Special edition ArchiAfrika newsletter: African Perspectives 2011 in Casablanca, with Call for Paper

This special edition of the ArchiAfrika newsletter brings to you the Call for Papers & Call for Pictures of the African Perspectives 2011 conference, taking place in Casablanca from 3-6 November this year.

The focus of the 5th African Perspectives conference is the ‘African Metropolis’.

In recent decades, many cities on the African continent have experienced unprecedented urban growth. They are described as booming cities or mega-cities. Most of them make concerted efforts to pluralize their relationships with the larger world and with each other and to play an effective role within the network of leading metropolises. As such, they no longer function primarily only as political coordinators of national space or as the fulcrum of national economic productivity but exceed this role. This ‘metropolisation’ trend of the African city encompasses a two-fold process. It refers to changing positions and leveling up to enter a global urban system competition. This essentially relates to local processes of urbanization and urban experience, including the definition of new territorial boundaries and the emergence of new urban identities and centralities.

In this Special Edition further:

A book presentation of ‘Colonial Modern: Aesthetics of the Past, Rebellions for the Future’ by Tom Avermaete, Serhat Karakayali, Marion von Osten (eds.)

Articles written by TU Delft architecture students as part of the Public Realm Studio:

- The Mosque, the Void & the Square: Understanding Public Space in Casablanca by Jiaxuan Huang, Joep Kuys & Sara Navrady - Gender & Public Space in Casablanca by Lisa Floor, Per Kaatman & Niels Krämer

Read the English or French version!

The ArchiAfrika newsletter is developed by African Architecture Matters in collaboration with the ArchiAfrika network.