University of Zambia

Lusaka Sustainability Programme

Website | Coming soon

The Lusaka Sustainability Programme (LSP) was launched in 2017. It is now a city-wide effort. University of Zambia works closely with Departments of City Planning, Department of Housing and Social Services and plans exist to involve all Departments in the City Council.

In its first full academic year in operation (2018-2019), the programme began a partnership with the City of Lusaka. Ten academics and 30 students participated in the projects to date. During the project, students freely consult and engage with city contact persons and community members. Students freely and directly work with community members and it has been made possible by the strategic contacts created by champions in the city, university, and community. Each project ends each semester with clear recommendations for implementation.

The programme uses a joint effort involving community, local authority and university program champions and stakeholders to choose the projects for the partnership. The programme has focused on improving urban sustainability in informal settlements of the City. The first half of the year is spent working on a local community while the second half is still wide. Both local and city-wide projects focus on improving livelihoods for the city population. The feedback from students has been very positive. Community stakeholder and city officials have been very supportive and are keen participants.

Fun Facts about the LSP

The University of Zambia Lusaka Sustainability Programme is one of the founding members of EPIC Africa. The programme is current administered from the Centre for Urban Research and Planning within the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies. The Centre was jointly formed by the University of Zambia and Lusaka City Council to support collaborative efforts aimed at promoting urban sustainability and improving people’s livelihoods.

Students in the past year made plans for:

• Climate / flood resilience
• People-led Slum upgrading
• Improvement of Social services
• Strategic infrastructure development & managing urban sprawl

Year Program Established | 2017
Country | Zambia
Public or Private Institution | Public
Number of students at institution | 28,000

Highlight Articles/Videos

The City Council and the University of Zambia are in advanced conversations on signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to guide the implementation of the EPIC Lusaka programme. In 2019, the LSP is supported financially by the Leading Integrated Research Agenda (LIRA) programme supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) in partnership with the African Science Academy.  

Maps made by students for Lusaka Integrated Analysis project:

Community Partners

2017-2022 | City of Lusaka • Population 2,400,000 (2018)

Contact Info

Gilbert Siame, PhD
LSP Coordinator
Lecturer & Researcher
EPIC Africa Co-Chair
+260 979457414
siamegilbert@yahoo.co.uk

Join conversations about EPIC Africa here.