Rwanda’s Kamonyi and Kigali Lead Climate-Sensitive, Gender-Responsive Urban Planning
Additionally, Kamonyi District and Kigali were named among six winners of the BMZ-funded open call.
This marks a new chapter in Rwanda’s long-standing partnership with Rhineland-Palatinate.
Kamonyi will lead an initiative that brings together Rwandan and German municipalities.
They will exchange knowledge and practical experiences on integrated urban planning, climate-sensitive development, and gender-responsive public spaces.
The partnership will be implemented under GIZ’s Climate-Sensitive, Socially Just Planning and Housing (CSPH) project. On the German side, participating municipalities include Ahrweiler, Nastätten, Alzey, Kirchheimbolanden, Koblenz and Mainz, which will work alongside Kamonyi District and the City of Kigali.
Building on 44 years of partnership
The new municipal cooperation builds on a more than four-decade partnership between Rhineland-Palatinate and Rwanda, described as one of the early models of grassroots and solidarity-based development cooperation.
From October 2026 to October 2027, the partnership will facilitate study tours.
It will also support virtual exchanges involving planners, civil society representatives, and municipal experts from Kamonyi, Rwanda, and Germany.
The exchanges are intended to provide opportunities for both sides to share experiences, examine approaches and learn from one another in the development of urban spaces.
Focus on inclusive and climate-sensitive public spaces
A central focus of the partnership will be the development of public spaces that respond to the needs of different groups within communities while taking climate considerations into account.
The initiative will explore how urban planning can contribute to spaces where women, men, girls and boys can move freely, participate in community life and access opportunities.
Gender-responsive public spaces are therefore being considered as part of broader efforts to create more inclusive, resilient and livable urban environments.
The partnership will bring together different municipal and community perspectives, with an emphasis on developing locally led solutions that respond to the realities of people who use public spaces every day.
Learning across municipalities
Through study visits and virtual exchanges, municipal planners and other stakeholders will have opportunities to examine approaches used in different contexts and identify lessons that can inform local planning.
The initiative also provides a platform for civil society and municipal experts to contribute their experiences to discussions around integrated urban development.
The partnership comes as Rwanda and its international partners continue to explore approaches to urban development that combine social inclusion, climate considerations and improved public spaces.
With activities scheduled to run until October 2027, the new cooperation is expected to provide a year-long platform for knowledge exchange between municipalities in Rwanda and Rhineland-Palatinate, building on a relationship that has lasted for more than 40 years.
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