On March 30th, I had the pleasure of hosting a group of Swiss and ‘southern’ architecture students discuss and unpack ideas of urban design through a ‘southern’ lens. I was invited to speak by ETH’s Unmasking Space team (https://unmasking.space/) who have put together an amazing syllabus that is engaging with critical questions within architecture and design.

The seminar was designed to create a shared space of reflection and discussion between participants from around the world and engage with ideas of positionality, situatedness and start a discussion around ideas ‘southern’ and its relationship to urban design. I shared some initial findings from doctoral research, and we co-produced a series of mind maps through a rich discussion.

We had a diverse group of students attend who shared their perspectives on the subject matter, which made for an engaging and enlightening discussion. The course material provided included some insightful reads such as ‘Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective’ by Donna Haraway “Notes on a Southern Urban Practice” from Gautam Bhan and “City of Walls.” by Teresia Caldeira.

During the seminar, we covered various topics, including inclusive design approaches, spatial justice, critical positionality, and urban planning in cities. I hope that the seminar attendees gained as much insight and nuance as I did from the discussions, and I was grateful to have had the opportunity to share some of my knowledge and research journey.

The discussions are continuing in our reading/doing group on Southern Urbanist Practice. (https://join.slack.com/t/southernurban-pwo3284/shared_invite/zt-1s67ebtuu-FlZ3~kSl6_ZZSjaoCTpDug)