Urban Place Making in Maputo
Maputo, Mozambique
African cities are rapidly developing, and current planning approaches are often based on theory derived from the global North as opposed to research on the developing cities of the South. Such approaches are often limited in relevance when planning and policy-making decisions have to be made in the much more diverse and dynamic urban environments of the developing South.
The research investigates place making through contextually appropriate urban design approaches within the context of Sub-Saharan Africa. Alternative approaches towards planning for urban design in an African city were compared and reviewed to determine how contextually appropriate theory can be applied to develop a precinct plan for the upgrading and future development of the Bullring site in Maputo. The focus on particular cities of the South, in this case Maputo, produced new layers of creative planning ideas with new shared theories as a contribution to global planning. The conclusion is a desk based urban design project for the selected site.
This research was completed for the Master of Urban Design in 2016 [University of the Witwatersrand].
