Director - African Centre for Cities at the University of Cape Town
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Edgar Pieterse serves as Director of the African Centre for Cities at the University of Cape Town and holds the South African Research Chair in Urban Policy. His expertise in African urbanization combines theoretical depth with practical understanding of how radical and rapid urban change impacts cities, countries, and continents. His research portfolio spans multiple interconnected areas including radical social economies, sustainable infrastructure, adaptive urban governance, urban innovation systems, and Southern urbanisms. As an educator, he leads the development of a groundbreaking Masters degree in Southern Urbanism, designed to nurture a new generation of urban scholars from Africa with a postcolonial perspective. His latest book, "New Urban Worlds: Inhabiting Dissonant Times," co-authored with AbdouMaliq Simone, examines global urbanization through the lens of everyday lives. His work uniquely combines academic rigor with practical urban solutions, while maintaining a focus on the complex realities of city life, particularly in the Global South. As founding director of the African Centre for Cities, he has established himself as a leading voice in urban studies, bridging theoretical frameworks with practical urban development challenges.