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16 - The 2030 Agenda, Climate Urbanism and Urban Planning in Zimbabwe

from Part III - Sustainable Urban Planning in Africa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 December 2023

By
Talent Moyo
Edited by
Patrick Brandful Cobbinah  and
Eric Gaisie
Patrick Brandful Cobbinah
Affiliation:
University of Melbourne
Eric Gaisie
Affiliation:
University of Melbourne
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Summary

The chapter seeks to understand how the 2030 Agenda expressed through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate urbanism reconfigure urban planning and related processes in Zimbabwe. As discourses of climate change and sustainability have gained traction, urban planning plays a critical role in achieving carbon-free societies. Through the case study of three Zimbabwean cities (Harare, Bulawayo and Gweru), the chapter aims to highlight opportunities and challenges presented to urban planning by Agenda 2030. The chapter employs primary and secondary data sources to understand how urban planning in Africa, and particularly in Zimbabwe, is being shaped by the climate discourse. As such, the chapter contends that there is a seemingly discernible paradigm shift in terms of urban planning processes in Zimbabwe, which seems to be drifting towards a multilateral planning vision dominated by climate-centred urban planning policies. It must be noted that climate-centred urbanisation will be useful in future in curbing and dealing with pandemics like COVID-19. However, it should be noted that climate-centred urban planning processes seem to be more abstract thinking than operationalisation. Finally, the chapter suggests ways to promote a pragmatic shift from abstract thinking to operationalisation of climate-friendly urban planning.

Keywords

urban planningAgenda 2030climate urbanismcitiesZimbabwe
Type
Chapter
Information
Reimagining Urban Planning in Africa , pp. 282 - 302
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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