Decolonising the Built Environment

Decolonising the Built Environment: Process, Product, and Pedagogy provides an important and much-needed comprehensive overview of how decolonisation is shaping the built environment in theory, in practice, and as a process/project today. The contributors provide an inclusive and trans-national conversation between a diverse set of academics, design practitioners and thinkers, and activists. This book is structured around three thematic and practical categories: Part 1 studies decolonisation conceptually; Part 2 studies decolonisation as a process; and Part 3 studies the products of decolonisation as materialised in the form of buildings, urban design, planning, policy, and social practices.

Essential reading for students, teachers, and practitioners, this book presents the project of decolonisation as a pedagogy and an ongoing process.

Kundani Makakavhule is a senior lecturer in the Department of Town and Regional Planning at the University of Pretoria, specialising in the transformation of urban public open spaces at neighbourhood and precinct scales. Her research focuses on democracy, spatial appropriation, diversity, and active citizenship, exploring how these micro-scale dynamics influence broader urban planning processes. Drawing on theories from politics, sociology, and geography, her work addresses the social and political factors shaping planning in the developing world. By emphasising multidisciplinary approaches, she contributes to solving contemporary challenges in African urban spaces.

Karina Landman is a professor in the Department of Town and Regional Planning at the University of Pretoria with a background in urban design and architecture. Her work focuses on spatial transformation, including research on gated communities and safer and sustainable neighbourhoods, regenerative and resilient cities, and public space. Her work on public space revolves around issues of inclusivity, regeneration, and resilience. Her research on sustainable development focuses on urban resilience and regenerative development and design. She has published a book, Evolving Public Space in South Africa (2019).