Rural-Urban Continuum – an Essential Approach to Sustainable Cities

At the 9th World Urban Forum, the National Union of Tenants of Nigeria will, in collaboration with the Government of Rivers State, organize a networking event to examine a key urban challenge of the present millennium – being 'One-City Development System' and articulate answers to the challenge. Rural-Urban Continuum – an Essential Approach to Sustainable Cities, being the title of the event, is chosen to underscore how 'development spread' can be adopted to address the transition challenges of the new urban agenda (Habitat III) and the SDG Goal on cities & human settlements. One-city development model being a ubiquitous ingredient of developing countries, mainly in Africa and Asia, has been identified as a fundamental element that exacerbates urban population growth and a factor that amplifies dense population load on basic infrastructures and services, particularly housing, in capital cities. Dense population force on affordable housing has been also identified as a factor that intensifies homelessness and its slum-formation trend, both of which are outcomes of mismatch between demand and supply of affordable housing in cities.

The motley effects of the critical urbanization challenges in developing countries, as reflected in urban population growth and its consequences on capital cities, has impelled the need to host a networking event on 'Rural-Urban Continuum' as a tool for reversal of the challenge. The aim of the event is to showcase an innovative policy anchored on 'Development Spread' by which the rural centers are upgraded to semi-urban standard and posited as city alternatives. At the event, the Executive Governor of Rivers State, His Excellency, Chief Nyesom Ezenwo Wike (GSSRS), will address the participants on the Greater Port Harcourt City Development initiative of the State Government and how the initiative can be used to address the transition challenges of the New Urban Agenda and the SDG, particularly the challenge of 'one-city system' of development.