Urban Renewal and Sovereign Housing in Senegal Heritage, Resilience and Inclusive Modernity

Senegal is experiencing rapid urbanization driven by sustained demographic growth and the concentration of populations and economic activities in major cities. While this trend supports economic and social development, it also creates structural pressures, particularly on land and housing. As a result, housing has become a strategic issue linked to national sovereignty, intersecting social, economic, territorial and environmental policies. The country faces persistent challenges, including rising construction costs, territorial disparities, limited access to basic services, environmental vulnerability and increasing exposure to climate change. These issues closely align with the New Urban Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDG 11 on inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities. In response, Senegal adopted Law No. 2023-20 of 29 December 2023 establishing the Urban Planning Code, which positions urban renewal as the central framework for transforming cities. Urban renewal goes beyond physical upgrading to promote an integrated transformation of existing urban areas, addressing social, economic, environmental and cultural dimensions. It aims to strengthen local dynamics, reduce spatial inequalities, preserve social and economic networks and improve living conditions, while minimizing displacement and exclusion. At the same time, dominant housing production models—often based on imported standards—have shown significant limitations. High costs, limited adaptation to local climatic and cultural contexts, weak local value creation and exposure to speculative practices have reduced their effectiveness. These constraints have underscored the need to strategically reorient national housing policy. This reorientation is consistent with Senegal 2050, the National Transformation Agenda, which emphasizes social inclusion, sustainability and territorial resilience. Within this framework, sovereign housing refers to the country’s capacity to design, finance, regulate, build and manage housing according to national priorities, reducing dependence on external markets and speculative mechanisms disconnected from social needs. Senegal’s participation in WUF 2026 offers an important opportunity to present this approach, rooted in African and Sahelian realities, and to contribute to global dialogue on urban renewal, housing sovereignty and the transformation of cities toward greater inclusion, resilience and sustainability.