CO-PRODUCING URBAN SUSTAINABILITY TRANSFORMATIONS: WITS-TUB URBAN LAB - PHD PROGRAMME - CITIES ALLIANCE
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Co-producing urban
sustainability transformations:
Wits-TUB Urban Lab –
PhD Programme
Application
Call for Scholarship Applications
Six fully-funded PhD scholarships will be
Deadline:
awarded on a competitive basis to South African
and other sub-Saharan African candidates for
12 February
study at University of the Witwatersrand starting
July 2017, in collaboration with Technical
2017
University Berlin.
The DAAD/BMZ funded Wits- University’s (School of Architecture
TUB Urban Lab offers a PhD and Planning) PhD programme
programme based on six being granted to the selected
prestigious PhD scholarships, three candidates. For candidates with
for South African and three for degrees from outside of South
students from other sub-Saharan Africa, admission depends on
African countries. The programme a favourable assessment of the
invites PhD research contributions, candidate’s qualifications by
which question whether co- the South African Qualifications
production can serve as a new Authority (SAQA). As SAQA
paradigm to achieve transformation assessment can take up to two
to sustainability in urban areas. months, international candidates
How would existing conflictual co- are encouraged to submit their
production partnerships need to qualifications for assessment
evolve and what new state-civil to SAQA at the same time as
society-private sector interfaces submitting their application for
might be needed? And what are the scholarship. The scholarships
the roles of urban professionals are effective from 1 July 2017.
and researchers in this context? Scholarship holders must enrol as
full time students in the School of
The submission deadline for Architecture and Planning at the
scholarship applications is 12 University of Witwatersrand and
February 2017. Skype-interviews complete their research within 3.5
with shortlisted candidates will years (July 2017 – December
take place immediately afterwards 2020).
and decisions communicated by
20 February. The scholarships
are subject to admission into Wits
*supported by the DAAD with funds from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Timeline leading to start of the Sustainable Development Goals
PhD programme: (SDGs) as a frameworks for
urban sustainability for Africa?
• Selection process: 13-20
February 2017 Sustainability challenges such
as poverty and socio-economic
• Notification of award of polarisation, climate change
scholarship: 20 February 2017 and the lack of appropriate
institutional responses are
• Successful candidates shared across many cities in the
apply for Admission to the PhD world. However, many of these
programme in the School of challenges are exacerbated in
Architecture and Planning by 28 cities in sub-Saharan Africa. They
February 2017. already have the highest rates of
informal settlements with 71.9%
• Candidates with degrees of the urban population living
from outside of South Africa must in slums (Croese et. al., 2016)
have submitted their qualifications and a combination of economic
for assessment by SAQA before processes and urbanisation might
this date (see http://www.saqa. exacerbate inequalities even
org.za/), services, evaluation of further. Africa’s urban population
foreign applications). As soon as is expected to triple between 2011
their SAQA evaluation is issued, and 2050 (from 471 million to 1.34
they upload this onto the Wits billion) and more than half the
University system to be added to continent’s inhabitants will reside in
their application for admission. cities by 2035 (UN-Habitat, 2014).
• Receive admission letter The recently adopted 2030 Agenda
from Wits University: end April for Sustainable Development and
2017, once the SAQA process its 17 Sustainable Development
is concluded for international Goals (SDGs) offers an integrated
candidates. sustainability framework that
acknowledges the multitude,
• International candidates complexity and interdependence
apply for study visas as soon as of sustainability challenges. It
admission letter is received from also acknowledges the key role of
the University (visa applications cities and local urban stakeholders
can take up to 2 months). without which sustainability
cannot be achieved. The SDGs
• Register for the PhD degree: not only include a specific urban-
1 July 2017. oriented Goal 11 (Make cities
inclusive, safe, resilient and
sustainable) but indeed, most challenges arising from rapid
the SDG’s 169 targets cannot urbanization. Urban planning
be achieved without significant curricula of Africa’s educational
involvement of local urban institutions remain often as out-
stakeholders which safeguard dated as the planning legislation
global common goods, such as and young graduates do not have
climate, economic prosperity, the skill sets needed to reform
social integration, democratization planning administrations and
and political stability. This role is practice or to enable integrated and
also reinforced by the New Urban participatory urban management
Agenda (NUA), adopted in Quito (ibid.). Can the conceptual
in October 2016, which aims to framework offered by the SDGs
guide SDG implementation in and the NUA be operationalized to
urban areas. It recognises that improve human, institutional, legal
tomorrow’s cities should be socially and technical capacities within
and spatially just, providing access African cities?
