Zines from the Margins: Waste Pickers, Public Space, and Participatory Urban Planning

SCP 2025 Department of Town and Regional Planning at the University of Pretoria, South Africa

This zine-making project forms part of an ongoing effort within the Department of Town and Regional Planning at the University of Pretoria to diversify planning methodologies and broaden how students engage with urban realities.

The project introduced both Honours and Master’s students to zine-making, a historically activist, self-published medium used to amplify marginalised voices as a creative and participatory tool for urban inquiry. Through fieldwork, workshops, and hands-on production, students were encouraged to engage ethically and imaginatively with the lived experiences of waste pickers, their informal practices, and their interactions with public space.

By integrating visual and participatory methods with critical reflection, the project challenged students to interrogate the socio-political dimensions of waste management and informality. The project adopted an approach that blended academic inquiry with creative storytelling, enabling students to translate research insights into accessible, community-engaged media.

The project began with a site visit where students engaged directly with waste pickers in their working environments, gaining first- hand insight into their roles, challenges, and everyday interactions with public space. Under the guidance of an independent graphic artist, Isaac Zavale, students explored the ethics and practice of zine- making and produced creative work that communicates the lived experiences and contributions of waste pickers in Tshwane.
The project culminated in a public showcase of student-produced zines on 24 October 2025, creating a platform for peer learning, reflective practice, and creative knowledge exchange.

If you have any questions on this project, please do not hesitate to contact the lead partner:
Dr Kundani Makakavhule, Senior Lecturer: Department of Town and Regional Planning Research, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
Email: kundani.makakavhule@up.ac.za.

Please click here for the project report

Please click here for the LinkedIn post

Please click here or below for the Instagram post