Richard Besha has the pleasure to invite you to the public defence of his doctoral thesis on September 3rd 2025: "Exploring Self-organized Commercial Streets: Towards a Participatory Design Approach through an Anthropological Study of Shekilango Commercial Street in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania".
-> Wednesday September 3rd 2025
-> Defence: 15h30 - 17h30
-> Followed by a reception
-> Oude Gevangenis (Gele Zaal), Martelarenlaan 42, 3500 Hasselt
Register for this PhD defence:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdNY47x_exyZowRBat70jEdY0JRidtXGZ4UfyOHq4Uc8enuxQ/viewform
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Abstract:
In sub-Saharan Africa, urban studies have mostly focused on state-driven interventions to urban environments that do not address daily lived realities thereby missing their aim and affecting livelihoods of residents. Residents have the capacity to shape their environment through self-organization by employing tacit knowledge, which can be an inspiration for authorities and professionals, but remains largely unanalyzed. This study is an attempt to reveal self-organized processes and resident-created qualities in co-producing Shekilango commercial street in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
The study employed a design anthropological approach in which the researcher observed and interviewed respondents through coworking, and shadowing. It has revealed strong actors’ interdependencies and codesign processes for overcoming what is scarce in urban built environments.
The study proposes closer interactions between authorities, professionals and residents in laying out residents’ contributions in urban transitions. In this way, self-organized spaces ought to be viewed as “negotiated lived spaces” which continually evolve.
->
https://www.uhasselt.be/nl/faculteiten/facark/agenda/public-defence-doctoral-thesis-richard-besha
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