Zimbabwe: Cultivating Food Security in the City - In recent years Zimbabweans have faced severe food shortages and staggering hyperinflation. As a result, residents in the capital, Harare, have increasingly turned to urban gardening. They grow produce just about anywhere they can – in backyards, vacant lots, on roadsides and on rooftops. [AA Urbanisation]

Zimbabwe: Urban Poverty, A Social Time Bomb - WITH about an hour of daylight remaining, Susan Chakubva stared at the clear sky pondering if she would get a customer that day. [AA Urbanisation]

Kenya: Water Crisis to Persist, Says Kiunjuri - The water crisis that has hit Nairobi will persist, even as the government sinks 50 boreholes to mitigate the severe water shortage, Parliament has been told. [AA Urbanisation]

Nigeria: Flood, Bad Roads Grind Lagos to a Halt - LAGOS, the nation's economic capital and financial hub has been paralysed by intractable traffic snarl-up, worsened by heavy downpour witnessed in the last few days. [AA Urbanisation]

Zimbabwe: Harare Battles to Regain Sunshine Status - HARARE residents have been at loggerheads with the city fathers over poor service delivery in the capital. Issues raised include poor responses to burst sewer and water pipes, potholes, garbage collection, health service and dysfunctional traffic lights. The Financial Gazette's News Editor Brian Mangwende (BM) sought explanations from the council's public relations manager, Leslie Gwindi (LG) on these contentious issues. [AA Urbanisation]

Zimbabwe: French Aid Group to Tackle Urban Food Insecurity - A French humanitarian aid group is set to launch a food security programme in Zimbabwe next month, in an effort to tackle food shortages in urban areas. [AA Urbanisation]

Gaza building project experiments with clay and rubble

GAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IRIN) - In the face of the ongoing Israeli ban on imports of building materials Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are looking at new building methods, and one project is using clay and rubble. Local Palestinian non-governmental organization Mercy Association for Children began building a school for handicapped children in Gaza City on 24 May to test a recently developed method using clay blocks, salt and rubble. [Palestine]

Nearly 100,000 Somalis Displaced in Capital in Past Month, UN Reports - Nearly 100,000 Somalis Displaced in Capital in Past Month, UN Reports - Since fighting broke out last month between Government forces and armed opposition groups, almost 100,000 people have been driven from their homes in the capital, Mogadishu, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) reported today. [AA Network - Somalia] [AA Pan Africa]

Unprecedented State of Violence - Unprecedented State of Violence - The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) has urged the ACHPR to adopt a resolution to address the Kenyan government on its obligations to protect and promote the rights of all people and its duty to hold violators to account through criminal prosecution. [All Africa : Kenya] [AA Kenya]

Palestinians rebuild with mud RAFAH, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) - Jihad al-Shaar is pleased with his mud-brick house in the Moraj district of Gaza. The 80-square meter home is a basic one-story, two-bedroom design, with a small kitchen, bathroom and sitting room, made mostly with mud and straw.

"My wife and our four daughters and I were living with family, but it was overcrowded, impossible. We knew we had to build a home of our own," Shaar said. [Palestine]

Uganda: Mr. President, Help Us Put Some Order in Kampala - MR. President, I would like to congratulate you on what I consider one of the many great achievements of your administration - the housing and construction industry. [AA Construction]

South Africa: RDP Renovations Blamed for Infrastructure Collapse - The unlawful renovation of RDP houses in Du Noon township is placing strain on the already creaking infrastructure, causing sewage spillages and storm water drain blockages, says the City of Cape Town. [AA Urbanisation]

South Africa: The KwaZulu-Natal Slums Act - Bloody Legislation Against the Expropriated - On 14 May 2009 the Constitutional Court will hear the attempt by the shack dweller's movement Abahlali baseMjondolo to have the KwaZulu-Natal Slums Act declared unlawful. Other provinces have been mandated to develop similar legislation and the decision of the court may have a significant impact on the future of our cities. [AA Urbanisation]

South Africa: Residents Barricade Road Over Services - Residents of Site C in Khayelitsha have cut off access to a section of Lansdowne Road by digging more trenches in the road and have threatened to target the N2 next if they are not provided with basic services. [AA Urbanisation]

Ghana: Lawlessness, Congestion Overwhelm Kumasi - QUESTIONS are already being raised about the commitment of the Ashanti Regional Security Council, under the chairmanship of the Regional Minister, Mr. Kofi Poku Manu, towards tackling mounting disorder and congestion in the Kumasi metropolis, a few weeks after assuming office. [AA Urbanisation]