design & the wassup...

DESIGN & THE WASSUP COOPERATIVEUniversity Collaboration in Johannesburg

New York, October 18 2011Columbia University

Anna RubboFaculty of Architecture, Design & Planning, University of Sydney

Luckie Manyisi + Lerato MonamaWASSUP

Jennifer van den BusscheSticky Situations

A PROJECT INITIATED BY THE UNITED NATIONS MILLENNIUM PROJECT TASK FORCE ON IMPROVING THE LIVES OF SLUM DWELLERS IN 2004

& DEVELOPED BYUNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, UNIVERSITY OF ROME

Almost one billion people live in slums including 56 million in developed countries

www.theglobalstudio.com

MILLENNIUM PROJECT JEFFREY SACHS, DIRECTOR

TASK FORCE 1

Poverty and economic

development

TASK FORCE 2

Hunger

TASK FORCE 3

Education and Gender Equality

TASK FORCE 4

Child Health and Maternal Health

TASK FORCE 6

Environmental Sustainability

TASK FORCE 7

Water and Sanitation

TASK FORCE 8

Improving the Lives of Slum

Dwellers

TASK FORCE 9

Open, Rule-based Trading Systems

TASK FORCE 10

Science, Technology, and

Innovation

TASK FORCES• 10 task forces established in 2002 to develop policies and strategies to achieve the 8 Millennium Development Goals

• Task Force on Improving the Lives of Slum Dwellers - report and recommendations.See A Home in the City (2005) - www.unmillenniumproject.org

TASK FORCE 5

HIV/AIDS Malaria, TB, Access to

Essential Medicines

UN EXPERTS GROUP

MILLENIUM PROJECT BACKGROUND : 2002 - 2004

TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS INFLUENCING GLOBAL STUDIO

° People must be agents of their own development

• Professionals need to come ‘down from the veranda’ (as Malinowski said) and into the ‘slum’, and listen to what people have to say.

THEORY INFORMING GLOBAL STUDIO

• Participatory planning and design & action research

• ‘Agency’- has to be understood in situations characterised by inequality > academic acupuncture concept

• ‘Capacity building’ and capability theory > social entrepreneurship> job creation and training> education and new partnerships

• Interdisciplinary cross sectoral approaches

GLOBAL STUDIO rationale

GLOBAL STUDIO aims

• Bring together city building professionals from around the world

•Work with, and learn from communities and individuals experiencing disadvantage.

• Develop appropriate participatory design and planning skills

• Encourage participants to take home lessons learned

• Create global networks of professionals, educators and students

• Encourage universities and professional organizations to address the MDGs through educational programs and practice

• Stimulate on-going interdisciplinary research and action

• Contribute to the effective implementation of the MDGs by placing communities at the centre of development decisions and plans.

• What do people like/ dislike about where they live?

• What would improve their lives?

• What physical changes would help improve their lives?

• What is the political, planning and historical context?

• Does the community have a vision for the future?

GLOBAL STUDIO initial questions

GLOBAL STUDIO 2005 Istanbul

Partners :UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEYCOLUMBIA UNIVERSITYUNIVERSITY OF ROMEISTANBUL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITYMIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITYMIMAR SINAN FINE ARTS UNIVERSITY

Host universityISTANBUL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

Working with :UNION OF INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTSMAYOR of ZEYREK

Participants from 21 countries :

Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Finland, Ghana, Guatemala,

Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan,

Papua New Guinea, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom,

U.S.A.

Project site : The historic district of Zeyrek in Istanbul, Turkey

GLOBAL STUDIO 2006 Vancouver

Partners :UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEYCOLUMBIA UNIVERSITYUNIVERSITY OF ROMEUNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

Host UniversityUNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

Working with:UN WORLD URBAN FORUM 3

Participants from 23 countries:

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Denmark,

Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Mexico,

New Zealand,Papua New Guinea, Poland, South Africa, Thailand, Uganda,

United Kingdom, U.S.A,

Project site : Downtown Eastside, Vancouver : 5 communities

GLOBAL STUDIO 2007 - 2009 Johannesburg

Partners: UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF ROME UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBIDIEPSLOOT COMMUNITY

Hosts: UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND CITY OF JOHANNESBURG

Participants: 2007 : 52 Universities, 30 Countries2008 : 6 Universities, 4 Countries2009 : 17 Universities, 11 Countries

DIEPSLOOT

DIEPSLOOT

• Estimated population of 200,000

• Half of these live in informal dwellings

•Estimated un- and under-employment of 75%

• Crippling health problems due to aids

• Tensions in Diepsloot occasionally erupt in uprisings and riots giving rise to the town’s negative reputation.

