Urban Thinkers Campus South Africa Regional Roundtable: Place Management for Social Transformation

In efforts to expand the boundaries of traditional place management practice, our workshop will introduce
three case studies from communities across South Africa, each grappling with inadequate delivery of urban
services, as well as present-day struggles connected to the former apartheid spatial planning system. These
case studies demonstrate the necessary nature of addressing past and present social ills and house insights to
frame place management as a tool to advance social transformation.

We will then discuss how socially responsive placemaking practice materializes in these contexts and how
place management takes shape in communities characterized by informal and inconsistent access to resources, yet housing changemakers active in advancing efforts to move closer to socio-spatial transformation.

This event is co-hosted by Spaces for Souls.

Ayanda Roji is a social scientist whose primary interest lies in how shared spaces can be designed, adapted and managed in ways that are meaningful to the people who use them. She is a strong advocate of innovative participatory planning practices that stimulate belonging and public ownership. Currently, much of her attention as the Head of Environmental Education and Research at the City of Johannesburg’s Parks and Zoo Department is on the implementation of the work of the Centre on African Public Spaces (CAPS). CAPS is a Pan African peer to peer learning and knowledge exchange hub focusing on public spaces. She is the convenor of CAPS, tasked with facilitating its programmes and strategic partnerships. Ayanda is a fellow of the Salzburg Global Seminar Emerging Urban Leaders Programme, an initiative that brings together future urban leaders who are looking to develop their ideas about urban parks as a critical component of quality cities of the future. She serves on the boards of the World Urban Parks Climate Change Committee, the International Making Cities Liveable Council and the Community Advice Offices South Africa. Ayanda holds a Master’s degree in Local and Regional Development from the Institute of Social Studies in The Netherlands.

Debbie Hendricks is a registered Professional in Town and Regional Planning with the South African Council for Planners. Hendricks holds a degree in Town and Regional Planning and boasts over 20 years of experience in both the private sector and local government. Her background includes roles as a consultant and an Urban Planner in the Human Settlements Directorate and the Special Programmes Directorates of the local municipality. Over the past decade, Hendricks has been involved in Urban Regeneration and Township Renewal, focusing primarily on project management for both infrastructure and non-infrastructure/community development projects within the municipality. Since 2019, Hendricks has served as the Operations Manager at the Mandela Bay Development Agency.

Palesa Moreku is a passionate Programme Manager dedicated to community development and youth empowerment. Her love for technology drives her mission to bridge the digital divide and connect underserved youth with the ever-evolving world of technology. Palesa is on a relentless quest to unlock the potential of young minds, equipping them with the skills needed to thrive in a tech-driven era. Her work is not just about managing projects but about igniting curiosity and innovation in the youth of Diepsloot. She is a tech enthusiast and a mentor, committed to sharing the wonders of technology and helping youth realise their full potential.

Nokwanda Zakiyyah Shabangu is a multimedia strategist, content editor, coder and project manager. Her skill set encompasses a range of creative arts such as copywriting, desktop-publishing, photography, videography, singing and performance poetry while her technical abilities include client and project management, digital ads management, reporting and software development. Nokwanda’s problem-solving competency and need for analysis using design-thinking enables her to tell more impactful narratives. Impact (specifically, positive impact for marginalised groups) is at the epicentre of Nokwanda’s works and collaborations. She has worked for the civil society sector since 2016 and fuses Indigenous Knowledge Systems with Western business practises. As a young, Black, Queer, Woman who is a mother to two children, it’s safe to say that Nokwanda represents what the future looks like. She is the ear to the ground.