09/08/2026
Our outgoing Fox Fellow, Siwei Lu, spent several days in Lagos, Nigeria participating in the Southern Urbanism Co-Net Conference 2026, hosted by the University of Lagos. There, she engaged with scholars and practitioners from across and beyond Africa on challenges and opportunities of postcolonial urbanism in Southern cities, including legacies of spatial inequality, rapid rural–urban migration, environmental pressures and so on.
During the workshop, Siwei worked with young researchers and practitioners from Nigeria and Tanzania in a waterfront community that has experienced two rounds of forced demolition over the past five years. Working alongside community residents, the team mapped demolished areas, documented residents’ experiences, and developed temporary land-use proposals. The experience of the community highlighted many shared challenges across African cities, from land rights disputes and the relationship between traditional authorities and the state to contested settlement histories and the environmental realities of port cities.
At the conference, Siwei presented her research on the pilot phase of Senegal's social housing program in Dakar. The discussions with the audience revealed that similar housing initiatives are emerging across the continent, opening conversations about social consequences of welfare program return.
Now back in Accra, Siwei has resumed her Fox Fellowship in the University of Ghana, bringing these regional conversations into her current research.
