Africa is the least urbanized continent, but at the same time its urban growth is the fastest in global comparison. Although urban growth is currently shifting away from megacities to medium-sized cities, the living environment for the majority of the urban population today is characterized by poverty; no matter how big the city is. The process of urbanization in Africa is a virulent unsolved problem: For the majority of citizens in African countries life in slums is standard. While “laissez faire” urbanization in the African context is much discussed, less attention is paid on design strategies for sustainable cities that could accommodate the new urban population. We intend to look at both. The public event at the Institute for Sustainable Urbanism (ISU), TU Braunschweig, will be dedicated to the exploration of the potentials and challenges of the urbanization processes in cities of Africa.

It’s not only in de US that mass migration is on the top of the political agenda; every western country has to find solutions and new ways of decision making to accommodate newcomers while not estranging the existing residents. In 2015, the mayor of Hamburg hired a game - called ‘Finding Places’ - for identifying temporary housing locations for newcomers to the city. Over 700 local residents in 34 game sessions proposed 161 different locations. 44 of these have been approved by the planning department, and 4 locations are currently under construction.
The potential for games like Finding Places to become effective and innovative city making methods will be discussed in this event organised by Play the City. Particularly its potential as a multi-stakeholder process for the 60’s neighbourhood Overvecht in Utrecht, that is subject to a high influx of new residents, will be examined by speakers and project managers of the City of Utrecht.

What are the most important challenges and opportunities on the agenda of New Towns? How can questions of livability, demography, participation, work, accessibility and mobility be transformed into guidelines for the design of new towns?

By creating and extending our platform we connect professionals and representatives from New Towns worldwide and nourish a solid process of mutual learning. With the network and platform that INTI creates, examples of implementation will become accessible for similar cities, universities and design professionals. In this short film by Marit Geluk, 11 representatives of New Towns, explain their ambitions and how they want to work towards the concrete implementation of practical projects.

Three weeks ago INTI was in Quito, Ecuador for the Habitat III conference with Jorn Konijn. We made a full day of radio, talking to architects, planners, artists, local activist and policy-makers to discus the future of living in the city around the world. You can now listen back to all the talks on ’Ja Ja Ja Nee Nee Nee’ radio here.

We interviewed amongst others Pedro Rivera, Laura Sobral, David Barragán Andrade, Charlot Schans, Neville Mars, Tatu Gatere, Naomi Hoogervorst, Michelle Provoost, Simone Rots and many others.

Listen to the local architects of ’AlBorde’, talking about creating a new type of practice of architecture. Check it out here.