Zambia : SymbioCity

SYMBIOCITY ZAMBIA

Transforming our cities improving lives

SymbioCity in Zambia

The SymbioCity project in Mazabuka was focused on producing an Urban Sustainability Review (USR) with attached action- and implementation plans. The USR in Mazabuka aimed to identify opportunities to enhance sustainable urban development within Mazabuka Municipal Council.

The Mazabuka SymbioCity project was formed around a Steering group consisting of members of political leaders in Mazabuka municipal council and Mazabuka district as well as national government representatives from the Ministry of Local Government and the Zambian Association of Local authorities. The group was formed, in order to ensure broad participation and engagement from different tiers of government as well as representation to spread experiences both locally and nationally.

Time period: 2012-2013

Key Achievements

Strengthened governance and stakeholder collaboration through new structures that enabled cooperation between local, national, private sector, and community actors – significantly increasing inclusiveness in urban decision-making.

Analysis of key challenges to sustainable development in Mazabuka, identifying issues of broad and long-term concern, such as how to make the city more dense instead of searching for opportunities to buy more land, which is both restricted by surrounding farmland and expensive.

Practical solutions such as biogas production in connection to the local market were developed to improve the environment in the city and at the same time increase the energy production and local service provision.

Local authorities gained knowledge, tools, and guidance to apply the SymbioCity approach and drive ongoing sustainable urban development that strengthened capacity building and institutional development

A new interaction between different interest groups, that included grass root organisations and private sector that had previously not been invited to discuss matters of urban development.

Mazabuka

The Mazabuka project resulted in a comprehensive USR including an analysis of the key challenges for Mazabuka to develop sustainably. The report looked at issues of broad and long-term concern such as how to make the city more dense instead of searching for opportunities to buy more land, which is both restricted by surrounding farmland and expensive.

Additionally, to improve the environment in the city, while increasing energy production and local service provision, a plan was developed for Mazabuka to build a biogas plant in connection to the local market as well as connected to the local hospital and prison.

county image Mazabuka