The City Show

In this final episode of The City Show: An Unstoppable Force, we look ahead to Africa's urban future. With cities growing faster than anywhere else on Earth, the question is: what kind of urban world are we building—and for whom? Data expert George Kibala-Bauer explains why access to data will determine how cities plan and adapt. Futurist Geci Karuri-Sebina argues for innovation rooted in local realities, not imported tech models. In Dakar, architect Nzinga Biegueng Mboup shows how low-tech, locally sourced materials can redefine sustainable design. And from Harare, activist Namatai Kwekweza reminds us that Africa's young majority must have a real voice in shaping what's next. Together, they sketch out a future where technology, tradition, and youth energy could finally align to shape cities that reflect and belong to the people who live in them.

In this episode of The City Show, we hit the streets to see how people are shaping everyday life in three very different African cities. In Nairobi's Mathare, community organiser Gathanga Ndungu and a network of women activists are fighting for safety, dignity, and justice in one of the city's oldest and most neglected neighbourhoods. In Lusaka, Mildred Musonda Nkole's roadside café shows how small-scale entrepreneurship keeps cities fed and communities connected even amid power cuts and economic strain. And in Cairo, heritage expert May al-Ibrashy and the women of Athar Lina reveal how preserving old buildings is also about protecting stories, livelihoods, and identity. Together, their stories capture the energy, resilience, and reinvention driving cities across Africa.

When African countries gained independence, most cities still looked like the ones the colonisers left behind—European-style centers for the privileged, surrounded by neglected areas for everyone else. Instead of breaking that pattern, post-independence governments mostly ended up reinforcing it. Disentangling cities across Africa from that legacy remains one of the continent's biggest challenges, with governments still struggling to fund or design policies that truly shift the course. The first episode of The City Show's third season unpacks why this persists, and the new momentum that is becoming a common feature of life in cities across the continent. We speak to South African urbanist Edgar Pieterse, Ghanaian analyst Bright Simons, Kenyan anthropologist Wangui Kimari, and Gambian mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda.

Season Three of The City Show, titled An Unstoppable Force, focuses entirely on Africa. It traces how the continent's cities came to be what they are today, how people are navigating the often harsh reality of life in them, and what the future might hold as urbanisation accelerates at record speed. It's about the places and systems we have now, those we aspire towards, and how we might get there. Guests include architect Nzinga Mboup in Dakar; human rights lawyer and activist Namatai Kwekweza in Harare; urbanist Edgar Pieterse in Cape Town; mayor of Kanifing, Gambia, Talib Ahmed Bensouda; the proprietor of  a Matebeto (a streetside food tavern in Lusaka)  Mildred Musonda Nkole; Kenyan community organiser  Gathanga Ndungu; futurist Geci Karuri Sebina in Johannesburg; data expert George Kibala-Bauer in London, and Cairo-based conservation architect and activist  May al-Ibrashy, among others. It's presented by Tau Tavengwa and produced by Penny Dale. Our researcher and fact-checker is Julia Hope.  Season Three of The City Show, subtitled: An Unstoppable Force, accompanies a publication of the same title produced as part of the Urban2063 coalition's campaign, launched as an initiative of 15 organisations across Africa and globally. These organisations have come together to advocate for a wider recognition of the centrality of cities in Africa's transformation and future.  It's supported by Development Bank of Southern Africa, Africa Climate Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies and Ford Foundation.  

In this final episode on transit and public space, the New York Times' Vivian Nereim tells us about the accelerated transformation of Riyadh as Saudi Arabia attempts to make its capital more livable and attractive to investors and visitors. Sarah David, a Kenyan domestic worker, talks about getting around the city, and transport expert Benjamin de la Peña discusses the one-size fits-all approach to transforming transit systems globally and how decolonisation might be vital to achieving real change.

When Johannesburg was awarded the 2010 World Cup, the race was on—literally—for the city's leadership to figure out how to transport large numbers of international fans all across the city. They even took part in an 'Amazing Race' style challenge. But, did the investment pay off? Dhashen Moodley finds out.

When Alejandro Echeverri Restrepo became Medellin's Director of Urban Projects in 2004, the city was trying to recover from years of violence visited upon it by cartels and militias whose near-unchecked reign of terror had torn it apart. Echeverri and his team quickly realised that a better, more integrated and accessible transport system would be vital. Catalina Ortiz, now an associate professor at University College London's Development Planning Unit, had just graduated from a local university and was inspired by the momentum she saw in the city. But, like many, she was equally hopeful and skeptical and had multiple concerns about the many changes she saw in her adopted city and some of their impacts on poor communities.  In this episode, Alejandro and Catalina explain the decisions that were made and share the concerns they had along the way.

In 2009, Mexican architect Raul Cardenas Osuna enlisted a team of scientists, programmers and artists and to work for his organisation. At Torolab, he wanted them to tackle the biggest problem in the country: violent crime. After months of research, his complex team came up with a simple plan: Start a cookbook. In the town of Camino Verde in Tijuana, Torolab's cookbook reconnected a traumatised community. They dramatically reduced crime rates. It's working so well in Tijuana that they're now trying it across the border in California.

Eko Atlantic, a private estate modelled on Dubai and built in Lagos, was called a "game changer" for Africa's real estate market. The multibillion-dollar project was meant to project Lagos's progress to the world, reviving its economic prospects. Even former US president Bill Clinton said so. But urban expert Olamide Udoma-Ejoh says Eko Atlantic feels more like a parasite.

Fashion designer George Azzi and Urbanist Mona Harb love Beirut. They have lived through the city's multiple crises and survived its tragedies. Both are optimistic and willing to fight for its survival. It's worth it; hope lives in Beirut, they say.

Brazilian architect Pedro Henrique de Cristo moved into a Rio favela called Vidigal, determined to do work with impact. After years running a celebrated project in the neighbourhood, things went awry. But in the process of working in Vidigal, Pedro learnt that even good ideas have their limits.

What do the world's second most expensive private home, a spate of serial bombings, and a seemingly innocuous statute titled "Floor Space Index Regulations" (also known as Air Rights) have in common? Anthropologist Vyjyanthi Rao, who has spent twenty years immersed in a fast-changing Mumbai's urban politics, helps us make the connection.

Bo Kaap, a once close-knit community in the heart of Cape Town's city centre survived South Africa's draconian apartheid-era laws. Now, its residents feel under threat from an influx of newcomers and commercial development. They also have to fess up to the community's complicated history...