Built Environment
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Pointers from Asia for urbanization in Africa
Africa and Asia are latecomers to urbanization. In these two continents, less than half live in urban centers, while elsewhere, more than 70% of people do. But Africa and Asia are now rapidly urbanizing, with Asian cities growing at an average of 1.5% per year and Africa’s at 1.1% per year. While the world’s largest … Continued
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G20 and the question of urbanisation
This week, leaders of the world’s twenty largest economies will be meeting in the German port city of Hamburg. Since the creation of the Group of 20 (G20) in the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2008, issues on its agenda traditionally include global economic growth, free trade and financial market regulation. For this … Continued
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New Contemporary African Architecture Journal launched
FOLIO a new annual on contemporary African architecture has been launched in South Africa, coinciding with this year’s Africa Day celebrations. According to founding editor Professor Lesley Lokko, the idea was sparked at a meeting of the heads of architecture schools in 2015 where an intense … Continued
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Comment: The new urban imperative for secondary cities
Linking policy-making and the New Urban Agenda with recent agreements on climate change and disaster risk reduction offers a strategy for financing the critically needed investments in today’s fast-growing intermediate cities.
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Community-generated data crucial for implementing New Urban Agenda
Good urban planning can’t happen without a better understanding of informal settlements, advocates say.
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Can we actually agree on indicators to measure urban development?
Using global frameworks to guide local development and measure progress in cities is complex.
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What’s new in the final draft New Urban Agenda?
Citiscope offers five immediate takeaways following this week’s release of the Habitat III vision document.
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Seminar — Spatial transformation: what Cape Town can learn from Medellin
Upcoming seminar highlights lessons from Medellin’s Social Urbanism programme for Cape Town.
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Two models for tracking implementation of the New Urban Agenda
As the Habitat III negotiations begin to wind up, discussion builds on how to monitor progress on the new vision in coming decades. Report from Citiscope.
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Changing cityscape: Maputo
Chinese investment is transforming Maputo. Will new infrastructure projects benefit all Mozambicans or just the wealthy?
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Views of District Six
James Clacherty shares contrasting views of District Six in Cape Town that highlight this urban wound at the heart of the city.
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Start from where you are: the case for a community-led affordable housing model
Poor urban residents have been successfully housing themselves while states struggle to meet housing demand. James Clacherty explores how an informal, community-led housing model might be able to meet growing urban housing demand.
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Fearing the tide: The resettlement debate in West Point, Liberia
Liberia’s largest urban slum, West Point is under threat from sea level rise. But the shifting displacement-resettlement debate cannot be simply presented as one in which it is government versus slum dwellers, writes Ariadne Baskin.
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Cape Town eco-estates protect rich from reality of townships
A stone’s throw from the working-class township of Masiphumelele, the Noordhoek mountains are being transformed into exclusive “eco-estates” which preserve apartheid geography just as the Group Areas Act did, write Bruce Baigrie and Henrik Ernstson.
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Affordable housing and the case for publicly-driven housing in African cities
Public sector provision of housing will not meet affordable housing needs by itself. But neglecting it in favour of solely an enabling approach is also a mistake, writes Hugo Halimi.
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African smart cities: potential and pitfalls
Rapid urbanization, coupled with a race for better connectivity, offers an opportunity to introduce smart city initiatives in African cities. But smart cities come with their challenges.
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What makes a bikeable city? Ideas to get Lagos cycling again
How Lagos can become a bike-friendly city.
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Can we use housing interventions to fight TB in South Africa?
Tubercolosis is the top killer in South Africa. Building better houses could help reduce the spread of the disease, writes Stuart Denoon-Stevens.
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Green spaces in cities good for mental health
The importance of safe green spaces in cities should not be underestimated, especially for mental health.
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Call for abstracts: International Conference on Canadian, Chinese and African Sustainable Urbanization
Under the high patronage of the Government of The Republic Cameroon, and in collaboration with the UN-Habitat and the University of Ottawa, the second International Conference on Canadian, Chinese and African Sustainable Urbanization (ICCCASU II – Yaoundé 2017): “Smart Urban Development: Local to Global Actions”, will be held in Yaoundé, Cameroon, from 12 to 14 … Continued
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Funding opp: UCT – ARUA Collaborative Research projects
Grants available for University of Cape Town students for collaborative research with universities in the African Research Universities Alliance.
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Applications open: Fellowships for early to mid-career urban scholars from the Global South
Call for applications for three Urban Studies Foundation (USF) International Fellowships for early to mid-career urban scholars from the global south.
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Applications open: MSc and DPhil in sustainable urban development
The Urban Studies programme offers part-time master’s and doctoral courses for practitioners and researchers engaged in cities and urban issues.
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Call for Applications: MSc in Integrated Urbanism and Sustainable Design (IUSD)
Applications open for the Integrated Urbanism and Sustainable Design Master’s program
hosted by Ain Shams University in Egypt and University of Stuttgart in
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Call for papers: 2nd International Conference on African Urban Planning
The 2nd International Conference on African Urban Planning, organized by the Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning (University of Lisbon) in collaboration with the International Planning History Society (IPHS), will be held in Lisbon from 7 to 8 September 2017.
