ISULabaNtu at the African Centre for Cities (ACC) International Urban Conference 1-3 February 2018

Judith Ojo-Aromokudu attended the African Centre for Cities (ACC) conference hosted by the University of Cape Town, South Africa from the 1st to the 3rd of February 2018.

The conference offered opportunities for practitioners, activist and scholars to show case ongoing-work and network in the multi-disciplinary field of urban studies. Under the panel discussion entitled "Informal settlements and upgrading in South African cities", Judith presented key findings from the ISULabantu project on the challenges and opportunities of incremental approaches to informal settlement upgrading in South Africa. The panel engaged in discussions on community self-organisation for better co-production towards a successful bottom-up upgrading program. The importance of communication channels between the community, the state, and other stakeholders was emphasised.

At another panel session themed "Discourse and debates on architectural heritage", Judith presented findings from her doctoral studies in a paper titled: “Re-interpreting informal dwellings as an expression of a ‘new vernacular architecture’”. The discussion focused on spaces created in informal settlements that fit into the vernacular architectural discourse.