Aside from increasing urban heat, cities in SSA face numerous interconnected challenges that are dependent on a variety of factors. Among others, many cities share three key challenges, namely, (1) poor (or lack of) planning; (2) rapidly growing populations (and the institutional challenges associated with accommodating them); and (3) a large proportion of informal settlement dwellers and/or urban residents living in poverty, among others (Hunter et al. 2020; Lindley et al. 2018). These pressures combine to create a situation where economic growth and infrastructure cannot keep up with urban expansion and development leaving many residents underserved and vulnerable to climate hazards and other risks (Cavan et al. 2014; Global Center on Adaptation 2022). Poor planning, growing populations, and informality and poverty makes the provision of basic infrastructure, let alone effective climate adaptation, very challenging.