Menu
City Know-hows
Target audience
Policy-makers, academics, urban planners, environmentalists, traditional title holders, local and international development partners, NGOs and residents.
The problem
Kano is a city with a historic importance attached to the Hausa native trees. Interestingly, some neighbourhoods in Kano actually received their names from native trees. Regrettably, urbanization has seen many of these native trees severely depleted with others disappearing completely from the neighbourhoods that are named after them. It is reported that young people from such neighbourhoods cannot even identify or name such trees at sight, because they don’t know them.
What we did and why
The project restored 17 different native tree species by planting a total of 61 native trees in all the locations where a depleted native tree was though to have stood (neighbourhoods, open spaces, public schools etc.) in order to recreate the historic biophilia of urban Kano. Geographical coordinates of each of the restored trees were taken using hand-held GPS device as a way of tracking the precise location of each restored tree.
Our study’s contribution
This was the first attempt at using innovative lab in Africa to incubate ideas by assembling academics, experts, students and communities to co-design solutions on how to successfully restore some of the depleted native trees in Kano. The findings also highlight the importance of sex-based inclusion in the project, and nature-based solutions in urban ecosystem restoration and sustainability.
Impacts for city policy and practice
Our study findings suggests that the success of project, especially its implementation, cannot be fully and effectively achieved without the inclusion of all stakeholders in the design and policy-decision process.
Further information
See MR CITY LAB. For Millennials to restore urban biodiversity in Kano city through planting of local tree species. Tweeting at @MR CITY LAB
Full research article:
(2020) Recreating African biophilic urbanism: the roles of millennials, native trees, and innovation labs in Nigeria, Cities & Health.Â
Related posts
Our study analyzes the impact of COVID-19 on Hong Kong’s progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The study identifies four SDGs that stood out with significant impacts from the pandemic. We offer valuable and transferable insights for policymakers and stakeholders involved in pandemic recovery and sustainable development efforts.
Evidence overwhelmingly suggests that the built environment has an impact on people’s health, particularly in terms of noncommunicable diseases such as asthma, diabetes and poor mental health. However, health is rarely prioritised in urban planning decisions at present, and earlier work by this research group has shown that senior decision-makers feel they lack the power to influence planning and policy decisions in order to improve the situation. This intervention area adds to the wider research programme, which is focused primarily on the delivery of quantifiable socio-environmental and health economics valuations. People make decisions not just based on economic valuation, so an understanding of why people make decisions and how those decisions can change is essential. This paper describes the methodology that will be used to develop this intervention. Findings will be published later.
New analysis methods were assessed. The majority of audit tool items showed moderate/almost perfect reliability. The desktop method was a valid alternative to on-site auditing, truncated but more time-efficient and economical.
