Like so many urban centres in Africa, the Lake Victoria towns reveal all of the worst features of unplanned and haphazard development as a result of the absence of effective urban planning systems. Through the Initiative, UN-HABITAT is assisting the towns in preparing urban plans to guide their future development and to facilitate the design of the infrastructure works being carried out. In this regard, urban plans have already been completed for 5 of the 7 pilot towns through a participatory process linked to training and capacity building. These plans are to be coupled with priority Action Plans and Investment Plans thereby linking them with budgeting processes of the respective local authorities and of relevant central government ministries.

Phase I of the urban planning initiative in the Lake Victoria region is being carried out in Homa Bay and Kisii in Kenya, Masaka and Kyotera in Uganda, and Bukoba and Muleba in Tanzania and the border town of Mutukula.