Steffel FEUDJIO, SLOCAT-VREF Young Leader in Sustainable Transport-5th cohort.

Transport specialist working across Africa and internationally, where he supports governments, development partners, and research centres in designing safer, healthier and more sustainable transport systems.This article reflects his perspective that sustainable transport begins by recognising how people actually move and designing transport systems that respond to those mobility realities.

Introduction

Every time I walk through an African city, I find myself asking the same question: if walking is how most people move, why do our streets seem designed for everyone except people walking? From Yaoundé to countless other cities across the continent, the pattern feels familiar. People walk to work, school, markets, taxis and bus stops, yet sidewalks sometimes disappear, crossings are often scarce, and simply crossing a road can become an act of negotiation rather than a basic right.

Over the years, I have come to believe that this is more than a road safety problem. It reflects a deeper mismatch between the mobility realities of African cities and the transport systems we continue to plan, finance and build. While everyday mobility remains centred on walking, transport planning too often continues to measure progress by the movement of vehicles.

The fourth edition of the Transport, Climate and Sustainability Global Status Report (GSR4) confirms that this is more than a personal observation. GSR4 Chapter 3.1, Africa Regional Overview notes that “walking is by far the most common travel mode … accounting for 50–90% of daily trips in many African cities (…) Yet most African cities are not walkable” . GSR4 Chapter 4.3, Walking further reports that “walking is the primary mode of transport” for 78% of Africans, while pedestrians account for more than one-third of road traffic fatalities on the continent. These are not isolated facts. They reveal a structural contradiction between how Africans move and how transport systems continue to be designed.

This insight’s perspective shows that this mismatch is reflected not only in road safety, but also in investment priorities, political narratives and climate strategies. Until planning begins with the way people actually travel, sustainable mobility will remain an aspiration rather than a reality.

The Mismatch in Plain Sight 

The consequences of this mismatch become most visible in road safety. When pedestrian deaths are discussed, the conversation almost always turns to individual behaviour. Did they cross at the right place? Were they paying attention? Yet these questions overlook a more fundamental one: did the transport system recognise that people would need to walk and cross the road there in the first place? Express roads cutting through communities, streets where sidewalks disappear, crossings are absent, and vehicles travel at speeds with a high likelihood of fatality are not simply unsafe. They reflect inappropriate planning, policy and regulatory decisions.

GSR4 repeatedly argues that safety should begin with the system, not the individual. GSR4 Chapter 1.2, The Right to Mobility in a Sustainable and Inclusive Society states that achieving the right to mobility requires investment in “safe walking and cycling” and transport systems that are “people-centred and environmentally responsible”. This chapter returns to this idea in GSR4 Chapter 4.3, Walking, observing that pedestrians continue to face “poor or non-existent walking infrastructure” and that these barriers “not only endanger lives but also discourage walking” . It is no coincidence that countries adopting the Safe System approach have achieved the greatest improvements in road safety, shifting responsibility from road users to those who design and operate transport systems. The World Health Organization’s Global Status Report on Road Safety 2023 reaches the same conclusion: lasting reductions in road deaths depend on safer road design, speed management and infrastructure, not simply safer behaviour. The question, then, is not whether pedestrians walk safely enough, but whether we have designed streets that acknowledge they are the people using them most.

Yet safety is only one symptom of a deeper problem. Transport systems reveal what societies choose to value, and nowhere is that clearer than in the way resources are allocated. Reading GSR4, I was struck by the contrast between the evidence supporting investment in walking and the priorities that continue to shape transport spending. GSR4 Chapter 4.3, Walking describes safe walking infrastructure as “a quick, affordable and reliable way to reduce transport emissions by 20-50%”, while GSR4 Chapter 6.1-S1, Evolving the Economic Appraisals for Land Transport Investments estimates that every dollar invested in walking can generate between USD 1.3 and USD 20 in wider economic benefits, alongside job creation and healthier city centres. Despite these returns, GSR4 Chapter 4.8, Road Transport warns that continued investment in road expansion can reinforce car-centric and sprawling development. This is not an argument against roads. Roads remain essential for connectivity and economic growth. But if investment reflected the way people actually travel, sidewalks, crossings and public spaces would no longer be treated as optional additions to transport projects. They would be recognised as transport infrastructure in their own right.

Why, then, does this imbalance persist? I increasingly think the answer is political. In many African cities, walking is rarely framed as a transport success. It is often interpreted as evidence of poverty or the inability to access motorised transport. Development is therefore imagined as moving people away from walking rather than improving the conditions in which they already walk. Yet GSR4 presents a very different narrative. Chapter 4.3, Walking describes walking as “the most accessible and equitable form of mobility”, noting that it supports progress across multiple Sustainable Development Goals and delivers benefits for “emissions, congestion, road crashes, gender equity, accessibility, social justice, public transport ridership and public health”. Likewise, Chapter 1.2, The Right to Mobility in a Sustainable and Inclusive Society argues that people-centred transport systems depend on investment in safe walking alongside accessible public transport. This perspective is echoed by UN-Habitat and UNEP’s Walking and Cycling in Africa: Evidence and Good Practice to Inspire Action (2022), which argues that walking should be recognised as a legitimate mode of transport capable of supporting equitable and low-carbon urban development. The challenge, then, is not persuading Africans to walk. Millions already do. It is changing the story we tell about walking, from a symbol of underdevelopment to a foundation of sustainable mobility.

That shift in perspective also changes how we think about climate. Much of the global conversation focuses on encouraging people to drive less. In many African cities, however, low-carbon mobility already exists because walking and public transport remain central to everyday life. The greater risk is losing this advantage. GSR4 Chapter 1.1, 10 Years After the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda, on the Path to the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport warns that “current transport policies and investments are not yet aligned with the systemic shifts required to deliver on our shared inclusion, climate, and sustainability goals”. The report argues that improving walking conditions is “the quickest, most cost-effective, dependable and equitable way to keep people walking” while Chapter 4.8, Road Transport highlights the importance of prioritising Avoid and Shift measures to move away from car-centric development. The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (2022) reinforces this conclusion, identifying walking, cycling and public transport as some of the most effective ways to reduce transport emissions while improving health and equity. For Africa, climate action is therefore not simply about introducing new technologies. It is about protecting and strengthening the low-carbon mobility systems that millions of people already rely on.

Conclusion

I began with a simple question: if walking is how most people move, why do our transport systems seem designed for everyone except pedestrians?

Writing this GSR Explained has convinced me that the answer extends far beyond sidewalks or pedestrian crossings. It lies in a deeper mismatch between how Africans move and how we continue to define transport development. That mismatch shapes who is safest on our streets, where investment flows, how walking is perceived and, ultimately, the future we are building.

Africa does not need to persuade people to embrace sustainable mobility. Millions already practice it every day. What we need is transport planning that finally starts from this reality. Walking should no longer be treated as the transport mode of those left behind. It should be recognised as one of the continent’s greatest strengths. If we begin planning around the mobility people actually use, safer streets, fairer investment and lower-carbon cities will no longer be competing ambitions. They will become the natural outcome of the same decision.