Call for Abstracts: Urban governance through the lens of housing

This is a call for scholars working in and on the African continent to submit abstracts for an edited collection on urban governance as understood through the lens of housing. The editors of this collection seek analytical accounts that engage with the urban governance dynamics and impacts of housing programmes and housing projects across all forms of human settlements. These accounts could include insights into the relationships between parties and actors undertaking projects or whose housing activities impact on the city; including issues of power distribution, the visions or agendas motivating these actions, and the instruments used to advance them.

More generally, the editors are interested in what insights these housing analyses offer into the areas of political-economy and urban governance. Examples that would be of interest include the rise of mega housing projects; private sector driven residential developments; unobtrusive transformations of existing building stock (including inner city residential buildings), establishment and upgrading of informal settlements; and state driven low cost housing schemes (including site and service schemes).

Interested scholars should please submit a 400-500 word abstract of original work describing their case and the dimensions of urban governance that it reveals, as well as an indication of the literature it engages with, to the three editors: Margot.margot.rubin@wits.ac.za, Sarah.Charlton@wits.ac.za and Neil.Klug@wits.ac.za by the 18th September 2020. A first full draft would be required by 31st March 2021 and an online workshop will be held in late April 2021,to develop the conceptual and theoretical relationships between the chapters. After further revision each chapter and the collection as a whole will be peer reviewed.

Abstract based directly on source.