Gender Ideologies and Climate Risk: How is the Connection Linked to Sustainability in an African City?

Introduction

African cities have the potential for a transformative turn in global sustainability through local and scalable climate solutions. Climate action in urban Africa is incremental as more people gradually shift to renewable energy in housing and health, non-motorized transport, urban greening and agriculture, waste re-use and recycling, and a range of other measures that will reduce emissions and enhance capacity to adapt to climate risks. Although access to modern energy is still a challenge, the up-take of solar electrification in urban slums, street lighting and in water disinfection plants is at its peak; through collective action in form of energy forums, slum dweller associations, cooperatives and public-private partnerships (Parikh et al., 2012; Thorn et al., 2015). Urban development that integrates ecological sustainability into planning at neigbourhood scale has taken route in form of rainwater harvesting; restricted hard landscaping; and kitchen or toilet facilities that capture methane gas at the top of the dome, for re-use as cooking gas (Swilling and Eve, 2006; Buyana and Lwasa, 2011; Okello et al., 2013). Urban agriculture and forestry that transcends poverty reduction to scalable adaptation and mitigation potential, has gained traction in African cities through productive greening and ecosystem services for urban resilience to heat-related risks, air and water pollution (Phelan et al., 2015; Padgham et al., 2015; Ogato et al., 2017). Though air quality is being compromised by vehicle-generated dust and fossil fuels, walking conditions in public spaces are being improved through wider pedestrian precincts and traffic culming facilities as well as regulatory mechanisms for adoption of non-motorized transport (Tulu et al., 2013; Amoako et al., 2014). Coastal cities are coping with extreme episodic weather events, using not only built infrastructures (such as elevated roads) but also ecosystem-based adaptation, such as mangroves along the Moroccan coast in West Africa for defence against storm water surges, alongside fog-water harvesting; and community reforestation in cities like Durban-South Africa (Marzol & Sanchez, 2008; Roberts et al., 2012; Klemm et al., 2012; Brink et al., 2016). These incremental actions are capable of influencing societal transitions towards sustainability at global scale.