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Central Africa: Getting Urbanisation Right

Ethiopia faces an urban population explosion. Another 10 million people, possibly more, are expected to move to cities in the next ten years. Today, just one in five Ethiopians live in cities; this will be one in four by 2025. This presents Ethiopia with a golden opportunity to get urbanisation right.

With good urban planning, the country can reach its twin goals of eradicating poverty and achieving middle income status in ten years time. This would require at least a doubling in gross domestic product (GDP).

A new report, released this week by the Global Commission on the Economy & Climate, led by the Ethiopian Development Research Institute (EDRI) and the Global Green Growth Institute recommends planning and building compact, well-connected cities across the country. Such cities can cut costs, improve economic opportunities and create jobs, reduce congestion and pollution, and accelerate growth.

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