Unlearning the known: developing future capacities for informal settlement upgrading
Convenors: Gert van der Merwe (Namibia University of Science and Technology), Alexander Jachnow (Namibia University of Science and Technology)
Track: Alternative Futures
Keywords: Unlearning, Education, Epistemology, Informal Settlement Upgrading
Friday October 25, 9:00–10:30, First Floor Seminar Room, John Moffat Building
SESSION 22
UNLEARNING THE KNOWN: DEVELOPING FUTURE CAPACITIES FOR INFORMAL SETTLEMENT UPGRADING
Urban planning, design, and architecture have historically operated within imaginaries alien to Africa, and have fallen short with the challenge of formulating holistic and integrative approaches for informal settlement upgrading. This session aims to contribute to a discourse on reshaping urban professions through a critical review of educational trajectories and the challenges of reality. While hegemonic "modern city" concepts are becoming obsolete, urban disciplines still reveal a tendency towards operating in path dependence and isolated sectors like sanitation or waste management, overlooking broader economic, social and ecological potentials that can be unlocked by holistic approaches. As traditional "modern city" concepts fade, urban disciplines persist in path-dependent and sector-isolated practices, e.g. in areas like sanitation or waste management. This overlooks the broader economic, social, and ecological potentials achievable through holistic approaches. This sets the backdrop for the current plans of Namibian University of Science and Technology, NUST, to launch a Master's programme in informal settlement upgrading. Our session aims to foster collaboration and knowledge exchange to address the professional challenges associated with informal settlements. It underscores the need for a new generation of urban growth managers attuned to the authenticity and vibrancy of the communities they serve. We invite educators, practitioners and academics to explore ways how these strategies and practices can be integrated into education, spanning from training for municipal staff to university courses, emphasising the significance of understanding local conditions, relationships, histories, cultures and memories. Presentations shall demonstrate how acquired knowledge and empirical findings, e.g. local practices, shaped by citizens, have been successfully adopted by curricula. We invite to craft counter-imaginations to find educational approaches which can equip future professionals to navigate the diversity of self-organized neighbourhoods.
Presentations
Whose Curriculum is it? Or how do we deliberate teaching practice to relearn skills for addressing complex urban challenges in Namibia?
Informal settlement upgrading requires new skills and forms of inquiry to bring about deliberative practitioners. Findings reflect how principles of integrating different disciplinary knowledge and reality-based learning have to be contextualized in the case of Namibia.
Learning from Brazil: Postgraduate education for the Right to the City
This paper presents the experiences of a specialisation course in “Technical Assistance, Housing, and the Right to the City” at the Federal University of Bahia that adopts a participatory pedagogical approach together with social movements to challenge subalternisation processes in Brazilian cities.
In support of community development through urban citizenship in design
The UUC at UP undertakes trans-disicplinary engaged research and teaching in informal settlements in the City of Tshwane. A reflection on these studios supports an argument for the intentional collaboration between anchor institutions and government bodies to propel development policies forward.
From classroom to persistent reality: Postgraduate pedagogic approaches on the 'upgrading'' of impoverished neighbourhoods in Johannesburg
Three decades into democracy in South Africa, a process to conclude a White Paper allowed the importance of dedicated careers in the complex challenge of ‘informal settlement upgrading’ to be highlighted. What pedagogy is needed to build such careers? This paper reflects on over two decades of postgraduate learning approaches developed in the School of Architecture and Planning at Wits University, including annual student-stakeholder workshops and neighbourhoods serving as student ‘labs’ through reciprocal relationships.
Change by Design_Joburg: Housing Justice action research for Inner City Joburg
The Change by Design_Joburg (CBD_Joburg) project represents a dynamic and multi-faceted initiative developed through collaboration between ASF-UK and 1to1, focusing on addressing critical housing justice issues within Johannesburg's inner-city areas.
Work integrated learning: preparing future planners for real-world challenges
This study advocates for Work Integrated Learning (WIL) in urban planning education, blending theory with practical experience to cultivate applied wisdom. Through real-world scenarios, students bridge academia-practice gap, enhancing skills to tackle urban challenges, as illustrated in a case study. WIL fosters well-rounded professionals, emphasising collaboration and practical understanding in addressing informal settlements.
