Elective / Seminar
Critical Perspectives FROM Southern Urbanism
Urban phenomena in many cities of the South have long been planned and analyzed through hegemonic theoretical positions that claim global applicability, though are generally more specific to the Global North. They are unable to address and explain Southern cities and their situatedness in time and place. Hence, they fail to deal with the growing issues of inequality, informality, poverty, and urbanization. By adopting a critical perspective, the course will stimulate a re-thinking of the global urbanization trends and planning policies in the context of cities of the Global South. Furthermore, we will use international reference cases (Egypt, South Africa, Namibia and Zambia) to identify cross-cutting issues as well as exemplary approaches. In this regard, the course will bring together various disciplinary perspectives: geography, history, sociology, governance and urban studies, in an attempt to juxtapose the theoretical discourse of the first phase with the range of policies and planning approaches that these countries mobilize in order to deal with the externalities of rapid urbanization.
The second component of the course will be in form of a block seminar where the theoretical aspects from the first component will be reflected on by engaging particularly into the field of housing and informal settlements.
The second component contains of two blocks in parallel where the students can choose between the blocks A) HOUSING and B) NAMIBIA COMMUNITY WORKSHOP.
