African Centre for Cities

SEMINAR | Housing Opportunities for All
2022-09-22 15:30 - 17:00 (Africa/Johannesburg)
ACC together with the Development Action Group (DAG), will be hosting a seminar entitled Housing Opportunities for All, presented by Dr Krista Paulsen and Dr Vanessa Fry, both fellows of the Mandela Washington Fellowship Programme. The Seminar, on Thursday 22 September 2022, from 15:30 to 17:00 will be chaired by Ryan Fester, project coordinator for DAG, one of Cape Town’s leading land and housing NGOs.

Dr Vanessa Fry and Dr Krista Paulsen, of Boise State University, are currently working with Ryan Fester of DAG to explore the challenges and solutions to providing affordable, accessible housing. Both Boise, Idaho, and Cape Town, are confronting accelerated growth and housing disparities associated with amenity-based migration and legacies of inequalities. Both scholars will share accounts and analyses of the Boise housing markets as well as the detailed strategies being employed to increase housing access in the region. With Fester, they will work to draw parallels to the Cape Town context and discuss with participants possible common solutions.

Dr Krista Paulsen, is a trained urban sociologist and practitioner of qualitative research methods. Krista has published and presented on dimensions of urban and neighbourhood change including processes of gentrification, tourism incursion into neighbourhoods, and social inequality and exclusion – all of which will be addressed in this exchange. Through her research and her role as Programme Lead for Urban Studies and Community Development, she has developed numerous community partnerships that benefit both students and the larger Boise community, including multiple community-engaged research projects on housing access and affordability. She has experience developing international collaborations between universities and is positioned to integrate products of this exchange into the curriculum within Boise State’s Interdisciplinary Programs.

Dr Vanessa Fry is the Director of Idaho Policy Institute and Associate Research Faculty at Boise State University in Boise, ID, and Adjunct Faculty at Presidio Graduate School in San Francisco, CA. She leads students, staff, and faculty in providing innovative and objective mixed-methods research to help public sector, private sector, and nonprofit leaders overcome challenges and navigate change. She has focused both her work (both research and teaching) and education on utilising multi-sector, evidenced-based solutions to address persistent social, environmental, and economic issues and meet the current and critical needs in communities. Her work requires identification and equitable engagement of collaborators, flexibility, creativity, and tenacity. She holds a BA in biology and fine art from Wittenberg University (Ohio, USA), a MBA in sustainable management from Presidio Graduate School (California, USA), and a PhD from Boise State University (Idaho, USA).

WHEN | Thursday, 22 September 2022
TIME | 15:30 to 17:00
VENUE | Davies Reading Room, Environmental and Geographical Sciences Building, Upper Campus, UCT

OPEN DAY | MPhil Southern Urbanism
2022-09-15 12:00 - 13:30
The world is transitioning to an irrevocable urban future whose epicentre has moved into the cities of Asia and Africa, which together will account for 86% of all growth in the world’s urban population over the next four decades.
This unprecedented increase will pose new environmental, economic and social challenges, which demand new understandings given that city-making and remaking are entangled in these vast multi-dimensional shifts. We need fresh theories to shape our urban futures.
The MPhil Southern Urbanism seeks to nurture the next generation of urban scholars from Africa rooted in Southern city perspectives.
Join the African Centre for Cities for the MPhil Southern Urbanism Open Day to learn about the programme.
PROGRAMME
12:00-12:15 What is Southern Urbanism? — Prof Edgar Pieterse
12:15-12:35 MPhil Programme Overview — Dr Anna Selmeczi
12:35-12:55 City as Classroom
12:55-13:10 Student input
13:10-13:30 Open Q&A
WHEN | Thursday, 15 September 2022
TIME | 12:-13:30
WHERE | Davies Reading Room, Environmental and Geographical Sciences Building, Upper Campus, UCT
Light refreshments served

