MOBIDOC: Portrait of Alourou SEBABE, a doctoral student committed to sustainable urban mobility in Greater Lomé

Alourou SEBABE is a doctoral student at the University of Kara in Togo, where he is dedicating his research to a crucial issue that has been little explored in Togolese academia until now: urban congestion and pollution in the autonomous district of Greater Lomé. Through this original thesis, he sounds the alarm: ‘If we do not tackle this problem in depth today, in ten years’ time we will pay dearly for the consequences,’ he warns. His work addresses highly topical issues: air pollution, stress, loss of productivity related to traffic jams, noise pollution and social impact.

Before devoting himself to research, Alourou was responsible for studies and statistics at the Road and Rail Transport Directorate of the Togolese Ministry of Road, Air and Rail Transport. This professional experience fuelled his awareness of the challenges of mobility and reinforced his desire to contribute, through research, to more effective public policies.

Returning to Togo after two weeks of international mobility in Rabat as part of the MOBIDOC programme, launched by RéMUD with the support of Codatu, Alourou was able to enrich his literature review and structure a rigorous methodology for his work. Hosted by Professor Mohamed HANZAZ at the National Institute of Planning and Urban Development (INAU), he devoted his days to strengthening his theoretical framework thanks to the documentary resources and scientific exchanges in the host laboratory, while deepening his methodological framework.

These practices also allowed him to meet experts in geographic information systems (GIS), a key skill in his analysis of congestion data. Thanks to these exchanges, he is refining his analytical framework and strengthening the relevance of his future results. These encounters and the documents compiled in Rabat will form a lasting foundation for his career, far beyond his thesis.

At the end of his research, Alourou aspires to contribute to improving traffic flow in Greater Lomé. But his commitment does not stop there. He plans to continue his career in research, in particular through scientific publications, some of which are already in the pipeline following his stay in Morocco.

Grateful to the MOBIDOC programme, he emphasises: ‘The 15 days have been short, but the exchanges have been very enriching. That’s already a lot.’ He returns with a broader vision, solid connections and ten times more motivation to contribute, through science, to making African cities more resilient, sustainable and humane.