People

Dr. Kundani Makakavhule

All People

  • Role in Center:

    Core partner

  • Discipline:

    Town and Regional Planning

  • University:

    University of Pretoria

  • Country:

    South Africa

Dr Kundani Makakavhule is a Senior lecturer in the Department of Town and Regional Planning at the University of Pretoria, specialising in the transformation of urban public open spaces at neighbourhood and precinct scales. Her research focuses on democracy, spatial appropriation, diversity, and active citizenship, exploring how these micro-scale dynamics influence broader urban planning processes. Drawing on theories from politics, sociology, and geography, her work addresses the social and political factors shaping planning in the developing world. By emphasising multidisciplinary approaches, she contributes to solving contemporary challenges in African urban spaces.

Selected Publications:

  • Makakavhule, K. /Landman, K. (eds.) (forthcoming): Decolonising the Built Environment. Process, Product and Pedagogy. New York: Routledge
    Makakavhule, K. & Ngcobo, K. (2024): In the Name of Peace, Sanitise! Paper presented at the 36th AESOP Annual Congress, Sciences Po, Paris, 8–12 July.
    Makakavhule, K. (2022): What can a Game of Football in a Public Open Space tell us about Our Socio-Economic and Political Condition? A Case of the City of Tshwane, South Africa. In: Built Environment, 48 (2), 155-168
    Makakavhule, K & Hill, D. (2022): The role of planners in public open space production in contemporary African cities: a reinjection of the social agenda in planning practice. In: Journal of Urban Design, 27 (4), 421-440
    Landman, K & Makakavhule, K. (2021): Decolonizing Public Space in South Africa: from conceptualization to actualization. In: Journal of Urban Design, 26 (5), 541-555
    Makakavhule, K & Landman, K. (2020): Towards deliberative democracy through the democratic governance and design of public s

Areas of Expertise:

Public Space
Spatial Transformation
Urban governance
Capacity Building in Local Government

Current Position(s):

2025: Core Partner, Global Center of Spatial Methods for Urban Sustainability (GCSMUS), University of Pretoria, South Africa
2024/2025: Departmental Research Chairperson, Department of Town and Regional Planning, University of Pretoria, South Africa

Past Position(s)

2021-2024: Chairperson of the Faculty Transformation Committee, Faculty of Engineering, Built Environmental and Information Technology, University of Pretoria, South Africa.