SEMINAR | Thinking problematically about the city: Planning as a site of innovation
2022-08-12 12:00 - 13:30
African Centre for Cities (ACC) invites you to join us for an in-person seminar with Dr James Duminy, ACC Honorary Research Associate, and Lecturer at the School of Geographical Sciences, and Bristol Poverty Institute, at the University of Bristol. The seminar entitled Thinking problematically about the city: Planning as a site of innovation, takes place on Friday, 12 August at 12:00-13:15.
ABSTRACT
Urban innovation cannot be limited to the harnessing of technologies sourced from the private sector, civil society engagements, and the entrepreneurial spirit of informality within models of governance that position the city as a laboratorial site of experimentation. What government does, and what built environment professions do, in and through governance-related activities, including the establishment of durable procedures of government, must be incorporated into the purview of urban innovation. Yet, typically the place and role of the state within urban governance remains caught within a limiting critique of neoliberalism or a depiction of the state as incorrigible, at best, and oppressive, at worst. Planning, for its part, is presented in some critical accounts as a monolithic domain of state stasis; a procedural system for the reproduction of pre-existing and future inequalities. However, an alternative view of city transformation would place urban planning as a potential driver of governance innovation. Here we draw upon recent experiences of planning reform in South Africa, focusing on the development and application of a process known as the Built Environment Performance Plan (BEPP), to consider the implications of seeing the state as a site of problematization, and planning as a site of innovation in urban governance. Such a perspective draws attention to the temporalities of response, rupture, uneven institutionalization, and setback that attend acts and processes of innovation unfolding within the state. It highlights the demand for successful innovations to navigate cross-sectoral and multi-scalar imperatives, and draws attention to the enduring need to establish meaningful links between the fiscus and other modes and instruments of governance that can sustain or transform urban regimes.
WHEN | Friday, 12 August 2022
TIME | 12:00-13:15pm
VENUE | Studio 3, Environmental and Geographical Sciences Building, Upper Campus, UCT

BOOK LAUNCH | Panya Routes by Kim Gurney
2022-08-11 17:30 - 19:30
African Centre for Cities invites you to celebrate the launch of Panya Routes: Independent art spaces in Africa by research associate Kim Gurney.
The author will be in conversation with, composer and multimedia artist, Neo Muyanga.
Panya Routes, published by Motto Books, is about the do-it-yourself, do-it-together working principles of independent art spaces on the continent. Such spaces are built for purpose not profit and act as urban indicators in fast-changing cities of flux. Art is embedded into everyday life; it’s not only for saying things but also for doing things.
DATE | Thursday 11 August
TIME | 17:30 for 18:00
VENUE | A4 Arts Foundation, 23 Buitenkant Street, Cape Town
For more information on the book go to Motto Books.
This book was made possible with generous support from Alfred Herrhausen Gesellschaft, Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona and South African Research Chair in Urban Policy.

MPhil Southern Urbanism Info Session
2022-08-11 10:00 - 11:00
The MPhil Southern Urbanism is designed to cultivate the next generation of urban thinkers from the South, who are rooted in the realities, theories and practise of cities of the Global South.
Drawing together a diverse cohort of scholar and practitioners, the programme utilises a combination of guided learning in small-group seminars, experimentation in various spaces of urban practice and independent thesis research to ground students in Urban Studies theory, and new research methodologies.
APPLICATIONS DEADLINE INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS: 31 October 2022
APPLICATIONS DEADLINE SA STUDENTS: 30 November 2022
If you are interested in applying for the MPhil Southern Urbanism programme but still have some questions? This info session, hosted by programme convenor, Dr Anna Selmeczi will provide a brief overview of the pedagogical approach, programme structure and entry requirements, as well as discussion time to answer all your questions.
REGISTER HERE

Food Dialogues
2022-07-18 08:00 - 2022-08-01 17:00
How are digital technologies disrupting our food system? What will be the impact of cultured meat? How has food shaped the spaces and places that define our city? These and other questions will be explored in Cape Town during the two-week 2022 Food Dialogues programme through a range of experiences: from expert panel discussions to hands-on cooking classes for grown-ups and kids, walking tours, communal meals and art installations, from Monday, 18 July until Monday, 1 August 2022.
Returning to physical spaces this year, Food Dialogues offers the chance to connect with our future food shapers in person and while there is much to feed all senses, the essence of Food Dialogues is to engage in a critical conversation about how food shapes and enables our lives, explore the unjustness of our food system and how we can move towards one that helps us to flourish as people, families and society.
The programme will consider our present day societal relationship with food by looking at key aspects of our food system – where we buy our food from and how nourished we are from the food we eat – as well as how we can better partner to govern our food system, and how the medium of food itself can bring us insight, connection and joy.
Some events are free to attend while others are paid but all participants must register at fooddialogues.info
Food Dialogues is hosted by the SA Urban Food & Farming Trust with co-host and sponsor SOLVE@Waterfront. Co-sponsored by the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security, event partners include the Western Cape Economic Development Partnership, African Centre for Cities, the Southern Africa Food Lab, The Oranjezicht City Farm Market, Bertha House, Philippi Village, City of Cape Town, Western Cape Government, and Derrick Integrated Communications.

