Strengthening urban planning in Lualaba

Contributing to harmonized and inclusive development in Lualaba Province.

The challenges of urban planning in the Democratic Republic of Congo

The population of DRC has increased from just over 12 million inhabitants in 1950 to around 100 million inhabitants in 2022. According to the National Strategic Development Plan (PNSD 2019-2023, under review), if the current trend remains constant, the national population is expected to increase to 133 in 2030, to 191 million in 2040 and reach 278 million in 2050.

In order to cope the accelerated urbanization they are experiencing, many intermediate cities face numerous challenges in organizing their development, building equipment and infrastructure, and managing urban services.

An experimental work to be carried out in Lualaba Province

The province of Lualaba is experiencing accelerated urbanization which requires the strengthening of local urban planning policies, particularly in its capital Kolwezi which presents many assets (dynamism, local resources) but also significant challenges (mining pressure on the environment and land resources).

The expected strengthening of national legislation demonstrates an interest of public authorities in implementing an urban planning policy at the provincial level, with interesting perspectives for the development of pilot experiences which could benefit from a national visibility. While the mining sector focuses the interest of donors, the implementation of an urban planning project in Lualaba offers new opportunities for the establishment of French actors (private sector) and for possible replicability of similar initiatives in other provinces of the DRC.

Supporting local and provincial actors in controlling urban development

Thanks to the support from the French Embassy in the DRC (1 M€), the project aims to develop urban planning in Lualaba by strengthening the technical capacities of provincial (Lualaba) and local (Kolwezi) administrations, intervening at three complementary levels:

• Strengthening local authorities in terms of urban planning and operational city planning.

• Leading a consultation which aims to involve all local stakeholders (CSOs, representatives of the population, private sector) in development and town planning operations.

• A contribution to national reflection on urban policy, with the main highlight being the organization of a national-scale conference.

An inclusive approach to ensure the co-construction of methodology

In order to facilitate the appropriation of planning tools and ensure the sustainability of actions, Expertise France supports technical services at local and provincial levels at all stages of the project and to develop all planning documents in co-construction with the final beneficiaries who will use it, in a logic of experiential learning (“learning by doing”). In addition, the development of city plans requires the facilitation of a broad consultation involving a wide diversity of stakeholders: institutions, local authorities, private sector, civil society. The mobilization of these stakeholders is a condition of success for achieving the results of the project.

A specific attention to the integration of female and young audiences

The project encourages the active participation of women and young people in carrying out activities:

• As beneficiaries of training.

• As stakeholders in the various consultation/consultation times that are proposed throughout the project, so that the concerns specific to these audiences are taken into account.

Taking into account sustainable development issues in urban planning

In addition to natural risks common across the country (floods, landslides), there are threats related to mining activity (35% of employment in Kolwezi). Expertise France will pay attention to taking environmental issues into account at all stages of project implementation.