unit_for_urban_citizenship

Another week, another step forward! 🚶🏾‍♀️💡 This past week, we continued our journey with the focus groups. With fresh perspectives and new insights, we reflected on our observations, shared ideas, and sharpened our approach. Progress is made, one conversation at a time! It’s all about building on the momentum and making a lasting impact. Let’s keep moving forward!

This week, our focus is on answering key WHO, WHAT, HOW, and WHEN questions to strengthen the foundation of the research. By critically engaging with these questions, we aim to refine our approach to co-creating Community Action Plans with Melusi.

Phase 3 of the Co-creating Wellness and Human Dignity project kicked off this week.

This last phase of the project will focus on the critical analysis of datasets emanating from research undertaken during 2023 and 2024 towards co-creating Community Action Plans to address socio-spatial justice with the community of Melusi. Continued engagement with the research partners underpins the project, so that the research outcomes may reflect the views and voices of this emerging urban society.

Honours and Master’s students, senior researchers, community field researches and interns came together for an inspiring start to this last phase. After insightful presentations, we hit the ground running with transect walks—immersing ourselves in the sites, observing, engaging, and uncovering layers of community dynamics. We wrapped up with reflections and brainstorming, setting the stage for meaningful impact.🌱

This weekend Dr Jan Hugo and a team of masters students collaborated with the School of Public Health (UP) on the performance of Early Childhood Development Centres in informal settlements.

in one of the workshops of the Materials and Technique course at Chalmers University of Technology.

He is currently on exchange in Gothenburg, Sweden, as part of our collaboration with Chalmers University of Technology.

Max is expanding on his knowledge from the York Timber internship in our department. We can't wait to see how you implement this in your Master's.

testing out prototypes in the Materials and Technique course at Chalmers University of Technology.

He is currently on exchange in Gothenburg, Sweden, as part of our collaboration with Chalmers University of Technology.

We look forward to hearing about your experience!

Masters Project Feature 🎓

recently presented her master's project in architecture.

The project titled the "Katleho Healing Centre" is an architectural strategy for the design integration of Traditional and Modern Healing
for GBV survivors through food production in the city of Pretoria, South Africa.

Gender-based violence (GBV) is a significant and systemic issue in South Africa, deeply rooted in its institutions, cultures, and traditions. Historically, women’s societal roles have shifted from complementary to patriarchal, particularly in disadvantaged areas, fostering unsafe and inequitable environments. This project focuses on rehabilitating GBV survivors.

Western trauma-healing methods often prioritise individual mental health through scientific approaches, overlooking indigenous knowledge and cultural contexts. In contrast, traditional African perspectives emphasise community support, viewing personal trauma as a shared responsibility. These socio-centric methods build networks that enhance self-worth, belonging, and security.

Research on South African shelters reveals a heavy reliance on Western approaches, neglecting cultural and communal aspects. This project addresses this gap by proposing a facility in central Pretoria for medium- to long-term healing. It integrates urban systems and uses the food production process as a metaphor for healing—aligning personal recovery stages with production, post-production, and consumption.

The project also tackles urban challenges in Pretoria CBD, such as oversized blocks and car dominance, by promoting pedestrianisation, green spaces, and educational hubs. This dual approach seeks to heal both the city and its users, offering survivors a path to reintegration and independence

Masters Project Feature 🎓

recently presented his master's project in architecture.

Reimagining informal settlements as hubs of potential, this project in Melusi transforms the Booysens Nursery into a bamboo-focused vocational training and community center. Designed with sustainability and public interest at its core, it empowers self-reliance, urban agriculture, and sustainable building, offering a new blueprint for thriving informal communities.

Masters Project Feature 🎓

Lara Meissner-Roloff recently presented her master's project as part of the human-centered design stream.

The Resource Hub is a deployable, off-grid intervention designed to empower Community Health Workers (CHWs) under the Community Oriented Primary Care (COPC) program. Rooted in the principles of Public Interest Design, it aims to address pressing healthcare challenges through community-driven interventions. It provides dedicated spaces such as an office, training room, resource library, break area, and bathroom within a modular, prefabricated structure.

By offering a secure, well-equipped base, the hub enhances CHWs’ capacity to deliver essential healthcare services in informal settlements like Melusi. Scalable and adaptable, this model can be deployed across South Africa, fostering a network of sustainable infrastructure to support CHWs and improve healthcare delivery outcomes.

🎓 This week, we proudly witnessed our Masters students present their final projects for examination—a culmination of hard work, research, and creativity.

Each project is a research-led design, rooted in the insights and findings of the Co-creating Wellness and Human Dignity research project in Melusi, funded by The National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF) South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (NRF SAASTA)

These projects are more than just architectural proposals; they represent a vision for a future where design promotes , , and for all. The spirit of this work aligns closely with the outcomes of the recent UIA - International Union of Architects International Forum 2024 in Kuala Lumpur, themed “Diversecity”. The forum emphasised the importance of designing urban spaces that celebrate , nurture , and centre people in .

The signing of the Kuala Lumpur Declaration reaffirms our belief that architecture and urban design are powerful tools for fostering inclusive and sustainable communities. It is this same ethos that our students brought to their work—crafting spaces that respond to the diverse needs of , ensuring that we truly live with each other, not just next to each other.

Congratulations Meissner-Roloff, , , and on your achievements, and thank you for reminding us of the transformative power of to create a better world for everyone.

Are you going to the hashtag World Urban Forum 12 Egypt, hosted by UN-Habitat?

Join Jason Oberholster as he presents the work from the Unit for Urban Citizenship at the Habitat UNI booth. His presentation titled "Supporting Community Development through Urban Citizenship in Design" will be exploring the UUC transdisciplinary engaged research within informal settlements, that aims to foster sustainable community development through academic and community collaboration.