Using “Live” Public Sector Projects in Design Teaching to Transform Urban Green Infrastructure in South Africa

Christina Breed and Helge Mehrtens
Additional contact information
Christina Breed: Department of Architecture, School of the Built Environment, Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield Campus, Pretoria, Hatfield 0028, South Africa
Helge Mehrtens: eThekwini Municipality, Durban 4001, South Africa

Land, 2021, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-24

Abstract: Urban green infrastructure is not acknowledged in the Global South for the critical social and ecological functions it can provide. Contextual design solutions and innovative approaches are urgently needed to transform the status quo. University-local government collaboration could be a way to encourage new thinking, new roles and design skills to develop solutions to these complex problems. This paper presents a case study analysis of such a collaboration. Qualitative research was conducted to establish the degree to which the exposure to real-life projects stimulates postgraduate design students’ transformative learning. The researchers also inquired into the benefits of the collaboration for the municipality. The participants’ reflections were recorded by means of anonymous questionnaires. The findings show that the live project created a municipal setting for seeking alternative solutions in design processes and outcomes. For the students, the project created rich social dynamics and an interplay of familiarity and uncertainty, which aided transformative learning. The students’ deeper learning indicates greater social empathy, reconsidering the role of the profession, greater design process flexibility, and learning and valuing skills across disciplines. The findings hold promise for a more just and sustainable future built environment through collaborations that transform the design professionals involved, the outcomes they pursue, and the processes they follow.

Keywords: Global South; local municipality; urban green infrastructure; ecosystem services; students; live projects; design; experiential learning; spatial transformation; built environment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/1/45/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/1/45/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2021:i:1:p:45-:d:713324

Access Statistics for this article

Land is currently edited by Ms. Carol Ma

More articles in Land from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().