In this guest post, Dr Liza Cirolia, Dr Miriam Maina, and Mbugua Kuria Mbugua narrate the outcomes of the UTA-Do seminars, which were supported by a Seminar Series Awards grant from the USF.
The UTA-Do African Cities Workshop emerged as a response to a persistent issue in academia: African scholars, particularly those from East Africa, often find themselves sidelined in urban studies. Limited access to resources, research funding, and networks has relegated many of these scholars to the role of “data collectors” for institutions based in the Global North. In an effort to challenge this dynamic, UTA-Do (Urban Theory Africa-Doing) was launched to create a space for African scholars to co-learn and engage critically with urban theory while fostering a more inclusive and diverse body of knowledge about African cities.
Building Inclusive Urban Theory
UTA-Do was conceived in 2021 with the aim of “southerning” both thinking and practice in African urban contexts. The workshop seeks to address longstanding disparities in the production of knowledge on African cities, which has largely been dominated by scholars based in the Global North. Even though the call for Southern perspectives in urban theory has been around for over a decade, these debates have rarely tackled the structural inequalities shaping who gets to participate and lead in academic discourse.
African scholars, especially those working within their local contexts, are often reduced to local informants, contributing data but not shaping the narrative. Meanwhile, scholars in Global North institutions, often with more access to research funding, continue to dominate the field. Even within Africa, South Africa has become a central player in these debates, largely due to its relatively well-funded research infrastructure. However, the majority of African scholars based outside of South Africa still face significant barriers to participating in and contributing to global urban studies discussions.
UTA-Do aims to disrupt this pattern by bringing together a diverse group of participants from across the continent and beyond. Each year, 35 participants—including scholars, activists, artists, and civil servants—are selected from various African cities and Global North institutions. The goal is to create a space where knowledge is co-produced and shared across different disciplines and perspectives, fostering a more horizontal and collaborative learning environment.
Fostering Networks and Co-Learning
The core format of UTA-Do is a week-long summer school held in collaboration with local institutions. In 2023, the workshop was hosted at the British Institute of Eastern Africa in Nairobi, while the 2024 edition took place in Dar es Salaam, in partnership with Ardhi University and other local organizations. In addition to the summer school, a public event was held at the end of the week to engage with a broader audience and showcase the creative and intellectual work produced during the workshop.
The summer school’s program included a series of seminars, discussions, and mentorship opportunities designed to link Africa-based scholars with their counterparts in the Global North. The aim was to build bridges between scholars who may not otherwise have access to the same networks or resources. The inclusion of artists and activists further enriched the program, allowing for a deeper engagement with the cultural and social dimensions of urban life in African cities.
One of the most significant aspects of UTA-Do is its commitment to inclusivity. The organizers took care to ensure that participants came from a wide range of backgrounds, with attention paid to race, gender, sexual orientation, methodological approach, and disciplinary focus. This diversity not only enriched the discussions but also helped to break down the hierarchies that often exist in academic spaces, where speakers and participants are viewed as separate entities. At UTA-Do, everyone is encouraged to contribute to the learning process, creating a more egalitarian and collaborative atmosphere.
In addition to fostering academic debate, UTA-Do places a strong emphasis on the sensory and emotional aspects of urban life. The program included immersive field trips and creative performances that allowed participants to engage with the city in a more embodied and experiential way. For example, participants in the Nairobi workshop visited the Mathare Social Justice Centre, while those in Dar es Salaam had the opportunity to engage with the UWAWAMA women’s cooperative. These experiences offered a powerful way to connect theory with practice, helping participants to better understand the lived realities of urban life in African cities.
Reimagining the Future of African Urban Studies
Through UTA-Do, scholars, artists, and activists come together to reimagine urban studies from the perspective of those living and working in African cities. The program’s focus on collaboration, inclusivity, and co-learning allowed African scholars to engage critically with urban theory and practice while challenging the structural inequalities that have long shaped the field.
In this way, we are convinced UTA-Do contributed to the broader project of decolonizing urban studies, not by simply replicating existing academic structures but by creating new spaces for dialogue, creativity, and intellectual exchange. It represented a small but significant step toward making African urban scholarship more inclusive, diverse, and reflective of the realities of cities across the continent. Through continued collaboration and co-learning, UTA-Do is helping to democratize the resources and knowledge needed to shape the future of urban studies in Africa.