Edgar Pieterse: Can Africa Redefine the Future of Urbanization?

The Century of Cities welcomes back Edgar Pieterse, Founding Director of the African Centre for Cities and Co-Chair of the African Mayoral Leadership Initiative, as part of our special miniseries in collaboration with UN-Habitat. As Africa becomes the world's fastest urbanizing region, Edgar examines one of the defining questions of this century: can the continent transform unprecedented urban growth into lasting prosperity? Housing, infrastructure, climate resilience, and economic transformation, he suggests, cannot be treated as separate agendas. The future of African cities depends on bringing them together. From the Africa Urban Forum and the Nairobi Declaration to the global conversations at World Urban Forum 13, Edgar outlines an emerging vision for African urbanization, one that sees housing not simply as a social challenge, but as a catalyst for economic transformation, resilience, and opportunity. His outlook is ambitious yet grounded: with stronger city leadership, sustained investment, and regional collaboration, Africa has the opportunity to redefine what successful urbanization looks like in the 21st century. As the global community prepares for the upcoming SDG 11 Review and the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on the New Urban Agenda, conversations that began at World Urban Forum 13 will continue there. This episode is part of that broader dialogue on the future of cities.