Territorial foresight · Urban governance · Applied research
Foresight for the African cities we look at least.
UPLAB Afrique observes, anticipates, and equips the transformation of secondary cities — where most of the continent's urban growth is actually happening, and where local governance has the fewest resources to meet it.
A real transformation, rarely mapped
While international attention stays fixed on capital cities, Africa's secondary cities sometimes double their built-up footprint in under fifteen years — with no master plan, no land-data baseline, no capacity to anticipate. That gap is what the Lab documents and equips.
Schematic illustration of a typical urban growth trajectory — to be replaced with real data from supported cities.
Four levers, one method
Local governance
Strengthening local authorities' capacity to decide, arbitrate, and account, using the tools of territorial foresight.
Urban anticipation
Documenting growth trajectories and transformation scenarios before they are forced onto local actors.
Territorial innovation
Surfacing and testing solutions fit for secondary cities' actual context and means.
Applied research
Producing knowledge public decision-makers can use directly, without an academic detour.
Focus areas
See all focus areasTerritorial foresight
Building 10-, 20-, and 30-year urban transformation scenarios, so secondary cities anticipate growth rather than absorb it.
Urban governance
Supporting local authorities in structuring their decision-making, planning, and accountability processes.
Planning & land management
Developing and updating master plans, urban-planning documents, and land-management tools fit for local means.
Urban innovation
Identifying, testing, and spreading innovative solutions — digital, institutional, or technical — for secondary cities.
Current projects
See all projectsSecondary city — West Africa
2040 master development plan
Developing a master plan that integrates demographic growth scenarios and local land constraints.
Secondary city — East Africa
Land governance diagnosis
Mapping land-occupation dynamics and the institutional tensions they create.
Secondary city — Central Africa
2050 territorial foresight exercise
Three urban transformation scenarios built with local authorities and civil society.
Latest publications
See all publicationsReport · 2026 · 48 pages
State of Africa's secondary cities
A synthesis of the demographic and urban dynamics of the continent's secondary cities.
Methodological guide · 2026 · 32 pages
Running a territorial foresight exercise
A practical guide for local authorities wanting to structure their own foresight process.
Case study · 2025 · 24 pages
Land governance and informal urban growth
A comparative analysis of three secondary cities facing unplanned urbanization.
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