‘Pedestrians don’t build the economy’: why walking policies don’t match policy outcomes in african cities

Abstract

There is currently a limited understanding of the underlying barriers and enablers in African cities that may influence the development of walking or pedestrian policies and the implementation of existing policies. A recent review of institutional and political factors affecting walking and urban transport policy in Africa suggested that more insight is needed into the political processes and decision-making in transport in Africa. This paper contributes insight into these processes by sharing formative research around the gaps between walking (or NMT/Non-Motorised Transport) policy statements, and policy outcomes, in African cities. This research involved in-depth interviews with thirteen key informants from transport and planning sectors across the continent, undertaken to facilitate further engagement with policy and decision-makers in African cities as part of a training event in East Africa in June 2022. Through asking questions about how walking is currently valued as a transport mode in Africa, the authors identify five hypotheses for why walking policies do not match policy outcomes in African cities. This paper is based on work published in a project report funded by UKAID through the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office under t