II International Conference
African Urban Planning
Program
Theme 1 - The History of African Urban Planning
The Conference will discuss new evidence and innovative perspectives on the history of African urban planning before, during and after European colonization, including the legacies from the sub-Saharan African Kingdoms and the Ottoman Empire in North Africa.
Possible topics may include but are not limited to the following ones:
•Urban governance in sub-Saharan Kingdoms before European colonization and in North Africa during the Ottoman period; The dynamism of Islamic settlement-design principles; Establishment of African cities and towns in the early European colonial period; Preservation of pre-colonial built environment; Variegated perceptions of defining African urban heritage
•African urban planning in global comparative perspective and the transnational transfer and dissemination of planning ideas in Africa during the colonial period: the Garden City Movement and the CIAM discourse on Urbanism in Africa; Anglophone, Francophone, and Lusophone colonial planning cultures in Africa; Other European colonial influences on African urban planning - Belgian, German, Italian, Spanish
•Planning education, the planning profession and the practice of colonial urban planning; Medical and sanitary discourses and the rationale of colonial urbanism in Africa
•Local government and the governance of cities during the colonial period and the impact with previously existing forms of urban government
•The role of local elites and traditional authorities in the colonial governance system; Symbolism and spirituality in indigenous planning cultures
•Urban land policy, housing and social housing in colonial Africa
•Infrastructure networks in colonial Africa - roads, waterways, rail, electricity, harbours, airports: new settings, new cities and behaviours
•Ruptures and continuities in the transition to the new independent states in Africa; Legacies of colonialism in the post-independence urban planning in Africa; Transfer of planning ideas from socialist countries to Africa during the Cold War
•Differences and similarities in contemporary African planning flowing from distinct histories and diverse colonial origins
•Discussion on the various forms of urban modernity beyond the colonial clichés
Theme 2 - Learning from African Urban Planning
The Conference will explore post-colonial African urban planning policies, practices, and ethics in the different African regions (Northern, Western, Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa). It will learn how distinct urban planning cultures have addressed and might approach the current and future urban challenges and opportunities confronting African cities.
Possible topics may include but are not limited to the following ones:
•Alternative conceptions of Planning: a Southern perspective in planning theory; Planning in 'fragile democracies'; Unlearning the colonial urban planning cultures
•Urban and Regional Planning education in Africa: appropriateness and necessary shifts
•Beyond the central state: the role of local government in urban planning; Incorporation of local traditional institutions in urban governance processes
•The reforms of planning law in Africa; National spatial planning systems in Africa; Trans-border and supranational spatial planning in Africa; Planning and governance of suburbs, metropolitan areas, capital cities, and mega-regions in Africa
•Strategic spatial planning and land use planning in Africa; Participatory budgeting in the governance of African cities
•Informal urban settlements, slum upgrading and the clashes of rationalities; Urban planning for rapidly growing informal cities; Customary land tenure practices and land-use planning in Africa; Property rights, land certification and planning in informal urban areas; Building resilience and adaptive capacity in informal urban settlements ; Urban planning and the living conditions of informal settlements dwellers
•Planning and the informal economy in public spaces and residential areas
•Urban land markets, tenure security and housing in African cities; Affordable and social housing in African cities
•Provision of infrastructure networks and urban services in African cities; Urban mobility and planning in African cities; Sanitation policy, planning and the governance of urban solid waste in African cities
•The preservation of urban heritage in African cities; heritage, planning and development of rural areas
•Urban Fantasies, fantasy plans, urban megaprojects and the role of private developers in shaping African cities
•Urban environmental risks, climate change and policy challenges in African cities; Green areas and vegetation in African cities; Energy transitions and energy policies in African cities
•Smart Cities, Smart Planning and Urban e-Planning: opportunities and challenges in African cities
Theme 3 - Localizing Goal 11 of the SDGs and The New Urban Agenda
The Conference will discuss the relevant SDGs - Sustainable Development Goals (e.g. Goal 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities) and targets (e.g. 11.3, 11.a) adopted in 2015 as well as the New Urban Agenda, to be adopted in the Habitat III Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development, and its expected impacts in the practice of African Urban Planning. It will also provide the opportunity for comparisons, particularly between African cities and those elsewhere in the Global South.
Possible topics may include but are not limited to the following ones:
•The shift in urban planning paradigms and the building of new urban governance structures
•Sustainable and resilient urban development for social inclusion and poverty eradication
•The planning and management of urban spatial development
• Unplanned town-planning: bottom-up approaches and resilient ways of planning the city of tomorrow and reinventing the city of today; insurgent urbanism
•Land grabbing and Urban Planning
•Urban planning in small island states
•Supra-national spatial planning in landlocked countries
•Planning in post conflict, in post disaster contexts and for internally displaced persons
•The policies of the Global North towards African cities in relation to Goal 11: the international puzzle of SDGs initiatives in planning
Theme 4 - Social and economic challenges and changes in African cities
The Conference will bring together and discuss ideas and research about society and the city with ideas about planning. Papers will explore African urban conditions and processes and their implications for planning.
Possible topics may include but are not limited to the following ones:
•The rapidly growing middle classes and linkages with wider global economies and its effects, namely on regional disparities, gender and ethnicity; Justice and inequality and the righ to the city in Africa
•Urban food security and urban food systems; urban agriculture
• Street art, urban music, public spaces / urbanity and planning
• Naming the urban; place names in Africa
•Urban youth movements, new political visions and the city
•The representation of cities in literature and cinema