Next Practice Urbanisation – an International Building Exhibition in Africa!
2022-06-29 14:15 - 15:15
ACC together with GIZ is hosting a session entitled Next Practice Urbanisation – an International Building Exhibition in Africa!, as part of the Urban Library at the World Urban Forum, which takes place from 26-30 June 2022 in Katowice, Poland.
The GIZ together with the African Centre for Cities, and the London School of Economics in Addis Ababa, explored the possibility of applying the principles of an IBA (Internationale BauAusstellung) in the African context. For over 100 years, innovative solutions to urgent local development challenges have been implemented by IBAs in Germany, and lately also in Europe. Is the IBA transferable for African government leaders and urban experts who need access to integrative, participatory models that can demonstrate how the complex challenges of urban transformation in Africa can be addressed?
At this event the booklet “Building Cities for the Future – An exploration of possibilities for an Internationale Bauausstellung (IBA) in Africa” will be launched by ACC and the GIZ. We are living at a decisive turning point. Urbanisationis developing at a historically unprecedented speed and scale, especially in Africa and Asia. The growing need for affordable housing will be a huge challenge for the decision-makers at various levels of government. The current decade will decide whether we will manage to set global and local development on a just and sustainable track or whether we will continue to follow fossil development paths that will make social, economic and ecological life unviable.
The need for investments and infrastructure to meet the rising demands of rapid urban growth in Africa and other parts of the world, alongside the imperative to retrofit existing cities, is pressing and considerable. Whether these will be integrated into effective and future-oriented urban planning and provide new perspectives for the largely poor and informal urban population is, however, uncertain. The continent’s challenge and opportunity lie in building future cities that minimize both ecological and social risks.
The approach of “Internationale Bauausstellungen” (IBA – German for International Building Exhibition) holds the potential of stimulating cross-sectoral and anticipatory planning approaches linked to the implementation of innovative urban regeneration on the ground. IBAs have been among the most influential instruments of innovative urban development in and outside Germany for over 100 years. In situations that demand urgent socio-economic change, IBAs develop model-built solutions for future-oriented cities.
The IBA guide, which will be launched at the event, offers insights on how IBAs function as an interesting urban governance instrument. It is based on the results of the GIZ project International Building Exhibition (IBA) Africa – Building Cities for the Future. The aim of this project is to develop possibilities, explore preconditions and topics for an IBA-inspired innovation approach in urban development in Africa, together with executives and stakeholders from Cape Town and Addis Ababa, and in exchange with German IBA experts and practitioners. The IBA guide is intended to serve as an inspiration for how the IBA approach could be applicable for African cities.
At this event the experiences gained of these explorative processes will be presented and discussed in the context of future inclusive and climate-friendly urbanization in Africa. The IBA concept and existing examples are briefly presented at the beginning. The presentation of the guide and explanatory film (Building Cities for the Future – What Is an IBA?) will be followed by an open dialogue between the project partner Prof. Edgar Pieterse, Director of the ACC, representatives of African cities and members of the IBA Expert Council to discuss the contribution IBAs can make to the implementation of the SDGs and the NUA in cities.

SPEAKERS
Edgar Pieterse, Moderator, African Centre for Cities (ACC)

Timnit Eshetu, Panelist, Urban Age Task Force Addis Ababa

Jan Schultheiß, Panelist, Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building

Andrew Boraine, Panelist, Western Cape Economic Development Partnership

Flavia Gwiza, Panelist, Rwandan Architect

WHEN | 29 June 2022
TIME | 14:15-15:15

MORE ON THE WORLD URBAN FORUM HERE

INFO SESSION | Systems Integrators for Sustainable African Cities
2022-06-06 13:30 - 14:30
From siloed practitioner to systems integrator for sustainable African city futures – the new Masters programme, convened by the African Centre for Cities, at the University of Cape Town cultivates a new generation of urban practitioner.
The complex, multi-dimensional demands of our rapidly urbanising world require holistic, inter-disciplinary thinking and practice. However traditional professional paradigms and often-siloed institutions seem doomed to replicate the entrenched patterns and practices of path-dependent urban infrastructure provision and management. To overcome the often-fragmented ways in which urban questions are framed, institutionalised, and engaged by varied levels of government, citizens, civil society organisations, and private sector actors, we need a new kind of urban practitioner, who can work across practices, professional norms, hierarchies, sectors and urban problems.
To meet this need, the African Centre for Cities (ACC), UCT, launched a new Masters in Sustainable Urban Practice, which seeks to cultivates urban integrators who are able to discern opportunities for integration, and can build the necessary coalitions for change; who are confident in varied cultures of communication and can build bridges between sectors, fields, and scales of urban practice.
Join this information session with Prof Edgar Pieterse, director of the African Centre for Cities, and South African Research Chair in Urban Policy, and programme convenor Dr Mercy Brown-Luthango.
WHEN | Monday, 6 June 2022
TIME | 13:30-14:30 SAST
REGISTER HERE
MORE ABOUT THE PROGRAMME

