check survey results


    May 2023 | Internal Report

    View | Download ⇩

    ACRC | Evidence-informed decisionmaking to spur action in Nairobi


    Michelle Koyaro, Charity Mwangi, Joseph Kimani, Rashid Mutua and Nancy Njoki | March 2023 | Workshop Report

    View | Download ⇩

    ACRC | Nairobi research progress and collaborations workshop


    Michelle Koyaro, Charity Mwangi and Joseph Kimani | November 2022 | Workshop Report

    View | Download ⇩

    ACRC | Lagos development vision leaves the citizens behind


    Taibat Lawanson | November 2022 | Research Brief

    View | Download ⇩

    Covid Collective | The politics of Covid responses in African cities: Lilongwe


    Tuntufye Mwalyambwire and Thoko Sambakunsi | August 2022 | Briefing Paper

    View | Download ⇩

    Covid Collective | Towards a comparative understanding of community-led and collaborative responses to Covid-19 in Mogadishu


    Henrik Ernstson and Alice Sverdlik | June 2022 | Briefing Paper

    View | Download ⇩

    Covid Collective | Towards a comparative understanding of community-led and collaborative responses to Covid-19 in Kampala


    Alice Sverdlik, Henrik Ernstson and Paul Mukwaya | June 2022 | Briefing Paper

    View | Download ⇩

    Covid Collective | Understanding community-led and collaborative responses to Covid-19 in Nairobi


    Alice Sverdlik, Henrik Ernstson, Jane Wairutu and Jackie Waithaka | June 2022 | Briefing Paper

    View | Download ⇩

    Covid Collective | Covid-19 response in Nairobi: A political settlements approach


    Jacqueline Klopp, Eliud Wekesa and Abdhalah Ziraba | June 2022 | Briefing Paper

    View | Download ⇩

    Covid Collective | Politics and Covid-19 in Kampala


    Badru Bukenya, Paul Mukwaya and Tonny Oyana | May 2022 | Briefing Paper

    View | Download ⇩

    African Cities Research Consortium | Explainer Leaflet


    African Cities | August 2022 | General

    View | Download ⇩

    African Cities Research Consortium | Two-Page Summary


    African Cities | April 2021 | General

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