Unequal Stories: Researching Gender Equality in Design Disciplines was a collaborative research project funded by the Global Challenges Research Fund between the University of Falmouth (UK) and the University of Johannesburg DSD DESIS Lab. Co-researchers in the project include myself; Ashton Moseley, Lecturer, Dept of ID, UJ; Kimberly Bediako, Lecturer, Dept of Fashion, UJ; Prof David Prior, Director of Research, Falmouth University; Dr Robyn Cook, Senior Lecturer and Course Leader, MA Communication Design, Falmouth University; Bryan Clarke, Head of Graphic Design, Falmouth University; and Dr Laura Hodsdon, Research Fellow, Falmouth University. Overview: Funded by the Global Challenges Research Fund, this research project between the United Kingdom (Falmouth University) and South Africa (University of Johannesburg) was a cross-national comparison that aimed to investigate gender equality, diversity and representation in the design disciplines in higher education and industry. This investigation included quantitative/statistical data analysis as well as a qualitative narrative inquiry of ... Read More

Overview: Participatory planning has long been on the periphery of urban development. Achieving inclusive cities through scaling up participatory planning in Africa aims to develop the knowledge needed to move from participatory community-led neighbourhood planning to city-scale planning processes. In recent decades the world has experienced unprecedented urban growth. According to the United Nations 4 billion people, or 54% of the world’s population, lived in towns and cities in 2015. That number is expected to increase to 5 billion by 2030. Urban growth has outpaced the ability of many governments to build infrastructure and, in many towns and cities in the global South, provision for housing is inadequate. Consequently one in three urban dwellers live in informal settlements. Issues of insecure tenure, poor access to basic services, and insecure livelihoods are all prevalent. Although local governments may have the desire to improve the situation they are, in many cases, under-capitalised and under-capacitated. ... Read More

RAUM - Researching Alternative Urban Methods was a collaborative project investigating spatial design education in relation to global urban development challenges, and was interested in expanding knowledge about teaching in this field. It ran from 1 August 2016 – 31 July 2018 during which time I was a co-researcher on the project. Overview: RAUM was an initiative by Beatrice de Carli, Florian Kossak and Tatjana Schneider at the School of Architecture, University of Sheffield (UK) and was in partnership with the Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) (Ahmedabad, India); School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Nanjing University (China); and the University of Johannesburg, Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture, Design Society Development DESIS Lab (South Africa). The project began in 2016 and ran until August 2018, made possible through European Commission Erasmus+ funding focused on academic staff and PhD student mobility. The focus of the mobility with all partners was on jointly rethinking the capacities, qualities, methodologies and tools that ... Read More