Shifting systems: infrastructure innovation for sustainable African cities
2022-05-23 13:00 - 14:45
Africa’s cities are amongst the fastest growing in the world and present an unprecedented opportunity to leapfrog unsustainable urban development patterns observed elsewhere. This requires an ability to imagine the innovative possibilities for African cities, and ongoing learning by decision makers to break inertia. This is the first in a series of sessions at Rise Africa aimed at helping city decision makers to reimagine the future infrastructures of Africa’s cities, to bring more innovative and sustainable cities to life.
Hosted by the African Centre for Cities and the Urban Futures Studio, this session will generate insights and spark discussion that will inform a new two-year project aimed at fostering learning around infrastructure innovation for sustainable African cities.
WHEN | 23 MAY 2022
TIME | 13:00-14:45 (GMT+2)
REGISTER HERE

Film Screening and Discussion | Never Surrender
2022-05-12 15:00 - 17:00
Join the African Centre for Cities as we host director M. Reza Shirazi for a screening of his documentary Never Surrender, followed by a discussion on Thursday, 12 May 2022, at 15:00-17:00.
This documentary film is the result of more than two years of research and fieldwork in Bayview-Hunters Point neighbourhood, San Francisco. It narrates the community fight for environmental justice, and documents the conflict between people and government over the safety of the shipyard.
Decades of remediation work at Hunters Point Shipyard, a former military base contaminated during the Second World War and beyond, were revealed to be fraudulent and data was falsified. This turned the biggest redevelopment project in San Francisco into the biggest eco-fraud case in US history.

WHEN | Thursday, 12 May 2022
TIME | 15:00-17:00
VENUE | Pink Room, Lvl 2, Centlivres Building, Upper Campus, UCT

Pairing academia and policy for transdisciplinary research in Africa
2021-12-02 16:00 - 18:00
Join the International Society for Urban Health Africa Working Group for the first discussion in the Urban Health in Africa Webinar Series entitled Pairing academia and policy for transdisciplinary research in Africa.

SPEAKERS

Noxolo Kabane – Deputy Director: Policy Development and Research Coordination, Office of the Premier, Eastern Cape Government

Amy Weimann – Junior Research Fellow, African Centre for Cities and PhD Candidate, School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town

Carlos Dora – President, International Society for Urban Health

WHEN | Thursday, 2 December 2021

TIME | 14:00-16:00 GMT

REGISTER HERE

MPhil Southern Urbanism Info Session
2021-10-19 13:00 - 14:00
The MPhil Southern Urbanism is designed to cultivate the next generation of urban thinkers from the South, who are rooted in the realities, theories and practise of cities of the Global South.

Drawing together a diverse cohort of scholar and practitioners, the programme utilises a combination of guided learning in small-group seminars, experimentation in various spaces of urban practice and independent thesis research to ground students in Urban Studies theory, and new research methodologies.

The application deadline for 2022 South African applicants is on 31 October 2021.

If you are interested in applying for the MPhil Southern Urbanism programme but still have some questions? This info session, hosted by programme convenor, Dr Anna Selmeczi will provide a brief overview of the pedagogical approach, programme structure and entry requirements, as well as discussion time to answer all your questions.

REGISTER HERE

UCT SDG Summit | An Urban Lens on the Achievement of the SDGs
2021-09-09 10:00 - 16:00
A Masterclass alongside the UCT SDG Africa Summit 2021The ACC Masterclass will be structured in three parts, comprised of 75min each. The first session will unpack the political and institutional backstory in ensuring that there was an SDG to address the imperatives of urbanisation, and connections were drawn with other SDGs. The second session will focus on the complexities and contradictions of implementing the SDGs when it is a nexus issue such as urban food security. The analytical focus will fall on the challenge of effective inter-governmental coordination and alignment across scales and sectors. The third session will focus on the practical policy tools that are being deployed at city-level to track the implementation of the SDGs at the local level, considered against the national reporting system of the South African government. This raises institutional questions about fostering a shared perspective when municipal officials remain deeply commitment to sectoral specialisms, as well as issues about alignment and meaningful societal engagement in tracking government performance in delivering on stated commitments. Across the three sessions participants will be exposed to the cutting edges of the interface between applied research and policy implementation.

