Sustainable city initiatives in Africa and comparison with the OURSUS approach : paper for the IGU Congress in Beijing 22 August 2016

OURSUS (Our Sustainable Cities) is a flagship IGU project. The OURSUS approach and findings will be discussed in two sessions during the 33rd International Geographical Congress in Beijing: one session about 'Chinese and International Experiences' and one about 'The Way Forward'. This paper contributes to the first session: exploring international experiences. It examines the evidence in Africa regarding the intentions of municipalities and their leadership to develop more sustainable cities, and to mobilise business and popular support for more sustainable futures in a continent that is likely to have the fastest urbanization trends in the decades ahead. The paper also compares the approaches of various sustainable city networks in Africa with the OURSUS approach, and it looks at the input of geographers.