URBANIZATION AND HOUSING IN AFRICA : ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES 4TH SWISS-AFRICAN BUSINESS EXCHANGE MARCH 2011 IN GENEVA Prof. Jean-Claude Bolay Director of Cooperation EPFL (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne, Switzerland)

World Urbanization  In 2008, the world reaches an invisible but momentous milestone: For the first time in history, more than half its human population, 3.3 billion people, will be living in urban areas. By 2030, this is expected to swell to almost five billion.  While the world’s urban population grew very rapidly (from 220 million to 2.8 billion) over the 20th century, the next few decades will see an unprecedented scale of urban growth in the developing world.  This will be particularly notable in Africa and Asia where the urban population will double between 2000 and  By 2030, the towns and cities of the developing world will make up 81 per cent of urban humanity.

Urban Africa  In 2009 Africa’s total population for the first time exceeded one billion, of which 395 million (or almost 40 per cent) lived in urban areas.  Africa should prepare for a total population increase of about 60 per cent between 2010 and 2050, reaching the two billion mark, with the urban population tripling to 1.23 billion during this period.  Poverty is now growing faster in urban than in rural areas.  According to UN-HABITAT, in Sub-Saharan Africa, 72 per cent of urban residents are slum dwellers, without adequate access to safe water, sanitation, transport and health services.

Housing in Africa  The main housing issues in Africa are linked with 2 trends : 1) urbanization, and 2) poverty  To resolve these questions needs to face the slum issues, with the following attributes :  Lack of basic services, lack of access to sanitation facilities and water being the most important feature  Substandard housing or illegal and inadequate building structures: buildings constructed not observing building standards  Overcrowding and high density  Unhealthy living conditions and hazardous locations (natural risks and environmental issues)  Insecure tenure; irregular or informal settlements  Poverty and social exclusion – Income or capability

Sustainable human settlements in Africa  Adequate shelter and secure land tenure are rights included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 …  … They also are the best way to guarantee an harmonious develop- ment of human settlements, in urban and rural settings

Sustainable housing in Africa  The main topics to include in future projects :  A strategy inspired by « sustainable development » : environmental, social and economic compatibility  Urban planning, sites and services (housing is part of a more global strategy)  Infrastructures: Water and sanitation are social and health priorities (housing is environmentaly friendly)  Services : Education, health, mobility, security  Finance and housing credit  Governance  … They are as important as the individual shelters to assure a sound quality of life

Who does what for housing in Africa ?  Partnership is compulsory to improve the situation of housing in Africa:  Public authorities (regulators)  Dwellers (often self-builders)  Private sector (real state and constuction)  Banks (funding sector)  NGOs (supporting groups)

Housing in Africa : Perspectives  Housing is a social necessity  Housing is a field of innovation  Housing can also be a fruitful business  Housing is a corporate responsability  Housing is a priority strategy towards a sustainable developement in Africa

Thank you for your attention Jean-Claude Bolay Director of Cooperation At EPFL