Session 1 | The genesis of SDG 11: Getting the urban onto the agenda10:00 to 11:15Edgar Pieterse (ACC) in conversation with Aromar Revi (Indian Institute for Human Settlements) and Monika Glinzler (International relations, Department of Human Settlements)

By some estimates, getting the urban question right is a precondition to achieve up to 70% of the overall SDG agenda. However, until the last hour before the finalisation of the seventeen SDGs, there was great doubt that an explicit urban goal would be included. This session will pull the curtain on the backstage advocacy arguments, evidence and diplomatic work that was conducted to secure an urban perspective across the SDGs. It is a given that the multilateral system is not perfect, but for those on the frontlines of policy mainstreaming, it is indispensable and a permanent site of struggle.

Session 2 | Teasing out the tensions: SDGs as a national imperative, and SDG 11 as a city-level goal11:30 to 12:45Gareth Haysom (ACC) in conversation with Jane Battersby (University of Cape Town) and Julian May (University of the Western Cape)

The urban food lens offers a unique scalar perspective bringing the tensions and opportunities presented at the intersection between zero hunger (SDG 2), and sustainable cities (SDG 11), as well as health and well-being (3), education (4) and gender equality (5). The session will engage in both the challenges presented at these intersections between nexus and scalar issues, while attempting to engage the complexities and contradictions of implementing and measuring the SDGs when it is a nexus issue such as urban food and nutrition security, and what this might mean in context, but equally, effective inter-governmental coordination and alignment across scales and sectors.

Session 3 | Lessons towards SDG localisation and indicators14:00 to 15:15Andrew Tucker (ACC) in conversation with Alexis Schäffler-Thomson (Pegasys) and Natasha Primo (City of Cape Town)

It is a given that the SDGs will only find full expression if they become the focus of local action, established within enabling national parameters. There is great potential in using indicator frameworks and monitoring systems to establish productive alignment between national and local governments. This session will share research findings and potential of using local level indicator frameworks to track and reflect on policy efforts to implement the SDGs, whilst being mindful of the statistical challenges of generating local level data. The empirical reference point will be South Africa and Cape Town.

UCT SDG Summit | Circular Economy Pre-Summit Workshops
2021-08-31 14:00 - 16:30
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Town is convening an international summit on how the SDGs can best be realised in the African context with an eye on the role of science and mission-driven partnerships.

In the build-up to the Summit, a series of workshops are being organised around seven themes, of which the Circular Economy is one.

READ THE CONCEPT NOTE HERE

WORKSHOP 1 | 17 August, 14:00 to 16:15

The first workshop will explore the definitional debates around the circular economy with an emphasis on the state of macro scholarship and policy positions adopted by select African governments and civil society actors.

Speakers

Prof Ester van der Voet – Leiden University & UN International Resource Panel
Dr Willi Haas – BOKU, Vienna
Bezawit Eshetu – African Circular Economy Network
Reniera O’Donnell – Higher Education Lead at Ellen MacArthur Foundation

Register Closed:

WORKSHOP 2 | 31 August, 14:00 to 16:15

The second workshop will be an exploration of circular economy applications through case studies with an eye on research questions and issues.

Speakers

Prof Christina Trois – University of KwaZulu-Natal
Kirsten Barnes – GreenCape
Paul Currie – ICLEI Africa
Sudhir Pillay – Water Research Commission
Prof Harro von Blottnitz – University of Cape Town

Register Closed:

These workshops are open to all who are involved in Circular Economy related work and research.

UCT SDG Summit | Circular Economy Pre-Summit Workshops
2021-08-31 14:00 - 16:30
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Town is convening an international summit on how the SDGs can best be realised in the African context with an eye on the role of science and mission-driven partnerships.

In the build-up to the Summit, a series of workshops are being organised around seven themes, of which the Circular Economy is one.

READ THE CONCEPT NOTE HERE

WORKSHOP 1 | 17 August, 14:00 to 16:15

The first workshop will explore the definitional debates around the circular economy with an emphasis on the state of macro scholarship and policy positions adopted by select African governments and civil society actors.

Speakers

Prof Ester van der Voet – Leiden University & UN International Resource Panel
Dr Willi Haas – BOKU, Vienna
Bezawit Eshetu – African Circular Economy Network
Reniera O’Donnell – Higher Education Lead at Ellen MacArthur Foundation

Register here

WORKSHOP 2 | 31 August, 14:00 to 16:15

The second workshop will be an exploration of circular economy applications through case studies with an eye on research questions and issues.

