29 January 2007

By Emily van Rijswijck

Issues surrounding inclusion and exclusion policies affecting a growing number of diverse inhabitants within contemporary African cities will be discussed at a conference to be held in Johannesburg on 6 and 7 March.

The conference is being hosted by the South African Cities Network, the City of Johannesburg, the Development Bank of Southern Africa, the Human Sciences Research Council, the University of the Witwatersrand and the Urban Land Markets Programme.

Speakers from academia and municipal policy makers will discuss issues surrounding access to land, service delivery, urban identities and citizenship, poverty and livelihoods, among other topics. Inclusion refers to including all inhabitants of a city in its policies and planning, rather than excluding certain groups. The growing diversity of people in African cities, given the fast pace of urbanisation, often leads to the exclusion of some groups.

The emphasis will fall on creating locally appropriate tools to deal with these challenges. The initiative forms part of a global debate on urbanisation and ongoing international research conducted together with the Woodrow Wilson Centre in Washington DC.

Research is done in conjunction with the South African Development Bank, which will publish findings on inclusion and exclusion issues within cities after the conference. The conference, while complimenting the international study, will focus exclusively on the dynamics of inclusion and exclusion related to African cities and the exchange of experiences in this regard.

Some of the participant cities are Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Maputo, Dar es Salaam, Nairobi, Maseru and Lagos. Debates held at the conference will add to global discussions on how to create inclusive cities given modern urban challenges. Problems faced by most African cities are demographic growth and heightened diversity, with concomitant widening gaps in equality between different groups.

With almost half of Africa's population estimated to be living in cities by 2020, the need for creating inclusive cities has become increasingly pronounced. Hand-in-hand with rising urbanisation, however, is the low percentage of infrastructure investment taking place in these cities.

UN Habitat - a United Nations agency for human settlements - has highlighted the importance of intervention in sub-Saharan Africa, which has the world's fastest rate of urbanisation. According to a UN Habitat report, inclusive processes of resource allocation and participation in decision-making are fundamental for sustainable growth in these areas.

Representatives at the conference will be drawn mainly from the sub-Saharan area and include Cameroon, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia and Zimbabwe. It will mark the beginning of continuous dialogue between African cities. It is expected that initiatives will be developed that will provide practical strategies for inclusion and exclusion for urban municipalities.

Policy analyst for the Development Bank of Southern Africa, Caroline Kihato, says the initial aim of the conference is to lay down a foundation for further discussion on the issue. "We are hoping this initial engagement leads to development of inclusion policies and better strategies within city planning."

Further initiatives will take place in partnership with the Department of Provincial and Local Government, the City of Johannesburg and the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa. Registration for the conference closes on Friday, 16 February.

Date: 6 - 7 March 2007
Venue: Wits Club, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, West Campus, University of the Witwatersrand, Braamfontein, Johannesburg
Click here to register