Building Resilient African Cities: Join Amina's Journey Through Risk-Informed Urban Development
As African cities continue to grow at an unprecedented pace, urban planners, policymakers, and development practitioners are increasingly confronted with the challenges of climate change, disaster risks, and rapid urbanization. Building resilient cities requires not only investment and action but also the knowledge and skills to make informed decisions.
To support this effort, the Resilience Initiative Africa (RIA) Project is pleased to launch a new self-paced eLearning course on Risk-Informed Urban Development (RIUD) in African Cities, available free of charge in both English and French.
A Learning Journey Across Africa
What makes this course unique is its story-driven approach.
Learners accompany Amina, an urban development specialist, on a mission across Africa. From city to city, Amina meets local communities, city officials, and urban practitioners who are working to address risks and strengthen resilience. Through their experiences, learners explore practical approaches to risk-informed urban development and discover how African cities can better prepare for future challenges.
Each module takes learners to a different urban context, including:
- Maputo – Introduction to Risk-Informed Urban Development
- Kampala – Risk Assessments and Data-Informed Decision Making
- Accra – Governance and Financing for Urban Resilience
- Water Resilience in Cities
- Lagos – Resilient Housing and Safer Settlements
- A concluding module with additional resources and key takeaways with 6 African languages
Throughout the course, interactive quizzes, practical exercises, and real-life examples help reinforce learning and encourage reflection on how the concepts can be applied in participants' own contexts.
What Will You Learn?
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
- Understand the principles and components of Risk-Informed Urban Development (RIUD)
- Identify and assess climate, environmental, and human-made hazards
- Analyze vulnerabilities and risks affecting urban communities
- Apply governance and financing approaches that strengthen urban resilience
- Explore the design and implementation of effective Early Warning Systems (EWS)
- Integrate climate and disaster risk considerations into urban planning and decision-making processes
- Learn from case studies inspired by experiences from Mozambique, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Egypt
Who Should Take This Course?
The course is designed for:
- Urban planners and city managers
- Local government officials
- Policy advisors and researchers
- Climate change and disaster risk management practitioners
- Development partners and NGOs
- Community leaders and resilience champions
No prior technical background is required, only a willingness to learn, reflect, and apply new ideas.
