Bamako

Bamako has expanded rapidly beyond its established urban core, with much new construction occurring in dispersed peripheral areas. This fragmented pattern increases travel distances, makes infrastructure more expensive to provide and weakens access between housing, employment and public services. Flooding and drainage deficiencies add another constraint to the city’s growth.

World Bank urban analysis argues for closer coordination between land use, connective infrastructure and metropolitan governance. The Urban Local Government Support Project also financed drainage and road works while supporting institutional restructuring across the wider Bamako urban region. These measures point toward a more integrated model of development. Bamako’s future productivity depends on directing growth toward better-connected areas, improving public transport and drainage, and coordinating investment across administrative boundaries that no longer correspond to the actual metropolitan footprint.