Chair in Urban Law and Sustainability Governance (ULSG Chair)
Africa is fast urbanising with cities and towns expanding in most countries at an unprecedented rate. The escalating number of urban dwellers puts pressure on the natural resources and ecosystems services that help sustain human security in cities. Urban population growth further results in unique governance challenges. These include: spatial and land-use planning; infrastructure development and maintenance; provision of adequate housing; sufficient access to water and food; adequate waste and energy-related services; as well as challenges concerning public safety, mobility, disaster risk management, informality, civil disobedience, inclusion, inequality and the associated vulnerabilities of older persons, children, women, migrants and other vulnerable groups. The pressure on the natural resource base within and around urban areas is further exacerbated by the severe impacts and future risks of climate change and the global ecological crisis. This is in turn compounded by: a) the need to urgently address urban poverty in virtually every African city; and b) deteriorating governance and dwindling democratic governance processes.
Canvassed against the above, the ULSG Chair aims to make use of doctrinal legal and novel research methodologies to:
- Define and describe the nexus between the emerging field of 'urban law' and sustainability governance (as embedded in international, regional and domestic environmental law regimes);
- Contribute to the development of multilevel climate change law and governance as relevant for sub-national authorities, cities (as geographies) and the transformation of urban life;
- Critically question the robustness and suitability of international law and domestic constitutional law frameworks to address the legally relevant challenges posed by the so-called 'urban age';
- Challenge the usefulness of legal concepts and doctrines such as the Rule of Law, the separation of powers (trias politica) and universal human rights for the future development of urban law and sustainability governance; and
- To identify and develop a set of legal principles for transformative urban development decisions susceptible to the African city context.
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Prof Anel Du Plessis
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