James is a researcher in the African Centre for Cities, and acts as General Secretary of the Association of African Planning Schools (AAPS). He holds an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and Microbiology (Rhodes University), a Masters in Town and Regional Planning (University of KwaZulu-Natal), as well as an MA in Urban History (University of Leicester, UK).
In 2008 James worked as an analyst and writer for the Imagine Durban participatory planning initiative (funded by the PLUS Network), whilst lecturing on a part time basis within the UKZN planning programme. His current interests include the history and status of planning education in Africa; emerging approaches to analyzing and theorizing cities in the global South; the historical relationship between urban form and planning; rights based approaches to urban planning and development, as well as the symbolic politics surrounding street renaming in (South) African cities. He contributed to the 2009 UN-Habitat Global Report on Human Settlements (Chapter 8), and has authored several conference papers relating to urban development and planning education in Africa.
Aside from his responsibilities with AAPS, James works on several ACC projects funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, including a new initiative to encourage and strengthen applied urban research centres in Africa. Over the past year he has also been involved in the ACC-WIEGO Urban Policies Programme, producing literature reviews on the topics of informality and the impact of mega-events on the working poor.
Papers
Duminy, J., Odendaal, N. and Sanders, P. (2008). 'Is Digital Technology Urban? Understanding Inter-Metropolitan Digital Divides in South Africa'. In Vetere, F., Graham, C. and Satchell, C. (Eds.), Proceedings of the Conference of the Computer-Human Interaction Special Interest Group (CHISIG) of Australia on Computer-Human Interfaction, 8-12 December 2008, Cairns, Qld..
Odendaal, N. and Duminy, J. (2008). 'Does Technology Shape Our Cities? Understanding the Relationship between Digita Technologies and Urban Change in eThekwini, 1992-2007'. Paper presented to SAPI 2008 Planning Africa Conference, 14-16 April, Johannesburg (South Africa).
Duminy, J. (2010). 'Towards a Curriculum Framework for Postgraduate Planning Education in Africa'. Background paper presented to AAPS 2010 Conference, 5-8 October, Dar es Salaam (Tanzania).
Odendaal, N., Duminy, J. and Watson, V. (2010). 'Case Research in Planning: Literature Landscapes and Academic Geographies'. Paper presented to SAPI 2010 Planning Africa Conference, 13-15 September, Durban (South Africa).