Speakers

Prof Christina Trois – University of KwaZulu-Natal
Kirsten Barnes – GreenCape
Paul Currie – ICLEI Africa
Sudhir Pillay – Water Research Commission
Prof Harro von Blottnitz – University of Cape Town

Register here

These workshops are open to all who are involved in Circular Economy related work and research.

Presencing and publishing Urban Studies from Africa
2021-07-16 14:00 - 15:30
Many urban studies journals publish few articles from African-based scholars: how can this be changed?

While in “international” northern-based journals publishing the work of African based scholars seems to remain a challenge for editors, African scholars have organised many dynamic venues for publishing urban and African studies research. We have invited African-based scholars who have been involved in leading these initiatives to share their experiences; and editors working on Western-based journals to respond.
We will hear from four African urban scholars, and then three editors of urban studies journals will respond. French Language translation will be available.
Panelists– Edgar Pieterse (founding director of the African Centre for Cities; Professor of Urban Policy, University of Cape Town)– Saheed Aderinto (founder, Lagos Studies Association; Professor of African History at Western Carolina University)– Nadine Machikou (editor, Politique Africaine; Professor of political science at the University of Yaoundé)– Kingsley Madueke (Centre for Conflict Management & Peace Studies, University of Jos, Nigeria; PhD University of Amsterdam)
Respondents– Vanessa Watson (Global South editor of Urban Studies; Emerita Professor of City Planning in the School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics and a founder member of the African Centre for Cities)– Liza Weinstein (Editor, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research (ijurr); Associate Professor of Sociology and Chair of the Sociology and Anthropology Department at Northeastern University)– Nik Theodore (Interventions editor of the International Journal of Urban and Regional Research and past editor of Antipode: A Radical Journal of Geography; Professor and Head of the Department of Urban Planning and Policy, as well as the Director of the Center for Urban Economic Development, at the University of Illinois Chicago)
This event is part of the RC21 annual conference is the main international urban sociology conference. It brings together scholars in urban sociology and neighbouring fields to discuss developments in urban social theory, methods and empirical research and stimulate discussion and cooperation by offering a variety of formats (plenary lectures, paper sessions, author meets critics sessions, roundtables and panels, walkshops, etc.). This years’ edition takes place from 14 July until 16 July 2021 and is hosted by the University of Antwerp (Belgium). The 2021 conference centers around ‘Sensing and Shaping the City’, focusing on how citizens experience the fragmentary, unequal and contradictory realities of global urbanity.

REGISTER HERE

MPhil Southern Urbanism Info Session
2021-06-14 12:30 - 13:30
The MPhil Southern Urbanism programme is conceived of, and designed to cultivate a new generation of urban scholars rooted in the realities and theories of Southern cities. The programme as an intellectual project has its foundations in Urban Studies as a scholarly debate and as an interdisciplinary imperative situated in the complex realities of African and southern cities.

Through a combination of guided learning in small-group seminars, experimentation in various spaces of urban practice and independent thesis research, the programme provides a truly unique opportunity to ground yourself in the realities, theories and practise of cities of the Global South.

The programme seeks to build students’ capacity to engage in epistemological debates, thinking from the vantage point of African and Southern cities, and versed in global urban debates. The core courses, namely Urban Theory, Urban Everyday and Curating Urban Regulation, are designed to impart these skills and knowledge.

A cornerstone of the programme is the City Research Studio, a compulsory, year-long course that aims to cultivate methodological dexterity and the capacity for rigorous research through experimental and experiential learning.

Finally the minor dissertation provides students with the opportunity to build confidence in writing, in articulating scholarly arguments, and in positioning oneself in the field effectively.

Applications for the 2022 MPhil Southern Urbanism programme are open. If you are interested in applying but have some questions, join programme convenor Dr Anna Selmeczi for an info session. In the session she will give a brief overview of the programme and there will be plenty of time for your questions.

WHEN | Monday, 14 June 2021TIME | 12:30-13:00 SASTREGISTER HERE

A Story of a Zambian Planner: Animating Integrity in Urban Planning
2021-06-03 15:00 - 16:30
The FCDO-funded Global Integrity Anti Corruption Evidence Programme supports research teams in not only creating actionable evidence, but deepening engagement with practitioners. The Cities of Integrity research team have tried many different ways to communicate research more effectively with practitioners. Over the course of the project they have developed a series of animated videos illustrating the specific issues of corruption in urban planning and its consequences for cities and their publics. These animations have been used in workshops, social media, and direct engagement with particular groups such as early career planners.