to affordable housing, basic
services, environmental protection, Aims and objectives of the PhD
education and employment programme:
opportunities for all (New Urban “Co-producing urban
Agenda, 2016) and calls for sustainability transformations”
integrated policy responses. Both
the SDGs and the NUA place a 1. to critically interrogate the
particular emphasis on inclusion concept of co-production which
and equity, with much of the pro- has entered academic discourse
poor and rights-oriented language on urbanisation and sustainability-
adopted from the agendas of urban oriented solutions. Co-production
social movements and civil society has been used to acknowledge that
activists of recent years. cities and urban areas are shaped
by the rationalities and actions
Although all African states are by a multitude of actors. Cities
signatories to both the SDGs do not act as a coherent entity or
and the New Urban Agenda, the speak with one coherent voice. It
disjuncture between global agenda is precisely the quality of diversity
rhetoric and local practice could and difference, the complex
not be greater. Urban development negotiated relations between a
policies – if available – are mostly multitude of urban actors that
undertaken in a sectoral manner, represents its fullest potential and
without cross-departmental underlines its difference to other
coordination, and without involving political regimes at a regional,
local stakeholders ignorant of the national or global level.
fact that planning “is profoundly
political and no longer under the Co-production as an approach to
sole control of the professional and means of implementation is
planner” (Odendaal, 2012). a reality particularly in contexts
Beyond institutional capacity of sub-Saharan cities. Here, co-
building, many local governments production has become an urban
lack skilled and experienced urban reality: To address affordable
planners to meet the complex housing gaps and dysfunctional
urban services conventional
urban governance systems clearly of urban knowledge are required
do not cope and by default rely in which different approaches,
on the urban poor to do what languages, and concepts can
they themselves are unable or come together and add value to
unwilling to do. Between self- each other. Here, the knowledge
provisioning of the urban poor and and expertise of residents, local
state institutions – a new space of initiatives, civil society as a
interaction opens up in which new whole, but also administrators
kinds of co-production partnerships and of course technicians,
emerge. Co-production here is academics etc. can be given the
a conflictual terrain, often only appropriate value. To achieve
the result of pressures from civil truly “integrated solutions” as
society and grass root movements demanded by the New Urban
and co-production partnerships Agenda we need to transcend
are characterized by antagonism traditional hierarchisations and
and conflict. The PhD programme sectoralisation of knowledge
therefore seeks to support research and recognize that knowledge
proposals that help to produce a is always power and value
broader and deeper understanding permeated. The PhD program
of the “sticky”, ubiquitous and seeks to question the implications
“ordinary” conditions, processes, of co-production to rethink
outcomes and impacts of urban methodological approaches and
co-production as a means to the self-understanding of urban
achieve transformative change to researchers. The programme
sustainability. therefore encourages PhD
research projects, which seek to
2. to develop innovative test methodological innovations
methodological approaches to and to explore the role of science
urban-oriented research that apply between advocacy and theory
co-production as a research and building. Approaches could take
knowledge building strategy. the form of embedded research,
The PhD program recognizes empirically and locally grounded
that technical expert knowledge research, in which PhD students
alone will not suffice to understand place themselves within ongoing
urban complexities. Instead, new transformation processes.
transdisciplinary understandings
(Wits) and TU Berlin (TUB) that
3. to integrate a diversity of will deliver increased capacities at
research perspectives on institutional and individual levels
multiple sustainability in academia, civil society, private
challenges and their and public sectors. The Wits-TUB
interlinkages. The PhD Urban Lab closely cooperates
programme hopes to attract with the African Association of
applications from urban Planning Schools AAPS, which
researchers from diverse was founded in 1999 in recognition
disciplinary backgrounds. Research that planning education reform
proposals should address at least could be a key contribution towards
one of the following sustainability sustainable and more equitable
challenges where co-production as urban development in sub-
a means to achieve transformation Saharan Africa (see also: www.
