Sustainable urban development and management in African cities: in search of Birnin Zana

President’s seminar series – “Distinguished Women Researchers in the Built Environment” - Kathy Michell

Cities across the globe are facing rapid urbanisation and are expected to be at the frontline of addressing issues of global sustainability. More specifically, African cities in the main are characterised by multiple forms of poverty, growing inequality, environmental degradation, slums and informal settlements, social and economic exclusion, and spatial segregation.In this regard, sustainable development and management may be seen to be the defining challenge of the 21st Century. The Habitat III – New Urban Agenda makes significant strides in providing policies and strategies for sustainable urban development and management but fails to articulate their actual implementation. More often than not these policies also fail to articulate how the sustainable developments are to be managed and more importantly, do not require built environment professionals to be cognizant of the management of property and urban precincts in the development phases of projects. In addition, the 4IR is sometimes punted as the panacea to Africa’s problems. More specifically, the integration of technology (smart city concept) is touted as having the potential to turbo-charge the sustainable development and management of cities across thecontinent. Is this a possible reality for African cities or is it a pipe dream?The objective of this talk is to unpack the challenges faced in African cities and to discuss ongoing research in the pursuit of sustainable urban development and management.
BiographyKathy is on the full-time academic staff at the University of Cape Town and was Head of the Department of Construction Economics and Management from 2017 to 2020 and the Deputy Dean for Undergraduate Studies (Teaching & Learning) in the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment from 2021 – 2023.Kathy holds a Doctorate in property and facilities management from the University of Salford (United Kingdom), an MPhil in cost and systems engineering and BSc (Hons) in Quantity Surveying from the University of Cape Town. She is the Director of the Sustainability oriented and Cyber Research Unit for the Built Environment at UCT. She is a registered Professional Quantity Surveyor with the South African Council for the Quantity Surveying Profession and a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the Association of South African Quantity Surveyors, and the South African Facilities Management Association.Kathy is a Past-President of the South African Council for the Quantity Surveying Profession and served a four-year term as a Council Member on the Council for the Built Environment in South Africa. She was the Africa Market Seat on the Governing Council of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (2020 – 2023), is a current member of the Board of the CIB International Council for Building and Construction Research, a member of the International Facilities Management Association Research Advisory Committee and is a founding Director of the Africa Facilities Management Association.