Urban infrastructure is crucial to urban development and determines urban functionality, resilience, and sustainability. Effective planning for urban infrastructure development and municipal services driving economic development and improving the quality of urban life. However, many urban areas of countries in the Global South suffer from contextually inappropriate urban planning. This has led to uncontrolled expansion, urban sprawl and inadequate public infrastructure. This study answers the following research questions: What are the main challenges in urban and infrastructure planning, and what are possible solutions to mitigate them for sustainable urban development? Based on a review of 75 studies, keyword co-occurrence analysis and thematic analysis reveal seven key challenges in urban infrastructure planning: governance and institutional challenges; economic constraints and funding gaps; environmental and climate change challenges; urbanization and population growth; technological gaps and innovation difficulties; political instability and conflict; and social inequality and exclusion. To mitigate these issues, this study suggests that the concerned policymakers in the Global South prioritize governance and institutional reform, adopt technological and nature-based solutions and strengthen public–private partnerships, community-based engagement, and capacity building.
Enyew et al. (Mon,) studied this question.