11/10/2026
The Joy of Clean Towns: What Namibia can reach us!
I was recently on Swakopmund, Namibia, and captured the below short vedio clip.
Amazing spotless streets. No plastic in the gutters. Pavements swept. Clean!
It reminded how such well cared spaces are important for the happines of citizens.
1. Cleanliness is the J in JoyReP
In my JoyReP framework, J stands for Joy that talks to positive emotions brought about partly by beauty. Clean surroundings trigger it instantly.
When a place is clean, your nervous system calms down. You feel safe. You start to notice beauty. You feel love for nature, and ultimately, love for yourself because you feel you deserve to live in beauty.
Psychology calls this "aesthetic coherence." A dirty, chaotic environment keeps your brain in low-level threat detection. A clean, ordered one tells your brain: you can rest, you can create.
2. Poverty is Not an Excuse for Dirt — Africa Knew This
We have normalized a dangerous lie in Africa: that being a poor country means tolerating litter, open dumping, and chaotic planning.
It is not true, and it is not African.
Our grandmothers swept the "lolwapa" every morning before sunrise. Floors were smeared with cow dung and decorated with intricate patterns. Yards were swept until they shone. Not because we were rich, but because a clean compound was dignity. It brought joy.
Namibia's GDP per capita is lower than many European nations, yet its towns put many wealthy cities to shame, in cleanliness.
We can choose the same as Botswana, Zambia, South Africa...
3. The Science: Beauty Makes You Happier, More Creative, and Live Longer
The data is clear:
- A 2020 study found that people living on litter-free, well-maintained streets reported 40% higher neighborhood satisfaction and significantly lower anxiety.
- Anothet study Research showed that exposure to beautiful, ordered natural environments lowers cortisol and heart rate.
- The World Happiness Report consistently shows that top-ranking cities — Copenhagen, Singapore, Zurich — score highest on cleanliness and aesthetic order. People there don't just live longer; they are happier.
- And yes, happiness makes you productive. Happy people are 12% more creative and productive. Harvard's 75-year happiness study links positive environment and joy to up to 7 years longer life.
In short: clean streets are not cosmetic. They are public health. They are economic policy.
A Call to African Citizens
We should not have to fly to Europe to feel that awe — that "this place respects me." We can build it in Gaborone, in Lusaka, in Lagos, in our villages.
So let us demand it. Let us call on our councils and chiefs and mayors to invest in beauty: regular collection, swept markets, planned villages, trees.
Modernisation should not only translate to concrete everywhere and less open clean spaces for clearing the mind.
Namibia is showing the way. Let the rest of Africa catch up!
Your thoughts?
