HARARE – Zimbabwe may need to embrace vertical urban development to safeguard land for future generations, with Parliament calling for urgent legislative reforms that would allow cities and towns to construct high-rise residential and commercial buildings.
Speaker of the National Assembly, Advocate Jacob Mudenda, according to State Media, has urged the Government to amend the Urban Councils Act, arguing that the country’s existing planning framework is no longer adequate to support rapid urbanisation, population growth and rising demand for housing.
Speaking on the sidelines of a two-day capacity-building workshop on National Budget Analysis, Adv Mudenda said current legislation, which effectively limits urban development to low-rise buildings, risks accelerating land consumption and undermining long-term urban sustainability.
He warned that continuing to expand cities horizontally would place increasing pressure on finite urban land, leaving future generations with limited space for housing development.
“The current Urban Councils Act allows for two-storey buildings only, which means that if we follow that Act to its letter and spirit, eventually, in the next 50 years, we may not have sufficient land to build houses,” Adv Mudenda said.
He called for amendments that would empower urban councils and expanding rural growth centres to approve multi-storey residential and commercial developments, including apartment blocks and skyscrapers, as part of a broader strategy to conserve land and improve urban planning.
According to Adv Mudenda, encouraging vertical construction would enable Zimbabwe to accommodate growing urban populations without continuously extending city boundaries onto agricultural and undeveloped land.
Zimbabwe’s major urban centres, particularly Harare and Bulawayo, continue to experience sustained demand for housing driven by population growth, rural-to-urban migration and a persistent housing backlog. Property analysts have increasingly argued that higher-density developments could provide a more sustainable solution than the continued proliferation of low-density suburban expansion, which requires significant investment in roads, water, sewerage and electricity infrastructure.
The proposal also aligns with global urban planning trends, where cities facing land shortages have increasingly adopted vertical mixed-use developments to improve land-use efficiency while reducing infrastructure costs per household.
Beyond housing, Adv Mudenda also advocated reforms in the construction sector, encouraging policymakers and local authorities to consider more cost-effective and durable alternatives to conventional road-building materials.
He noted that several countries have shifted from asphalt road surfaces to brick paving, arguing that brick roads can offer lower construction costs, improved durability and easier maintenance in certain environments.
“The other area is the construction industry. A number of countries, if not several countries, have moved away from the use of asphalt to construct roads. They use bricks. It’s cheaper, more durable,” he said.
Urban planning experts say any transition towards high-rise development would require complementary reforms in building regulations, zoning laws, municipal infrastructure planning and financing mechanisms. Increased residential density would also necessitate significant investment in water supply, sewer systems, electricity networks, public transport and emergency services to support taller buildings and growing urban populations.
If implemented, the proposed legislative reforms could reshape Zimbabwe’s property sector by encouraging apartment developments, mixed-use commercial projects and higher-density residential communities, while helping preserve scarce urban land and supporting more sustainable long-term city growth.
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