African Cities Delegation Visits Brazil to Explore Sustainable Urban Development Solutions

The initiative aimed to enhance urban planning strategies in African municipalities by drawing lessons from Brazil's experiences.

From August 5 to August 13, 2024, representatives from seven African cities embarked on a study tour of Brazilian cities—Sao Paulo, Fortaleza, and Curitiba—to explore sustainable urban development solutions. The tour was organized under the African Development Bank’s African Cities Program (ACP), launched in 2020, and funded by the South-to-South Cooperation Trust Fund (SSCTF) in collaboration with the Bank Group’s Urban and Municipal Development Fund (UMDF), with support from the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group.

The initiative aimed to enhance urban planning strategies in African municipalities by drawing lessons from Brazil's experiences. "Africa's rapid urban transition has many similarities with that experienced by Latin America in the 1950s and 60s," said Darline Tognia, UMDF Coordinator and leader of the delegation. "By visiting Brazil today, we can see firsthand, and with hindsight, how cities have absorbed this growth; which solutions have worked, and which have not."

The 19-member delegation included high-level municipal staff from Nairobi (Kenya), Beira (Mozambique), Tshwane (South Africa), Lomé (Togo), Dakar (Senegal), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), and Freetown (Sierra Leone). The tour began in Sao Paulo, where participants explored innovative initiatives, such as the “School Feeding Program” in Parque Bristol and visited waste recycling cooperatives, an electric bus maintenance center, and informal settlement upgrades.

In Fortaleza, the delegation witnessed improvements in sustainable mobility, youth engagement, and climate resilience, while the final stop in Curitiba provided insights into the city's renowned Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, slum upgrading efforts, urban planning, and solid waste management programs.

The tour follows similar study visits organized in 2022 to Copenhagen and Malmo, aimed at fostering a network of African cities committed to adopting inclusive, human-centered urban solutions.