Our cooperation on smart and sustainable cities

© Michael Goima

With over half the global population living in urban areas, cities are centres for jobs and services and generate 80% of global GDP.

As cities experience extremely rapid demographic growth – particularly in Africa and Asia – they now present numerous challenges worldwide:

  • Accessibility to public services for all
  • Uncontrolled urbanisation means a growing number of city dwellers live in underserved neighbourhoods and precarious housing, leading to social exclusion and ghettoisation
  • Vulnerability of certain populations to increasingly frequent natural hazards, especially in poorly planned urban areas
  • Pollution and environmental impact of human activity in cities
  • Climate change requires measures to adapt and reduce urban impact on biodiversity and climate

Through our work as France’s development cooperation agency, we support the transition toward smart and sustainable cities capable of accommodating current and future generations in the best possible conditions.

Cycliste dans un parc urbain
© Marco Pin Mendez - AFD

Our projects

Key figures

  • 10 countries received support through our projects on sustainable urbanisation and access to urban services
  • €39 million in projects