As part of this event the team will screen the series followed by a panel discussion with the animators, the research team, and a representative from the Zambian Institute of Planners. We will discuss the advantages and limitations of using animated film in workshops and communications around integrity-strengthening as a response to corruption in planning. The Cities of Integrity team will reflect on their experience working with the production house in translating their research into accessible language and visuals and hone in on the question of impact together with the Zambian Institute of Planners as a key stakeholder.

Join us for the official premiere of their three-part series of animated shorts.

Zoom Registration

PanelistsBart Love – Director, AnotherLoveProduction, Cape TownLaura Nkula-Wenz – Cities of Integrity, Project Coordinator, African Centre for CitiesVanessa Watson – Cities of Integrity, Principal Investigator, University of Cape TownGilbert Siame – Cities of Integrity, Co- Principal Investigator, University of ZambiaPlanner from Zambian Institute of Planning (ZIP)

Anotherlove Productions has been creating engaging visual content for clients from around the world for over a decade. They believe that a well-told visual story – be it an animation, a documentary or an infographic – can challenge, encourage and activate audiences whilst shifting perceptions. For this creative team, a rigorous and engaged production process is as valuable as the final product. They are happiest when their clients have enjoyed working with them, and they have a piece of meaningful and effective media at the end of it.

The Zambian Institute of Planning is a professional corporate body established by the Urban and Regional Planners Act of 2011 of the Laws of Zambia to register and regulate the practice of planning in Zambia

Prof. Vanessa Watson is an emerita professor at the School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics, University of Cape Town. She is the Principal Investigator for the Cities of Integrity project. Dr. Gilbert Siame is a lecturer at the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Zambia (UNZA) as well as the Co-PI and Zambia research lead for Cities of Integrity. Dr. Laura Nkula-Wenz is a lecturer at the African Centre for Cities, University of Cape Town and the project lead for Cities of Integrity.

LAUNCH | Masters in Sustainable Urban Practice
2021-05-26 13:00 - 14:00
From siloed practitioner to urban integrator for sustainable African city futures – this new Masters programme, convened by the African Centre for Cities, at the University of Cape Town cultivates a new generation of Urban Champions.

The complex, multi-dimensional demands of our rapidly urbanising world require holistic, inter-disciplinary thinking and practice. However traditional professional paradigms and often-siloed institutions seem doomed to replicate the entrenched patterns and practices of path-dependent urban infrastructure provision and management. To overcome the often-fragmented ways in which urban questions are framed, institutionalised, and engaged by varied levels of government, citizens, civil society organisations, and private sector actors, we need a new kind of urban practitioner, who can work across practices, professional norms, hierarchies, sectors and urban problems. To meet this need, the African Centre for Cities (ACC), UCT, launches a new Masters in Sustainable Urban Practice, which seeks to cultivates urban integrators who are able to discern opportunities for integration, and can build the necessary coalitions for change; who are confident in varied cultures of communication and can build bridges between sectors, fields, and scales of urban practice.

Join ACC for the launch of the programme as Prof Edgar Pieterse, director of the African Centre for Cities, and South African Research Chair in Urban Policy, and programme convenor Dr Mercy Brown-Luthango introduce this exciting new degree.

RISE Africa Action Festival 2021
2021-05-24 - 2021-05-28
The RISE Africa platform, together with its partners, hosts its first annual event that brings together Africa’s urban thinkers, doers and enablers, including ICLEI Africa’s member cities, subnational and local governments, from 24 to 28 May 2021. The event is planned around celebrating Africa Day, 25 May, and this year’s theme is NEXT URBAN CHAMPIONS*.

See the Curator Statement here, explore the video provocations, or view the RISE Africa 2021 Roadmap.

Explore the full 5-day programme below and register for individual sessions or register below for multiple RISE Africa 2021 sessions at once. With 46 sessions to choose from there is something for every thinker, doer and enabler working toward sustainable urban African solutions!

The titles with both english and french will have two-way interpretation.

Explorez le programme complet de 5 jours ci-dessous et inscrivez-vous à des sessions individuelles ou inscrivez-vous ci-dessous pour plusieurs sessions RISE Africa 2021 à la fois. Avec 46 sessions au choix, il y en a pour tous les penseurs, acteurs et facilitateurs travaillant vers des solutions urbaines africaines durables!

Les titres en anglais et en français auront une interprétation bidirectionnelle

Download the quick PDF guide to sessions here.

