Become part of Walk21 Kigali! Call for Contributions has opened

Bronwen Thornton — Thu, 02 Mar 2023 21:54:30 +0000

The Call for Contributions for Walk21 Kigali has opened. You are invited to become part of the programme and share your expertise, experience, successes, and contemporary research.

The theme of Walk21 Kigali is Action for Walking: Affordable, Essential Steps to Improve Walkability. The Call for Contribution is open to proposals that address the conferences four sub themes:

Improving road safety for people walking
Planning for walking in low-income neighbourhoods
Building walking policy actions to reach the SDGs and climate goals
Financing and governance models for supporting walking infrastructure

We welcome creative ideas and opportunities to explore these themes to find innovative and constructive ways that thread an understanding of the evidence base into affordable actions with a showcase of delivered projects that have realised beneficial change.

More information

Deadlines

7 April 2023 – Closure of Call for Contributions
Early May 2023 – Notification of Acceptance
End May 2023 – Confirmation of Participation

Conference

Walk21 Kigali will take place on 16-23 October 2023 in Kigali, Rwanda. It will be the 23^rd edition of the International Walk21 Conference on Walking and Liveable Communities. It will be the first Walk21 conference to be held on the African continent. Walk21 Kigali will be hosted by University of Rwanda in partnership with the City of Kigali and UNEP.

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Report: Walking and Cycling in Africa – Evidence and Good Practice to Inspire Action

Bronwen Thornton — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 17:46:19 +0000

Better infrastructure and policies can support a billion pedestrians and cyclists

Walk21, together with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), published the first report to present data on walking and cycling from all 54 African countries. The report Walking and Cycling in Africa – Evidence and Good Practice to Inspire Action demonstrates the everyday reality for one billion people in Africa who walk and cycle every day. The report, for the first time, gathers, analyses and presents relevant data from all countries in Africa. It baselines the policy and conditions by applying a walking lens to existing data sources, showing highly diverse contexts.

The report finds that 78% of people in Africa are walking for nearly an hour every day to access work, education, health care and food. And that, the majority of the streets where the walking occurs is unsafe, difficult to access and uncomfortable. Better policies and new investment in infrastructure is however emerging and having a positive impact to citizens throughout the region.

The report emphasizes the need for safety and comfort to be a core priority if we are to ensure healthier and more equitable low carbon cities in Africa. To realise the full benefits of walking and cycling, the report calls for:

Recommendations

Greater protection of pedestrians and cyclists from private vehicles, including women, children and people with disabilities;
Investments in adequate infrastructure, including wider footpaths, safer road crossings, lighting, shelter from weather and access to public transportation;
Better data collection, including engaging communities on policies and street design and measuring public satisfaction and mapping public transportation catchment walkability.

CEO of Walk21 Bronwen Thornton said:

‘Walk21 Foundation is proud to have been part of developing this report and the important ‘call to action’ it contains. The report consolidates available data and good practices to inspire politicians, practitioners and advocates across Africa. We can put walking and cycling at the heart of planning and investment for our streets and neighbourhoods. They are the solution to the multiple challenges we face and usually at lower costs than the alternatives.’

Maimunah Mohd Sharif, UN Habitat’s Executive Director said:

“There is a unique opportunity for change in the way we organize and plan our urban areas. Building on the global momentum during COVID-19 when cities expanded walking, cycling and public spaces, I would like to call on decision-makers in Africa to embrace the learnings from this report. “Investments in walking and cycling in Africa are investments in people. There is no other more cost-effective solution to achieve road safety and climate goals simultaneously.”

Sheila Watson, FIA Foundation Deputy Director, added:

“Walking and cycling must be the first consideration for African transport planning. Putting people first by supporting walking and cycling will help create liveable, sustainable and equitable cities where people will be able to live healthily. The FIA Foundation is proud to have supported this report, and to partner with UNEP on the Share the Road project which both make the case for active mobility to become a political priority.”

Walking and Cycling in Africa – Evidence and Good-Practice to Inspire-Action Download

Credits

The report was possible with the support from FIA Foundation, UKAID through the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, HVT Applied Research Programme and the German Environment Ministry’s International Climate Initiative (IKI).

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Africa Archives - Walk21