URBAN RENEWAL AND REGENERATION: BUILDING SMART, GREEN CITIES ACROSS AFRICA

Africa is urbanising faster than any region on the planet. By 2040, an additional half a billion people will be living in its cities, pushing the urban population beyond 800 million. Rather than allowing growth to fuel sprawl and deepen informal settlements, a rising number of African capitals and midsized cities are embracing deliberate, sustainability-focused regeneration. They are retrofitting old districts, reclaiming waterfronts, expanding green spaces, and wiring entire neighbourhoods for clean energy and high-speed connectivity. From Kigali’s car-free boulevards to Johannesburg’s green corridors, a quiet planning revolution is reshaping post-colonial cityscapes into hubs of smart, low-carbon living.

Kigali stands at the forefront of this transformation. Since 2018, the Rwandan capital has replaced informal hillside settlements with mixed-income neighbourhoods interwoven with restored wetlands that serve as both flood-control systems and public parks. Its flagship Green City Kigali project—a 260-hectare satellite district launched in 2024 mandates net-zero buildings, widespread rainwater harvesting, and 30 percent tree cover. Today, autonomous electric shuttles glide along wide pedestrian-friendly avenues, and rooftop solar panels power affordable apartments with rent caps designed to maintain social inclusivity.

Related Article: THE RISE OF SMART CITIES IN AFRICA: TRANSFORMATIONAL PROJECTS REDEFINING URBAN LIVING

In Lagos, the glittering Eko Atlantic project attracts international attention, but the city’s most significant regeneration is unfolding on the mainland. Lagos State, working with the World Bank and private developers, is reviving the historic urban core of Lagos Island. Long-blocked drainage canals have been reopened and restored with mangroves, heritage buildings are being retrofitted for natural cooling, and the 22-kilometre Blue Line light rail now carries half a million passengers daily dramatically reducing gridlock. By 2032, the state plans to plant one million trees along new pedestrian corridors, helping cool an island that often endures soaring temperatures.

Abidjan is turning to water as its regeneration backbone. The city has launched West Africa’s largest urban lagoon restoration, clearing 1,200 hectares of the polluted Ébrié Lagoon and building ferry terminals, boardwalks, and floating solar farms. Downtown, the Plateau district’s new “Eco-Quartier” replaces outdated office blocks with mid-rise buildings draped in vertical gardens. Rooftop solar is compulsory, supplying at least 20 percent of each building’s energy needs, while on-site wastewater treatment supports irrigation and reduces stress on municipal systems.

Nairobi’s regeneration has taken a grassroots turn. The Nairobi Regeneration Strategy, adopted in 2023, transferred derelict railway land to cooperatives of young architects and traders. The flagship Kaloleni Green Street, once a crime hotspot, is now a shaded corridor featuring community kitchens powered by market biogas, and 5G-enabled co-working hubs built from repurposed shipping containers. The city is also rolling out Africa’s largest municipal electric bus fleet; by 2027, 500 e-buses are expected on major routes, cutting emissions in the congested CBD.

In North Africa, Casablanca is pioneering an inventive approach to modernist renewal. Aging 1960s apartment blocks are being wrapped in lightweight steel frames that support rooftop gardens and two additional floors without requiring demolition. The abandoned slaughterhouse district near the port has been reborn as Casa Anfa Green Park—a 400-hectare mixed-use zone powered largely by on-site solar and waste-to-energy plants. Battery-powered trams glide through new commercial and residential districts, offering clean transport in a city long dominated by cars.

Johannesburg, still marked by apartheid’s spatial divides, is stitching itself back together through the Corridors of Freedom. The initiative links Soweto, Alexandra, and the old CBD with 40 kilometres of transit-oriented development, including cycle lanes, urban forests, and eco-friendly housing. Along the Empire–Perth corridor alone, 35,000 trees have been planted since 2021, lowering summer temperatures by up to 4°C in historically marginalised neighbourhoods. Developers who once abandoned the inner city are now converting vacant office towers into green-rated residences.

These ambitious projects, however, come with tensions. Informal traders displaced by new boulevards, residents priced out of gentrifying districts, and communities wary of the erasure of historic neighbourhoods have sparked pushback from Dakar to Dar es Salaam. But cities are learning to temper demolition with dialogue. Community land trusts in Accra, participatory budgeting in Maputo, and digital town halls in Addis Ababa are giving citizens a stronger voice in shaping renewal.

By 2035, Africa aims for its regenerated cities to be carbon-neutral in municipal operations and to host some of the world’s highest concentrations of green-certified buildings. More importantly, these cities are demonstrating that rapid urban growth need not lead to ecological strain or widening inequality. In the shade of newly planted acacias and beneath rooftops humming with solar panels, African planners are proving that smart, green urbanism is no longer a luxury it is the continent’s next great infrastructure project.