Pro-Poor Urban Development: China and Africa Workshop

30th July – 1st August, Nairobi, co-organized by
Mazingira Institute, Centre for African Studies, Peking University and Development Workshop supported by
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The idea for a workshop bringing together Chinese and African experts and thinkers on how urbanization is affecting the poor came from interactions and observations in Angola and China some two years ago. Both countries have urban growth rates among the fastest in the world. As not enough is known about the African environment by Chinese academia, policy makers and urban development specialists, the need for comprehensive and participatory urban planning jointly with African counterparts was recognized. The plan to involve a range of specialized African institutions to discuss these issues led to the three co-organizers of the workshop being Mazingira Institute, Nairobi, Development Workshop from Angola and the Centre for African Studies at Peking University. The workshop was supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.