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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
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).
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.
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.
