The programme aims at building capacity amongst those in government, the private sector and civic society who are committed to the future of African cities and to the servicing of particularly poorer inhabitants. The programme has a strong inter-disciplinary focus, as the Faculty believes that urban problems can only be addressed sustainably through an integration of approaches that come from specifi disciplinary backgrounds. To this end the programme draws on staff from engineering, architecture, planning, environmental sciences, geography, the social sciences, and management. Modules can also be completed as stand-alone executive courses. Over the next decades most of the world's population growth is set to take place in the cities of the global South. Already this is where the majority of the world's population resides. Managing human settlements in a sustainable and equitable manner is a critical issue for human and environmental scientists and professionals.
 
MODULES:

1-DEVELOPING CITIES: ISSUES & STRATEGIES

The aim of this course is therefore to build student's capacity to understand the challenges and opportunities of cities in Southern countries. As such, this course begins with a review of the dominant demographic, political and economic changes of the post- World War Two period, as a background to the systematic study of the structural form and functioning of African, Asian and Latin American cities. A range of urban development issues will be addressed: the challenges and opportunities of cities in poorer country contexts, and possible responses or interventions to improve urban life and economies. South African cities will be considered in the context of broader international experience, with some specific attention to the possibilities of learning from different kinds of cities around the world.
 
Built on the group work completed during the module, the assignment structures a comprehensive reading and writing exercise around a specific topic of relevance. Students are expected to demonstrate that they are able to access published information, to review academic ideas, and to apply theory to particular places and contexts.ACCESS SOME MODULE 1 COURSE MATERIAL HERE