ISULabaNtu at Architecture Media Politics Society (AMPS) conference

In June 2017, Dr Maria Christina Georgiadou and Dr Claudia Loggia attended the Architecture, Media, Politics and Society (AMPS) conference in Derby, UK; titled, Cities, Communities and Homes: Is the Urban Future Liveable? They presented a paper on: Project management in participatory upgrading of informal settlements in Durban. The presentation explored the concept of ‘self-building’ in the context of community-led upgrading, using experience and lessons learned from preliminary fieldwork of ISULabaNtu Phase 4 in the two case studies of Namibia Stop 8 and Piesang River in Durban. The team outlined the critical success factors in managing self-build upgrading projects, as well as, the crucial roles of stakeholder management and project governance. The presentation also sought to understand the balance between formal and informal forms of procurement, uncovering the challenge to acquire ‘the right resources at the right time’ and considering the constraints involved in the process of complying with rigid municipality processes.

Christina and Claudia presenting

Overall, the conference focused on the relationships between Cities, Communities and Homes. It encouraged debate and exchange between various built environment disciplines on key challenges facing planners and communities (end-users) when dealing with participatory planning, urban resilience, housing affordability and future-proofing.

Following the conference, the team submitted a paper at the Architecutre_MPS journal published through UCL Press, which is currently under review.