Opening Workshop

13-14 Nov 2019    UCL Department of Geography, London UK 

The Opening Workshop for the Making Africa Urban project consisted of nine sessions which were split across two days, engaging with the three cities and three circuits that are the focus of the Making Africa Urban project. The Workshop was the first time the team got the chance to meet in person, to share their insights and set a cooperative path for the five year project. As well as engaging with the three cities and circuits, the workshop included insights on urban development politics from researchers working in other African cities, and across the globe.  Highlights of the event included an opening lecture from Vanessa Watson on Digital Visualization and Urban Change in African, and sessions on each of the case study cities – the session on Lilongwe found five experts on that city together for a rare opportunity to reflect on urban development in Malawi. The concluding comments from Garth Myers, Sophie Oldfield and Maliq Simone gave us much food for thought as we started the research project. Not long after this event, though, COVID arrived and we have had to switch to working together virtually. So the workshop was a valuable opportunity to share knowledge and research in person.

View the workshop program below and click the links to access video presentations from the event.