Reality check: Planning education in the African urban century

Odendaal, Nancy

doi:10.1016/j.cities.2011.10.001

Cited by 48 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…In South Africa these challenges are generally exacerbated as a result of a sharpened heritage of colonialism, segregation and more recently, a massive influx of rural-urban migrants to South African cities. Although British colonial influence ceased in 1961 when South Africa gained independence, the urban landscape was plagued by an incessantly racially segregated dispensation until the country became a democracy in 1994 [39]. Correspondingly, according to Odendaal [39], during this period , relatively stable economic growth became an impetus for influx across South African borders and a national migration from rural to urban areas.…”

Section: The South African Realitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Considering Complexities in Unique African Planning Approaches: Abstracting the Role of African Urban Residents

Cornelius

Viviers

Cilliers

et al. 2017

WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment

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Africa is currently the fastest urbanising region in the world and has subsequently become the centre of continuously growing attention from planning practitioners and academics. Many of these scholars argue for a unique African planning approach in light of the failure of the African urban landscape to emulate Western models of urbanisation. However, whilst practitioners and academics are deliberating concepts like decolonisation and African urbanism, African urban residents have been labouring nonstop to create sustainable living environments and meaningful lives for themselves. This paper aims to showcase how these residents have proven themselves to be active agents in constructing sustainable human settlements rather than simply being passive victims of relentless structural processes beyond their control. It argues the failure of unique African planning approaches and decolonisation attempts to recognise and more importantly, incorporate the solutions provided by the said African residents, because of the inherent Western ideals and ways of thinking guiding global planning approaches. The paper employs theory-based sampling as part of a qualitative inquiry into African urbanism, decolonisation and sustainable human settlement development, before turning to case studies in South Africa and Zambia to consider the complexities within these concepts and support the line of argument. The subsequent discussion begs the question of the role and interference required from planning practitioners and academics within the rapidly changing African urban landscape. It also explores the causative position of African residents in creating sustainable human settlements, highlighting the instances where they have created unique solutions to planning problems and have shaped the urban landscape to suit their own needs and circumstances, challenging Western rationalities underpinning African planning approaches. The paper concludes that abstracting the role of African urban residents in creating a unique African planning approach, may hold potential to create more sustainable and just human settlements in Africa.

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Section: The South African Realitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Considering Complexities in Unique African Planning Approaches: Abstracting the Role of African Urban Residents

Cornelius

Viviers

Cilliers

et al. 2017

WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment

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“…While there are literature that have examined the colonial legacies of planning in Africa including planning legislation, spatial planning systems and planning education, there has been little study of the process of the translation and instrumentalisation of colonial planning principles in contemporary urban planning laws and instruments. Only recently have the dynamics and outcome of the translation of paradigms, processes and instruments of urban planning from Europe to African cities been put on the agenda in urban planning studies (Odendaal, 2012;Silva, 2012;Watson, 2009). Based on critiques of the inadequacy and ineffectiveness of persistent planning approaches, in particular the supremacy of the rational planning model and its master planning concept (Myers, 2011) and Western approaches to comprehensive planning (Porter, 2010), these studies argue that African cities are largely developed outside the scope of public planning and landuse regulations (Harrison, 2006;Watson, 2003) and that they are thus not shaped by the inherited ideals and concepts of urban planning.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Translation of urban planning models: Planning principles, procedural elements and institutional settings

Hossain

Scholz

Baumgart

2015

Habitat International

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“…Africa displays vastly uneven patterns of urban and economic development across its immense landscape [39]. Accordingly, generalisations on Africa will likely be confronted with contradictions from specific non-conforming instances from one African case to another [1].…”

Section: A Perspective On Africa and South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

Considering Planning Approaches in the Global South and Learning From Co-Production in South Africa’s Informal Backyard Rental Sector

Lategan¹,

Cilliers²

2017

WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment

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The global South has traditionally been regarded as oppressed and subjugated, grappling to reach western ideals on the appropriate, desirable and modern. However, framing the developing world as such, fails to recognise that western norms may be neither feasible nor appropriate in these regions and discounts the value of alternative, mostly informal, approaches to provide outcomes more suited to the global South status quo. This paper aims to showcase how western standards and development mechanisms are still propagated in the developing world and how local populations adapt to the outcomes of such approaches to suit their needs and circumstances, in the process challenging western norms and shaping the city from below. The paper employs a qualitative research methodology based on a literature review of core concepts, including: the right to the city, spatial justice, co-production, modernism and neoliberalism; before turning to a case study of South Africa and its informal backyard rental sector to explore research objectives. The subsequent discussion frames the informal backyard rental sector as an example of the interface between the formal and informal; the state and civil society; and the global North and global South. Accordingly, presenting informal backyard rentals as a manifestation of co-production that provides fertile ground to rethink western ideals and reframe urban planning theory, policy-making and practice towards a more inclusive understanding based on lived experience. The paper concludes that such reconsidered approaches may hold potential for more sustainable and just settlements in South Africa and rest of the global South, but also for the cities of the global North, where issues like informality are increasingly imbedded in the urban landscape.

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Reality check: Planning education in the African urban century

Cited by 48 publications

References 6 publications

Considering Complexities in Unique African Planning Approaches: Abstracting the Role of African Urban Residents

Considering Complexities in Unique African Planning Approaches: Abstracting the Role of African Urban Residents

Translation of urban planning models: Planning principles, procedural elements and institutional settings

Considering Planning Approaches in the Global South and Learning From Co-Production in South Africa’s Informal Backyard Rental Sector

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