Association of African Planning Schools Conference 2020
2020-11-18 - 2020-11-20 | Unnamed Venue, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, United Republic Of
The Institute of Spatial Planning (IRPUD) at TU Dortmund University (Germany), together with the Institute of Human Settlement Studies and School of Spatial Planning and Social Sciences at Ardhi University (Tanzania) hosts the fifth international conference of the Association of African Planning Schools (AAPS) from 18 to 20 November 2020 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Themed Urban Africa in the Twenty-First Century: Current Issues and Future Prospects of Urban Governance and Planning, the conference will be organised along five thematic tracks relevant to current issues and future prospects of urban governance and planning in urban Africa:
Track 1: Localising planning theories
Track 2: Innovating planning education to fit the challenges of climate change
Track 3: Participatory and multi-governance approaches for urban resilience
Track 4: Toward pro-livelihood adaptation and risk management approaches
Track 5: Information and communication technology (ICT) for inclusive spaces
The conference will feature keynote addresses from leading urban and planning scholars including Prof Stefan Greiving (TU Dortmund University), Prof Robert Kiunsi (Ardhi University), Prof Wilbard Kombe (Ardhi University), Prof Garth Myers (Trinity College, USA), Prof Sophie Schramm (TU Dortmund University), Prof Vanessa Watson (University of Cape Town).

Southern Africa City Studies Conference
2020-08-30 - 2020-09-01
Since 2009 the Southern Africa City Studies Conference (SACSC) series has provided an interdisciplinary forum for researchers examining urban issues in Southern Africa. We are pleased to announce that the fifth conference in this series will take place from 30 August to 1 September 2020 at the University of the Witwatersrand.
Recent interest in comparative urbanism and southern urbanism, as well as a context of regional and global uncertainty, creates an important opportunity for scholars to engage these and other issues and debates from the vantage of urban experiences in our region. One of the objectives of this conference series is to promote emerging scholars who are residents of Southern Africa working on cities in the region or elsewhere, as well as scholarship on cities in Southern Africa.
The conference is hosted by the Centre for Urbanism and Built Environment Studies, the Gauteng City-Region Observatory, and the South African Research Chair in Spatial Analysis and City Planning, and in association with the other members of an evolving, informal urban studies network currently made up of the following university entities: the National Research Chair in Economic Development of the City of Johannesburg, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), the Wits City Institute, the African Centre for Cities at the University of Cape Town, Department of Political Studies, University of the Western Cape, the Urban Futures Centre at the Durban University of Technology, the Centre for Development Support at the University of the Free State, the National Research Chair for Sustainable Human Settlements, Nelson Mandela University, the Department of Town and Regional Planning, University of Pretoria, the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Venda, and the Department of Social Anthropology, North West University.
www.sacsc2020.com

LSX - WP Training
2020-07-25 08:00 - 2020-07-26 17:00, 2020-07-18 08:00 - 2020-07-19 17:00, 2020-07-11 08:00 - 2020-07-12 17:00, 2020-07-04 08:00 - 2020-07-05 17:00, 2020-06-27 08:00 - 2020-06-28 17:00, 2020-06-20 08:00 - 2020-06-21 17:00, 2020-06-13 08:00 - 2020-06-14 17:00 | UCT, Seminar Room 1 Chemical Engineering, UCT Upper Campus, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

Book launch: Participatory Theatre and the Urban Everyday in South Africa
2020-02-27 17:30 | Breezeblock Cafe, 29 Chiswick Street, Johannesburg, South Africa
The South African Research Chair in Spatial Analysis and City Planning within the Wits School of Architecture and Planning, the Chair in Local Histories and Present Realities at the History Workshop, also at Wits, and the African Centre for Cities at UCT would like to invite you to the joint launch of Njogu Morgan and Alexandra Halligey’s new books, with guest speakers, Ruth Oldenziel and Terry Kurgan.
Cycling Cities: The Johannesburg Experience by Njogu Morgan and Participatory Theatre and the Urban Everyday in South Africa: Place and Play in Johannesburg by Alexandra Halligey will be jointly launched on 27 February at the Breezeblock Cafe, Johannesburg.
Ruth Oldenziel, Professor in The History of Technology at Eindhoven University of Technology and programme leader of Cycling Cities: The Global Experience will speak to Morgan’s book while Terry Kurgan, artist and writer based in Johannesburg, editor and partner of Fourthwall Books and Research Associate of the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research, will focus on Halligey’s title.

DATE: Thursday, 27th February
TIME: 17:00 for 17:30
VENUE: Breezeblock Café, 29 Chiswick Street, Brixton
Please RSVP to alexandra.halligey@wits.ac.za by 24 February for catering and parking purposes.
