16 women Local Council leaders walked into a training room in Wakiso thinking about WhatsApp as a social app. They walked out asking how to use it to mobilise their communities. That is what a safe and joyful internet looks like in practice. Read more👉🏾pollicy.medium.com/women-loc… @VukaHerAfrica @AnnexKemanzi

Meet Dr. @agyemangfelix, one of the inaugural Africa Urban Lab Fellows. Dr. Felix is a lecturer in Spatial Data Science at the University of Manchester, where he uses machine learning, AI, and spatial analytics to better understand the dynamics of rapidly growing cities across Africa and the Global South. He has extensive research experience across African cities and has contributed to major spatial planning initiatives on the continent. As an AUL Fellow, he will focus on land value modeling, residential location choice across African cities, and AI- and satellite-based approaches to urban expansion and land value capture. We are excited to have Dr. Felix join the AUL Fellow Program and look forward to supporting his research over the coming year.

City researchers, regulators, academy and practitioners clearly stated: planners need more than design skills. They need urban finance, urban economics, and stronger digital capabilities from spatial analytics to AI to respond to the realities of contemporary cities. Deliberate efforts to turn ideas into systems are need: short courses, summer schools, case studies, and stronger links with regulators and practitioners offer meaningful pathways. Curriculum reform works best when it is structured, collaborative, and practical. #UCCC #ProfessionalDevelopment #UrbanEducation #UrbanFinance #DigitalSkills @DLwasa @AfricanCities_ @NPA_UG @pmukwaya @HakimuSseviiri @NamuliFisa @KCCAUG @IJURResearch @AfricaUrbanLab

@UrbanActionLab participated in the recently concluded University Coalition on Curriculla for Cities (UCCC) at @UniversityArdhi where universities, practitioners, regulators and urban managers met to validate the gaps assessment report on urban training in SSA. Discussions revealed what serious curriculum reform looks like: research, validation, practitioner input, and a focus on priority gaps that universities can act on now. Planning education must connect more directly to African urban realities. #UCCC #UrbanPlanning #HigherEducation @KenyattaUni @MekUniETH @AfricaUrbanLab @IJURResearch

💡 Learn more below about the Professional Diploma, its structure, key skills, and scholarship opportunities below. 🌍 Ready to apply? Don't miss the deadline: August 1st, 2026. Apply here: aul.city/admissions

🌃🎓Admissions for the Africa Urban Lab’s Professional Diploma in Urban Development are now open! Join our third cohort in Zanzibar to learn, collaborate, and advance your knowledge on urbanization in Africa. Scholarships are available! The Professional Diploma is designed for early- to mid-career professionals seeking to deepen their expertise around core topics crucial for creating thriving African cities. Through two intensive, in-person learning blocks covering urban planning, urban economics, urban governance, and municipal finance — combined with a real-world Capstone Placement — the Diploma students get exposed to the latest trends on urbanization, working directly with leading urban practitioners and scholars from all over the continent. The AUL's Diploma students come from government, NGOs, multilateral institutions, research, academia, and community-based organizations — all contributing to Africa’s urban transformation.

Land in Lusanja & Ssekanyonyi: 78% hold documentsin form of purchase agreements; 53% male sole owners, 22% joint, 19% female sole owners; Rights perceived: 88% say they can develop, 75% can sell, 67% can bequeath, 59% can lease. 92% of plots less than50x100 ft (very high density)

Progressive discussions on Land Reforms- Making land tenure secure and safe for Ugandans.

@UrbanActionLab engagement on land matters in Kampala reinforces the necessity of science-community and policy interfaces to shape transformative actions for inclusivity and liveability in cities. @AfricanCities_ @DLwasa @karenhelmy1 @pmukwaya @HakimuSseviiri @KasaijaPeter2

The @UrbanActionLab engages residents and leaders in Lusanja and Ssekanyonyi neighbourhoods on findings of land conflict management and tenure security governance in crisis contexts. @GDNint @AfricanCities_ @AfricaUrbanLab @HakimuSseviiri @pmukwaya @DLwasa

Urban residents suggest that land governance institutions need to roll-out tailored awareness compaigns on ground-rent, tenure forms and property rights for low-income neighbourhoods in Kampala city region.

Community level dialogue on land issues in Lusanja and Ssekanyonyi settlements highlights the need for localised systems of empowerment on land ownership and rights in low-income urban neighbourhoods. @GDNint @DLwasa @KasaijaPeter2 @HakimuSseviiri

RUFS Training in Mbale City: Mr Henry Mbowa & Ms Ritah Pavin Nakanjako have conducted a session with smallholder farmers focusing on group dynamics, common challenges, & strategies for overcoming them. It was observed that many groups struggle or fail due to lack of shared focus.

Happening 25-28/03/26: Training of Mbale City smallholder farmers in financial management, under the Resilient Urban Food Systems (RUFS) project. Phase 2 of the project aims to strengthen urban food systems resilience to floods & drought risks in Mbale City & Kasese Municipality.

Navigating between Urban and Camp Life: The Survival and Political Strategy of Congolese Refugees in Kampala.

Access to Information and Opportunities by Urban Youths in Kampala youtu.be/h7xOSHx_67c?si=jupY… via @YouTube