Summary

In recent years, Africa has registered impressive economic growth underpinned by improved policies, security, governance, and growth of services sectors, prices and production of primary commodities. In 2016, a real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 4.3 per cent is projected for Africa, considerably higher than the world growth rate of 2.9 per cent1. Yet this economic growth has not been associated with industrialization, productive employment and improved living standards. Growth has not been inclusive as it has not benefited the majority of Africans. 
Recognizing the need for inclusive and sustainable growth, African leaders have defined, through the Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want, a long-term vision and strategy for structural transformation of their economies. Structural transformation of the continent through industrialization, high value added services, higher agricultural productivity and the transition of informal employment into formalized employment are imperative to ensure that Africa’s economic growth translates into more inclusive development through increased and decent job opportunities and enhanced fiscal space. 
At the same time, the continent is undergoing a major transition fuelled by rapid urban growth with significant implications for its structural transformation agenda. Africa is the world’s fastest urbanizing region and is expected to become majority urban by about 2035. As much of the urbanization in the continent is yet to happen, African countries have a unique window of opportunity within which they can prioritize and enhance planned urban development so as to reap two critical rewards simultaneously, namely: 
(a) Reverse the debilitating/negative outcomes of current unplanned urban development and human settlements, including rapid growth of informal settlements, rising informality, jobless economic growth and urbanization, increasing fragmentation, exclusion and inequality, and low productivity; 
(b) Harness the full potential of Africa’s urban growth and the development of human settlements to serve as a transformative force for inclusive and sustainable development at local, subnational, national, regional and global levels and in key areas of economic diversification, value addition, employment creation, agro-industrialization, domestic resource mobilization, low-carbon economies and green infrastructure. 
Rapid urban growth and urbanization present unprecedented opportunities to accelerate transformation and capacity to respond to Africa’s development challenges.

Given the scale and speed of urban growth in Africa and the related implications, urbanization cannot be seen as solely a local development or sectoral issue. It is a national development and strategic issue that requires a cross-sectoral approach. In this sense, mainstreaming urbanization into national development planning can offer the necessary integrating framework to harness its potential as a driver of development at various levels. 

While advancing towards a new outcome to guide policies and interventions on housing and sustainable urban development, the norms established by and commitments made at Habitat II remain valid and relevant, especially to Africa. The lessons in this report highlight the need to ensure a focus on a broad conceptualization of human settlements and habitat that takes into account, inter alia, shelter, rural–urban continuum and local innovations as much as economic transformation.