The global environmental change (GEC)-cities nexus has been one of START’s primary thematic focus areas for knowledge development in recent years, especially in Asia. In 2013, START prioritized ramping up its knowledge development initiatives in African urban systems. In March and September 2013, we conducted a pair of scoping workshops that investigated knowledge and capacity needs on governance facets of GEC in Africa. This article provides context for START’s strategic focus on the governance-vulnerability-resilience interface, makes the case for prioritizing knowledge generation in governance dimensions of urban vulnerability and resilience in Africa, and summarizes related research priorities that emerged from these workshops.