Secondary Cities Study in Sub-Saharan Africa

Project Narrative

The main objective of this assignment was to draft a background study on secondary cities. This background paper will be used to draft a position paper for the CA secretariat on identified policy gaps for addressing the needs of secondary cities in Sub-Sahara Africa.

Key services provided

Submission of an inception report that includes operational definition of key terms and suggestions of covered countries for the data profiles. A debriefing report reflecting on the assignment concerning lessons learnt and future research directions was also prepared.

Preparation of a background study on secondary cities (global focus), which provided (a) a working definition of a secondary city, (b) a literature review of research and policy reports on development approaches, policy gaps and proposed policy responses to address the challenges and potential of urbanization trends affecting secondary cities, (c) an overview of policies and programmes formulated by international and regional development institutions on secondary cities and (d) an annex including short data profiles to illustrate growth patterns and the socio-economic importance of secondary cities in selected countries based on data availability.

Based upon the background study, a position paper was developed for the Cities Alliance Secretariat highlighting key facts, policy gaps and potential key advocacy messages in favour for policy approaches to address the needs of secondary cities in Sub Saharan Africa. LEI was also responsible for moderating a peer review process of the position paper with selected Cities Alliance members and presenting the findings of this research at selected conferences and events.