As Rwanda’s population grows steadily with projections of nearing double to 22 million by 2050, it is the ideal time to commence long term planning to ensure that the available land will be able to accommodate the growing population. As the population grows, there is a question of whether the available land will support agriculture to meet the growing food needs and cater for the housing demand. The population in the City of Kigali is expected to more than double from the current 1.6 million to 3.8 million by 2050 while the overall country’s population density will increase from 415 inhabitants per square meter (m2) in 2012 to 1,000 inhabitants per m2 by 2050. While the population grows steadily, the land size will not grow. According to Rwanda Housing Authority, at least 5.5 million housing units will be needed to accommodate 22 million people by 2050, which means that there is a need to build 150,000 housing units annually until 2050. That will mean that there will be a need to shift from the current single unit model to apartments or flats. Beyond housing units, there is a need for adequate accompanying infrastructure such as water and sanitation facilities, electricity as well as road infrastructure among other amenities. As the population grows in coming years, it will also be important to ensure that facilities such as health care centres and schools are adequate for the growing population. All these means that current planning should take into context long term projections to avoid challenges that are common in other cities across the world such as 3 hour traffic jams, water rationing for days as well as inadequate sewerage systems. These challenges that continue to plague a number of developing cities can be avoided with adequate prior planning.
