People

Bester Aubrey Kasowanjete

All People

  • Role in Center:

    Junior Researcher

  • Discipline:

    Urban and Regional Planning

  • University:

    University of Malawi - The Polytechnic

  • Country:

    Malawi

Biography: Bester Aubrey Kasowanjete was born in Lilongwe city, Malawi. He is a lecturer in urban planning who obtained his Master of Science in Urban and Regional Planning at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland. The associated master’s thesis focussed on `understanding the environmental impacts of peri-urban development in cities of Malawi`. In January 2014 he secured a lecturing position at the University of Malawi-The Polytechnic in the Department of Land Surveying and Physical Planning. Since then, his work has focused on teaching and supervising undergraduate and postgraduate students’ research projects. He does other associated tasks, including conducting relevant community outreach programs and carrying out consultancy work for government agencies. Before January 2014, Bester worked as an urban planner in the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development for nine years.
His current career goal is to obtain a PhD in urban studies and continue working as an academic and researcher.

Research Topic: Urban industrial land and social equality: The case of Blantyre city in Malawi

Selected Publications:

  • Chikhwenda, E./Kambewa, P./Chaweza, R./Kasowanjete, B. (2019): Land governance in Malawi: A scoping study. Windhoek: NELGA

Areas of Expertise:

  • Urban land question and land governance in sub-Saharan Africa
  • Urbanization in sub-Saharan Africa
  • Peri-urban development
  • Land use planning

Current Position(s):

Lecturer in Physical planning at the University of Malawi – The Polytechnic

Prizes & Awards:

  • DAAD scholarship, Technical University of Berlin (TU Berlin), 2020
  • VLIR-UOS scholarship, Hasselt University, 2015
  • Commonwealth scholarship, Heriot Watt University, 2009
  • Royal Town Planning Institute scholarship, University of St Andrews, 2006

Memberships & Networks:

  • Malawi National Habitat Committee
  • Malawi Institute of Physical Planners