Across Africa, governments are chasing the image of modern cities. “Smart” districts now define progress in places like Addis Ababa, Nairobi, and Cairo. But behind this ‘progress’ is a quiet crisis. As governments redesign cities, they displace poor communities and treat everyday survival as a crime. The displacement of families and informal traders denies them the freedom to live and work where they have already built their livelihoods.

This way of planning ignores human dignity and violates property rights. Cities should grow with people, not against them. A better approach should recognize informal settlements through gradual land ownership, allowing small businesses to operate where people live, and involve communities in planning their neighbourhoods.

Modern urban planning in Africa often creates winners and losers. The displacement of families and informal workers such as street vendors and day laborers affects their income, security, and human dignity. In Addis Ababa alone, the demolition of over 110,000 homes in a single year cut people off from the jobs and schools they depended on. Designing cities without space for informal life forces the poor into uncertainty.

If this continues, African cities will become places for the rich and powerful, while pushing the poor further to the edges. This kind of growth increases inequality and anger instead of creating stable and inclusive cities.

Governments in Africa must stop demolishing informal settlements and instead recognize them through gradual land registration. Families that have lived in these neighborhoods for years risk sudden removal because they lack legal titles.

Gradual land registration would eventually allow residents to gain legal recognition. Rwanda implemented a version of this approach, where the government registered millions of plots at low cost. Once people felt secure, they improved their homes, fixed roads, and invested in their communities without waiting for government help.

Besides security, people should be able to earn a living. Across African cities, many families survive through small home-based businesses such as food stalls, tailoring, or repair shops. Zoning laws often ban these small businesses, even though they provide an honest income. Governments can revise zoning laws to allow small-scale trade within residential areas and stop harassing informal workers.

Gradual land registration is a better approach to mass demolitions and city plans that force people into a single design. Plans with fixed zones separate homes from work and ignore people's livelihoods.

Such plans assume everyone has a formal job, a steady income, and can afford daily transport, which is not the reality for most urban residents. When people feel a sense of belonging, they can take responsibility for their environment.

The government should involve communities directly and promptly in city planning decisions. Too often, city plans neglect the people who will live with the consequences. Eviction plans, road expansions, and housing projects become public only after the execution of city plan contracts.

This removes people’s agency and denies them a voice over their own homes and livelihoods. Community participation is important because displacement affects both property and economic rights. Moving people without their consent disrupts their livelihoods and threatens economic freedom by cutting them off from their ability to earn a living.

Governments can organize public consultations before any redevelopment begins. These consultations should take place within the affected communities, in local languages, and when people can attend. Planning should include elected community representatives who can review plans and propose alternatives, and not only observe.

In Brazil’s favela upgrading programs, governments worked with residents to improve roads, sanitation, and housing, while keeping communities intact. Compared to mass evictions and relocation schemes, upgrading required fewer public funds, prevented economic disruption, and upheld residents’ rights to housing, stability, and participation in shaping their own neighborhoods.

Involving communities early would ensure trust, avoid resistance, and protect human dignity. Planning with people would lead to lasting development, but without them, there would be anger, poverty, and instability.

There is a better way for African countries to build modern cities. Recognizing informal settlements would give people security, flexible zoning would allow them to earn a living, and community participation would build trust. Instead of copying foreign city models, African cities can grow in a way that regards people’s dignity and livelihoods.