This article discusses the challenges of urban insecurity in the context of sub-Saharan African cities where poverty
and urban informality is high and urban planning is naive in a bid to propose some recommendations to deal with
the matter. The rapid growth of African urban centres has seen significant failure of cities to sustain their
populations who then face frustration in terms of service delivery and social inequity. Cities are at the mercy of
social imbalances,which trigger high criminality and violence.Urban insecurities are mainly a result of increasing
crime and violence which is triggered by a number of socio-economic and political challenges.The result is evident
through creation of unsafe human settlements, anxiety and fear among the urban inhabitants.The study uses
document analysis and cases from some African cities with high rates of unemployment and poverty that include
Cape Town, Kinshasa, Harare, Mogadishu, Nairobi and Abuja. Urban design with respect to location, layout and
structure of buildings and streets in these cities is a major determinant of urban insecurity. . It emerges that the
youths are often viewed as the main perpetrator of urban insecurity. With respect to East Africa, the issue of
terrorism is rife.Violence comes in various categories including political violence, economic violence (motivated
by material gain),social violence and institutional violence.On the other hand,crime includes social evils such as
pick pocketing, theft and robbery.The study suggests a systematic approach to the management of the urban
environments for improved safety,which include informed environmental design,and the strengthening of social
capital in African urban areas.