9th Africities Summit: Morocco Developed Renewed, Anticipatory and Forward-looking Urban Planning – Minister

Morocco has developed a renewed, anticipatory and forward-looking urban planning, said Thursday in Kisumu, Minister of National Planning, Urban Planning, Housing and Urban Policy Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri. “To accompany, anticipate and take advantage of urbanization, the Kingdom of Morocco has opted for urban planning documents as a reference for the consolidation of the rule of law and territorial equity, through a renewed anticipatory and forward-looking urban planning,” she said at the opening of a session on intermediate cities, held in partnership with the Interior Ministry, as part of the 9th edition of the Africities Summit (Kisumu 17-21 May). Morocco’s efforts have also focused on a modernized and strengthened urban management through an unprecedented process of digitization, she added in a speech read on her behalf. This process, El Mansouri said, has helped strengthen the resilience of the country during the health crisis, maintain public service including health and education, and foster innovation while developing a Moroccan digital experience. Africities summit is considered as the main platform for dialogue on decentralization and local governance that brings together every three years African ministers, mayors, leaders and elected officials of local and regional governments, civil society organizations, traditional authorities, representatives of the African diaspora, economic actors, experts, researchers and academics, financial institutions and development partners. The theme of the 9th Africities Summit, which runs through May 21, 2022, is “The Role of Intermediary Cities of Africa in the Implementation of Agenda 2030 of the United Nations and the African Union Agenda 2063”. The previous Africities edition was held in Marrakesh from 20 to 24 November 2018.