Africa Centre for Cities

Africa Centre for Cities
Name	Africa Centre for Cities
Formation	1991
Type	Research institute
Headquarters	Cape Town, South Africa
Parent organization	University of Cape Town
Director	(varies)

Africa Centre for Cities is an interdisciplinary urban research institute based in Cape Town at the University of Cape Town. The Centre convenes scholars, practitioners and policymakers to address urban transformation across Africa with emphasis on comparative studies of cities such as Johannesburg, Nairobi, Lagos, Cairo and Accra. Its work intersects with regional institutions including the African Union, international agencies such as the United Nations Development Programme, and global networks like ICLEI.

History

The Centre was established in 1991 within the University of Cape Town during post-apartheid urban reforms linked to the Transition in South Africa and the reintegration of South African scholarship into global forums such as the World Urban Forum and the Habitat II Conference. Early collaborations connected the Centre with scholars from London School of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale University, University of California, Berkeley and University of Oxford, as well as with municipal partners including the City of Cape Town and eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality. Over time the Centre engaged with projects funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the European Union and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and contributed to policy dialogues at the UN-Habitat and the African Development Bank.

Mission and Research Focus

The Centre’s mission foregrounds urban inequality, spatial justice and infrastructure provision in megacities and secondary cities such as Durban, Pretoria, Port Harcourt, Kigali and Dar es Salaam. Research themes have included informal settlement upgrading in contexts like Khayelitsha and Kibera, climate resilience aligned with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change frameworks, and water management connected to the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. Scholars address topics through lenses informed by thinkers associated with David Harvey, Jane Jacobs, Saskia Sassen, Mike Davis and Manuel Castells, while contributing to policy instruments like the New Urban Agenda.

Programmes and Initiatives

Programmes span comparative urban research, policy engagement, and design-oriented initiatives that have collaborated with design firms and NGOs such as Architects Without Borders, Development Workshop, Slum Dwellers International and Greenpeace. Initiative areas include urban economies with partners like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund projects, housing finance linked to the Global Land Tool Network, and public health interfaces with World Health Organization and Médecins Sans Frontières interventions. The Centre has convened thematic networks including the Cities Alliance, the Resilience Alliance, the Urban Research Network and the African Centre for Cities Alumni Network.

Education and Training

The Centre supports postgraduate education through degrees administered by the University of Cape Town and supervises students affiliated with programs at Harvard Graduate School of Design, Columbia University, University of Toronto, University of the Witwatersrand and Stellenbosch University. Training offerings have targeted municipal officials from the South African Local Government Association, community leaders from organizations such as Informal Settlement Network and practitioners from private firms including Arup and AECOM. Short courses and workshops have engaged curricula informed by texts from publishers like Routledge, MIT Press and University of Chicago Press.

Partnerships and Collaborations

The Centre’s partnerships include academic collaborations with University College London, University of Cambridge, University of Amsterdam, University of Copenhagen and University of Johannesburg; donor and policy links with the UNICEF, UN Women, International Labour Organization and the Commonwealth Secretariat; and city-to-city exchanges with networks such as C40 Cities and Metropolis. Collaborative research projects have involved the South African National Research Foundation, the National Research Foundation (South Africa), and consortia funded by the European Research Council and Global Challenges Research Fund.

Facilities and Campus

Located in the District Six precinct adjacent to the Cape Town City Hall and Bo-Kaap, the Centre occupies studio and seminar spaces that facilitate exhibitions, colloquia and public lectures. Facilities support design labs, GIS suites with software from vendors like ESRI, and archive holdings that include collections related to apartheid era displacement and urban policy documents from the Provincial Government of the Western Cape. The Centre’s gallery and workshop spaces host events with partners such as the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, South African Museum and Iziko Museum.

Notable Projects and Impact

Notable projects include participatory settlement upgrading pilots in Khayelitsha and cross-city comparative studies of informal economies in Nairobi and Lagos, collaborations on spatial planning with the City of Cape Town and evidence briefs for the National Department of Human Settlements (South Africa). The Centre’s policy briefs have informed national and municipal planning instruments and influenced debates at forums such as the Africa Cities Summit, the UN High-Level Political Forum, and the World Economic Forum. Alumni and affiliates have taken roles at institutions including the South African Cities Network, National Department of Transport (South Africa), African Development Bank, UN-Habitat, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Urban LandMark and numerous municipal administrations across Africa.

Category:Research institutes in South Africa Category:Urban studies and planning organizations