Understanding the many forces that shape cities of the south. These include development processes (legal, economic (formal and informal), governance issues, environmental issues, transport, land use, infrastructure, services etc.), power and politics (macroeconomics, structural adjustment, questions of sovereignty, gender, poverty, inequality etc.) as well as the discourses of modernity, globalisation and post-colonialism. 

This course supports candidates in actively building conceptual insights relevant to the diversity of urban contexts across the globe. It involves candidates in theoretical critique and concept development, focusing on (a) extended urbanisation, (b) city regions, and (c) the diverse, fragmented, and dispersed form of urban settlements on city edges. The implications of this for urban governance are also covered. The course develops skills in linking empirical evidence and research to evolving concepts. It focuses on a particular context, examining the complex ways in which actors and organisations involved in urban development operate. Core skills in the ethics of urban development policy through pedagogy and practice are covered, which support the engaged and collaborative production of urban knowledge, policy, and interventions.

A candidate, who selects SOSS7070A, will be required to complete in addition, one elective course at the level of master, relevant to the field of urban studies and offered by the School of Architecture and Planning, yielding a minimum of 20 credits.

A candidate who selects ARPL7040A will be required to complete in addition, two elective courses at the level of master, relevant to the field of urban studies at the level of master at this or another tertiary education institution approved by the Senate, yielding a minimum of 20 credits per course.

Each student is individually guided in their search of a relevant housing research topic, and supervised throughout the proposal writing, research and report-writing process. The 25-30 000 word research report is externally examined.