Rwanda is working on a “green city,” in Kigali city. The plan is to have the 2.3 square miles allocated to efficient factories, sustainable housing and green cars. The estimated cost? $5 billion, according to the African Exponent.

A project of this scale considers many factors. The “Rwanda Green City Pilot Project” covers every environmental concern and is created in a sustainable way. The project has developed its own “Pillars of Green Urbanism” that the project follows and can be easily piloted in other cities.

The “green city” will have all the infrastructure and services of a city, but each part will be eco-friendly. Electric vehicles, bicycle lanes, biogas, forests, environmental waste treatment are all part of the city planning process and will be part of the final city. The government hopes the city will lead to job creation, improved sanitation and public transport access.

There are two main projects happening on the site. The first, “Cactus Green Park,” is a 410 house development that meets environmental standards. This will be a pilot for other urban planning green building projects. Second, green affordable housing will be added to the city. Future phases will include green office and commercial buildings.

As part of the pilot, the project will track the metrics it has developed. “Key” metrics include avoided CO2 emissions and green jobs created.

Kigali has a new mayor, Pudence Rubingisa. In an interview in September, 2019, he spoke about the need for a Green City, “Now, why do we need green development? This will help cope up not only with the Climate change issue but also the urbanisation that is really affecting the city in a way. That is why we need to start thinking of a green city and the key major factors include all Rwandans being or having that environmental responsiveness and understanding. We need to utilise land properly, be innovative and use less polluting materials.”

Read more One Green Planet news on carbon emissions reduction. And check out One Green Planet articles on electric cars.

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