Cities in Their Own Right – Southern Urbanisms along the Indian Ocean Coast (2018-2020)

This research project takes place in the context of an International Seminar Series supported by the Urban Studies Foundation. “Cities in Their Own Right” intends to provide scholars with a forum to debate the distinctive types of human settlements along the Indian Ocean coast (i.e. from East Africa, to the Southern Arab Penninsula, all the way to India).

Cities along the Indian Ocean coast, such as Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar or Muscat face challenges on all scales from demographic pressure, energy and water scarcity, contestation over land, to geo-political paradigm shifts, but also demonstrate thriving social interventions. It is in these contexts that new urban and planning values can be unpacked and questioned.

Our main objective is to explore and contextualize different urban and planning theories, experiments and practices that may have the potential to transform and accommodate more inclusive and environmentally sustainable pathways for local urban developments in The Indian Ocean region. We are particularly interested in making a distinct contribution to the debates on comparative urbanism(s) and Southern planning perspectives.

Lead Researcher:

Dr. Nathalie Jean-Baptiste, Ardhi University / Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Partners:

Prof. Nikolaus Knebel, German University of Technology in Oman / Muscat, Oman

Prof. Dr. Nina Gribat, University of Technology Darmstadt / Darmstadt, Germany

Funded by:

Urban Studies Foundation