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Internship: UN-Habitat Urban Planning and Design (Nairobi)
Urban planning and design intern position available in the United Nations Human Settlements Programme in Nairobi.
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(Call for papers) Interrogating land value capture in the African peri-urban interface: Towards a new political economy?
Panel seeks to shed light on the socio-economic underpinnings of the making of the African ‘urban’. It welcomes papers that adopt a comparative or single case-study research approach.
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Job: Head of School of Architecture and Planning at WITS
The School of Architecture and Planning at the University of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg, South Africa) is looking for a new Head of School to start from 1 April 2017.
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PhD positions (South Africa): resilience and spatial justice in the built environment
Bursaries available for students at Wits University, University of Venda, Durban University of Technology, South Africa.
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Integrated Urban Development Framework: A New Deal for South African Cities and Towns
The Integrated Urban Development Framework (IUDF) is a policy initiative of the South African government, which seeks to foster a shared understanding across government and society about how best to manage urbanisation and achieve the goals of economic development, job creation and improved living conditions in South African cities.
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‘Negotiated planning’: Diverse trajectories of implementation in Nairobi, Addis Ababa, and Harare
This paper unpacks how plans are implemented in three African cities: Nairobi, Addis Ababa, and Harare.
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Urbanisation in Ghana: Residential land use under siege in Kumasi central
Paper provides analysis of urbanisation in the Ghanaian city of Kumasi in relation to its impacts on commercialization of residential land.
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Assessing smart infrastructure for sustainable urban development in the Lagos metropolis
This study assesses the applicability of ‘smart infrastructure’ to achieve sustainable urban development in Lagos metropolis.
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Circuitries of spectral urbanism: Looking Underneath Fantasies in Luanda’s New Centralities
Drawing on an in-depth study of urban development in contemporary Luanda and its relationship with the Angolan oil complex, this paper suggests new ways of understanding what underpins and constitutes the envisioned futures of African cities.
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Self-organisation in urban spatial planning: evidence from the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area, Ghana
Paper investigates how spontaneous civic initiatives can support urban development in Accra, Ghana.
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How important is green infrastructure in small and medium-sized towns? Lessons from South Africa
Paper examines the location of green infrastructure across nine towns, showing that it is unequal between suburbs and that the bulk is located under private tenure (74%) rather than in public spaces. The results show significant use of green infrastructure for a range of provisioning and cultural services as well as its contribution to spiritual and mental well-being.
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Politics and the practice of planning: The case of Zimbabwean cities
This paper explores how the practice and profession of planning in Zimbabawe have been affected by political interests and the conflict between the ruling and opposition parties.
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From shacks to skyscrapers: Multiple spatial rationalities and urban transformation in Accra, Ghana
Paper explores the claim that market-driven logics increasingly inform the governing of African cities and the struggle over urban space in Accra.
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African cities and the New Urban Agenda
Publication by UNDP considers pathways to sustainable urban development and alternatives for Africa’s urban development trajectory.
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September 7 @ 9:00 am - September 8 @ 5:00 pm2nd International Conference ‘African Urban Planning’
The 2nd international conference ‘African urban planning’ will be held in Lisbon on September 7-8, 2017.
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October 5 - October 62017 Annual SA National Human Settlements Conference
Mangosuthu University of Technology and the National Department of Human Settlements will be hosting their 2017 annual National Human Settlement Conference. Date: 5-6 October 2017 Venue: ICC Durban, South Africa Theme: Human Settlements Development And Technological Innovations The 2017 Annual Human Settlement Conference is in line with the MUT’s Human Settlement Research Chair’s mandate which … Continued
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October 9 @ 8:00 am - October 11 @ 5:00 pmGreen Building Convention
The Green Building Council South Africa hosts its annual Green Building Convention from 9 to 11 October 2017 at the Century City Conference Centre and Hotel, Cape Town. Now in its tenth year this year’s GBCSA Convention under the banner ‘Dare to lead’, seeks to bring designers, experts and decision-makers together to put sustainable building practices in the … Continued
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December 12 - December 14
International Conference on Canadian, Chinese and African Sustainable Urbanization (ICCCASU)
Under the high patronage of the Government of The Republic Cameroon, and in collaboration with the UN-Habitat and the University of Ottawa, the second International Conference on Canadian, Chinese and African Sustainable Urbanization (ICCCASU II – Yaoundé 2017) with the theme “Smart Urban Development: Local to Global Actions”, will be held in Yaoundé, Cameroon, from … Continued
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October 14, 2018 - October 17, 2018Planning Africa 2018
Planning Africa 2018 organised by South African Planning Institute will take place from 14 to 17 October 2018 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. The conference aims to respond to the global, continental and national development challenges and reaffirm that planning raison d’etre centres on advancing the interest of the poorest and the broader … Continued