The New Urban Agenda (NUA) set out by the United Nations in 2016 for the next 20 years, and the current Sustainable Development Goals serve to influence the direction for much of future research, especially in the disciplines/areas of urban planning, architecture, construction management, urban governance, environmental and disaster management and resilience. There is also an increasing realisation of the need to promote an exchange of knowledge and sharing of best practices and experiences between the Global North and the Global South.

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Focusing on vital development scenarios that characterise the Global South, the seminar aims to promote a series of advanced and alternative theses around producing and managing a sustainable built environment in the Global South. It will search for theories and conceptual scaffolds to help frame current interdisciplinary research taking place within the School of Design and the Built Environment. It seeks to provide a transdisciplinary research platform for the school’s greater visibility in academic and professional spheres.

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The seminar will facilitate the generation of knowledge by identifying innovative transdisciplinary approaches to tackle urgent and emergent issues in the Global South. It will search for solutions that enable good governance through effective policy and regulations, set appropriate codes and design criteria, and, most importantly, encourage emancipated voices and debates among global development stakeholders across the Global North and South.