The Just City project in Zambia

Urbanization and the evolution of cities and towns in Zambia have been driven by mineral exploitation on the Copperbelt and along “Line of Rail”. Large provincial centres mainly evolved as either garrison towns or (British) colonial administrative centres. The abolition of Pass Laws and the introduction in 1964 of Article 24 of the New Constitution of Zambia removed all restrictions on movement of people which resulted in mass migrations of people from rural areas into urban centres. A major consequence was the rapid growth and expansion of informal unplanned settlements which currently occupy half of the available land in major urban centre in Zambia. Urbanization has further been driven by natural population growth from 3.5 million inhabitants in 1963 to an estimated 18 million, a six-fold increase which is further projected to reach 24.9 million by 2030 and 44 million by 2050. The urban population has doubled from 20.7% in 1963 to an estimated 41 percent, which is projected to increase from 5.1 million in 2010 to 11.9 million in 2030 and 26.8 million in 2050. The bulk of the projected urban population increase will occur in Lusaka, Kitwe, Livingstone, Chipata and Solwezi. Rural to urban migration remains a major driver (push factor) of urbanisation in Zambia. Inadequate economic and job opportunities in rural areas, low farm wages and incomes, high variability of rainfall resulting in poor agricultural yields and climate induced droughts have all contributed to push rural people into the cities for jobs and better quality of life. Government policies of ‘go back to the land” in the 1980s had little impact on containing rural to urban migration while economic liberalization and privatization policies of the 1990s did not produce the desired results of a market driven economy. Urban residents continue to experience economic and social challenges due to high poverty levels estimated at 54 percent, low wages and high cost of living, and inadequate urban and social infrastructure. Despite many urban development challenges, evidence suggests that cities in Zambia are “engines” of economic growth, and job creation. Cities, if well managed, can catalyse industrialization by taking advantage of agglomeration economies and their relatively good infrastructure and services, high population density and diversity.

The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and the United Nations Programme for Human Settlements and Sustainable Urban Development, UNHabitat, signed an agreement to collaborate occasionally to host joint events, dialogue programmes and workshops on variety of topics with objective of contributing to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals, SDG No. 11, through an initiative titled Just City in Zambia. The two (2) parties have agreed to increase dialogue and engagement in the policy making process with the objective to accelerate the realisation of making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. Further, the project aims to strengthen coordination among local authorities and other stakeholders such as trade unions, civil society organisations and those living in informal settlements in public goods delivery. The Just City project in Zambia, is a project that aims to enhance dialogue and policy engagement with policy makers and other key stakeholders in an effort to accelerate the realization of making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. This project is centered on five pillars which are:

1.Human Rights, Morality and Ethics

2.Human Dignity, Social Justice and Gender Sensitivity

3.Patriotism and National Unity

4.Diversity, Integrity and Accountability

5.Sustainability, Policy Dialogue and Implementation