to sustainability is relevant: africanplanningschools.org.za). In
• alternative housing delivery addition, Wits-TUB Urban Lab is
• climate change adaptation networked within the African Urban
• access to land for shelter Research Initiative AURI and its
• urban economies and services scientific community. Its network
• migration and refugees will extend to key international
• health and safety in urban organisations such as the UCLG
areas and Cities Alliance, and important
South African stakeholders
The PhD programme is part of such as the South African Cities
the bilateral Wits-TUB Urban Network and the South African
Lab (2016-2020), supported by Local Government Association
the Federal Ministry for Economic (SALGA). The programme is also
Cooperation and Development linked into a network of key African
(BMZ) and German Academic and European scholars who will
Exchange Service (DAAD), comment or input at various stages
which seeks to improve graduate of the research process.
education in urban fields across
sub-Saharan Africa. The lead Activities of the PhD
partners, the Habitat Unit at the programme:
School of Architecture of the The graduate programme
Technische Universität Berlin, entails joint annual conferences,
and the School of Architecture workshops, and other forms of
and Planning at University of the academic exchanges between
Witwatersrand aim to enhance academics and PhD candidates
their offering of urban-oriented from South Africa and other sub-
graduate and postgraduate Saharan Africa and Germany
training and capacity building and other European countries. In
programmes to effectively address addition, each PhD candidate has
the challenges and needs outlined the opportunity to spend a few
above. The overall objective of the months at Technical University
programme is to contribute to the Berlin and at their fieldwork
implementation of urban-relevant site, linked to one of our partner
SDGs and the New Urban Agenda universities. The purposes of
in sub-Saharan Africa through the these exchanges is also for the
development of a sustainable, PhD candidates to get acquainted
bilateral academic programme at with other academic systems and
the University of Witwatersrand thereby to enhance their ability to
play a key role in academic training -UN-Habitat (2014) The state of African
in their future careers on this Cities: re-imagining sustainable urban
continent. urban transitions. Nairobi, Kenya.
Eligibility requirements: Application must include
The programme is interdisciplinary, • Cover letter
but we place a special emphasis • Completed Wits-TU Berlin Bursary
on a portfolio that is inter- and Application Form (click to download the
transdisciplinary, cutting across form online)
the fields of development planning, • All degree certificates
housing, sustainable urban • All academic transcripts (showing all
development, urban management, marks obtained, with official translation
and urban design. Candidates in if not in English, and official explanation
architecture and urban planning as of the marking system if not in %)
well as in the humanities, cultural • CV, with details of previous academic
studies, urban geography, or social research and publications, as well as
sciences with a focus on urban work experiences (academic and non-
studies and planning as well as academic)
candidates in related fields such • Up to three reference letters (at least
as landscape architecture are also one reference letter from an academic)
welcome to apply. PhD candidates
must hold a master’s degree that Please send you application including
is equivalent to a masters degree all the required material to
(NQF level 8) in the South African taki.sithagu@wits.ac.za by 12 February
Qualification System (SAQA). The 2017.
programme language is English.
Applicants must also be proficient For further information visit:
in any other languages necessary http://www.wits.ac.za/archplan/
for their proposed geographic academic-degrees/research-degrees/
location of their fieldwork. http://www.habitat-unit.de
References: or contact the project coordinator Ms
-Croese, N. et. al. (2016) Towards Taki Sithagu, taki.sithagu@wits.ac.za
Habitat III: Confronting the
disjuncture between global policy
and local practice on Africa’s Principal Investigators of the
‘challenge of slums’. Habitat programme:
International. 53, 237-242. -Prof. Fana Sihlongonyane (Wits)
-New Urban Agenda (2016) https:// -Prof. Marie Huchzermeyer (Wits)
habitat3.org/the-new-urban-agenda -Prof. Philipp Misselwitz (TUB)
-Odendaal, N. (2012) Reality check:
Planning education in the African
urban century. Cities, 29 (3), 174-
182.
*supported by the DAAD with funds from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
You can also read
