Urban Action Lab

💡 Learn more below about the Professional Diploma, its structure, key skills, and scholarship opportunities below. 🌍 Ready to apply? Don't miss the deadline: August 1st, 2026. Apply here: aul.city/admissions

🌃🎓Admissions for the Africa Urban Lab’s Professional Diploma in Urban Development are now open! Join our third cohort in Zanzibar to learn, collaborate, and advance your knowledge on urbanization in Africa. Scholarships are available! The Professional Diploma is designed for early- to mid-career professionals seeking to deepen their expertise around core topics crucial for creating thriving African cities. Through two intensive, in-person learning blocks covering urban planning, urban economics, urban governance, and municipal finance — combined with a real-world Capstone Placement — the Diploma students get exposed to the latest trends on urbanization, working directly with leading urban practitioners and scholars from all over the continent. The AUL's Diploma students come from government, NGOs, multilateral institutions, research, academia, and community-based organizations — all contributing to Africa’s urban transformation.

Land in Lusanja & Ssekanyonyi: 78% hold documentsin form of purchase agreements; 53% male sole owners, 22% joint, 19% female sole owners; Rights perceived: 88% say they can develop, 75% can sell, 67% can bequeath, 59% can lease. 92% of plots less than50x100 ft (very high density)

Key takeaway: urban settlements grow and expand fast and thus planning must prioritise land conflict resolution, secure tenure, services provision, climate resilience and livelihood support. @DLwasa @pmukwaya @KasaijaPeter2 @karenhelmy1 @HakimuSseviiri @NPA_UG

Progressive discussions on Land Reforms- Making land tenure secure and safe for Ugandans.

@UrbanActionLab engagement on land matters in Kampala reinforces the necessity of science-community and policy interfaces to shape transformative actions for inclusivity and liveability in cities. @AfricanCities_ @DLwasa @karenhelmy1 @pmukwaya @HakimuSseviiri @KasaijaPeter2

The @UrbanActionLab engages residents and leaders in Lusanja and Ssekanyonyi neighbourhoods on findings of land conflict management and tenure security governance in crisis contexts. @GDNint @AfricanCities_ @AfricaUrbanLab @HakimuSseviiri @pmukwaya @DLwasa

Urban residents suggest that land governance institutions need to roll-out tailored awareness compaigns on ground-rent, tenure forms and property rights for low-income neighbourhoods in Kampala city region.

Community level dialogue on land issues in Lusanja and Ssekanyonyi settlements highlights the need for localised systems of empowerment on land ownership and rights in low-income urban neighbourhoods. @GDNint @DLwasa @KasaijaPeter2 @HakimuSseviiri

RUFS Training in Mbale City: Mr Henry Mbowa & Ms Ritah Pavin Nakanjako have conducted a session with smallholder farmers focusing on group dynamics, common challenges, & strategies for overcoming them. It was observed that many groups struggle or fail due to lack of shared focus.

Happening 25-28/03/26: Training of Mbale City smallholder farmers in financial management, under the Resilient Urban Food Systems (RUFS) project. Phase 2 of the project aims to strengthen urban food systems resilience to floods & drought risks in Mbale City & Kasese Municipality.

Navigating between Urban and Camp Life: The Survival and Political Strategy of Congolese Refugees in Kampala.

Access to Information and Opportunities by Urban Youths in Kampala youtu.be/h7xOSHx_67c?si… via @YouTube

Validation Workshop for the Urban Youth Research Project- Awareness of Youth Programs and their participation in Informal Settings.

#displacementurbanism Excited about collaborative book "Displacement Urbanism: Politics of Bodies and Spaces of Abandonment and Endurance" with partners at DPU-UCL. Share widely! @HakimuSseviiri @pmukwaya @AfricanCities_ @tcourtright23 @DianaMitlin jstor.org/stable/jj.1832…

Aligning Judicial provisions and Local practices on land Transfers in Kampala.

The face of an idle Land Agreement. # Capacitating Local Councils on land transfers in Informal settlements in Kampala City #

#urbanfutures Ongoing consortium partner meeting hosted by Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre (SLURC) in Freetown, Sierra Leone. @HakimuSseviiri @@karenhelmy1 @pmukwaya @KasaijaPeter

@AfricanCities_ monthly reflection meeting, bringing all 5 initiatives together @UrbanActionLab focused on reviewing progress, mainstreaming political settlements and documenting learning.@NamuliFisa @pmukwaya @dianamitlin @DLwasa @ACTogetherUG @HakimuSseviiri @amywordley