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Paper short abstract

This paper explores howcameroon cities are reimagining governance to build resilience, enhance security, and promote inclusive participation. It focuses on community-led innovations, civic technologies, and decentralized planning that empower urban residents in three major cities.

Paper long abstract

Central Africa, just like the other regions of the continent, is experiencing a rapid urban transition, with its urban population projected to reach approximately 200 million in 2050. This growth is driven by factors including rural-urban migration, demographic growth, and displacement due to socio-political and environmental crises, hence transforming the urban structure of the region. Most of the cities of the region are caractyerised by weak institutions, limited infrastructures, and increased vulnerability to climatic and security challenges. Cameroon, being at the juncture, faces great pressure. Cities like Yaoundé, Douala and Bafoussam, with an urbanization rate of about 3.6 percent and over half the population estimated to be living in urban centres by 2050, have to face challenges of informal settlement, urban and land tenure insecurity, and climate-induced challenges. Based on case studies fieldwork between 2017 and 2025, participative mapping activities, and policy analyses, the study highlights initiatives such as participatory land-tenure mapping in Douala, flood-reduction approaches in Bafoussam, or digital mapping systems in Yaoundé. These cases are illustrative of the shifts in governance towards polycentric models, in which local actors co-create solutions to issues in the city.

The paper advocates for a policy framework that promotes decentralized planning, local innovation, and the institutionalization of multi-stakeholder platforms to strengthen urban resilience in the Central African region. The case study of Cameroon can be considered instructive for urban cities in the ECCAS, as they seek to develop inclusive, adaptive, and democratically managed urban futures aligned with Agenda 2063 of the African Union.