A professor at Imperial College London, Washington Yotto Ochieng, has called for a multidisciplinary approach to developing smart and resilient urban environments capable of addressing modern city challenges.

Delivering a lecture at the 2026 Aggrey–Fraser–Guggisberg Memorial Lectures, Prof. Ochieng stressed the need for stronger collaboration between academia, industry, government and society to design sustainable urban systems.

He noted that cities must adopt emerging technologies such as Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) and Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) to improve urban mobility and sustainability.

According to him, digital tools, including parametric planning techniques and the use of “digital twins,” could help planners simulate and model urban systems, enabling authorities to predict infrastructure performance and respond effectively to future demands.

Prof. Ochieng also highlighted the importance of initiatives such as HEPSA, which promote collaborative research and help strengthen engineering education across Africa.

“Sustainability means understanding the complex interactions between people, infrastructure, technology and governance,” he said, adding that emerging technologies could help cities become more resilient and better prepared for future challenges.

The lecture was chaired by Naa Dr. Alhassan Andani and attended by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, as well as Pro Vice-Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs, Gordon Awandare, and other university officials.