•It is also a place of rich and dynamic communities.

INFORMATION HOUSING ENVIRONMENTARTS & CULTURE

GLOBAL STUDIO projects

GLOBAL STUDIO project Information + chalkboard

GLOBAL STUDIO project insulation

‘Arts In Action’ Festival

GLOBAL STUDIO diepsloot arts & culture network

Hip Hop sessions and ‘Diep Salute’ promo video

GLOBAL STUDIO diepsloot arts & culture network

Centre for Artists and Radio Station

GLOBAL STUDIO design projects

GLOBAL STUDIO design projects

PROJECT Design proposals

GLOBAL STUDIO design projects

CURRENT STATE of MANY OF DIEPSLOOT’S STREETS

PROJECT Environment

IMPLEMENTATION. MAINTENANCE AND UPGRADING PROGRAM

PROJECT Environment

PROJECT Environment

GIS MAPPING

2007 IMPLEMENTATION. INDIVIDUAL BUCKET DRAINSInnovative double sieve solution developed with local residents

PROJECT Environment

PROJECT branding

PROJECT ongoing engagements

2008 at the UN World Urban Forum, Nanjing, China

PROJECTS ongoing engagements

Formed STICKY SITUATIONS to facilitate projects that came out of Global Studio, and other projects followed

STICKYSITUATIONS.ORG

WASSUP implementation STICKYSITUATIONS.ORG

City of Johannesburg, through their implementing agent Johannesburg Development Agency, approved ZAR70,000 (USD9000) for a pilot program

Ward Councillor + Community Development Workers (UNWUF) assisted formulation of a Steering Committee representing the communiy.

July 2009 - March 2010 discussions and planning

STICKYSITUATIONS.ORG

RECEPTION AREA

• Estimated population of 45,000

• Known for it’s volatile nature, therefore the City of Johannesburg was keen to see a co-operative of residents working in the area

• Sewer lines are too small to cope with current volumes, leading to constant blockage and breakage

WASSUP implementation

WASSUP implementation

WASSUP structure

WASSUP support team

• We meet every Thursday at 4pm for ongoing monitoring and decisions

• Yearly Workshop, January 2011 to determine our future Goals

WASSUP how we work

WASSUP our goals

• Better management and reporting systems

• To receive training in new technologies and methods

This is measurement of water loss with a kitchen measuring jug and a nokia cell phone over 1 minute.

We have discovered that 8 leaking taps are wasting 7920litres of water in 1 day.

Expand our work to:

• 1st - additional 150 toilets/taps/drains within 1 year

• 2nd - whole of reception area within 2 years

• 3rd - whole of Diepsloot within 3 years

• 4th - expand to other townships

WASSUP our goals

Financial sustainability, for example we are investigating:

• Selling of solar lights

• Recycling buy-back centres

WASSUP our goals

Site Management - Timesheets and Roster

WASSUP on site

Works with community to fix Toilets

WASSUP scope of work

Works with community to fix Drains

WASSUP scope of work

Works with community to fix Taps (faucets)

WASSUP implementation

Getting people to look after their toilets

We work with Diepsloot Arts & Culture Network for awareness and painting programs

WASSUP challenges

• Stolen taps (faucets)

• We are painting taps to see if we can track where they are going

• People are burning plastic cistern lids for fire because they burn for a long time and they don’t have money for wood or charcoal

• Storage space, we are currently storing tools and materials in our shacks

• We are trying to source an office and storage place

WASSUP challenges

COLLABORATIONS STICKYSITUATIONS.ORG

DESIGN WITH THE OTHER 90% (Smithsonian / Cooper-Hewit) United Nations until January 9 2012

Collaboration with

Minna Ninova (GS Alumni), Global Studio, Sticky Situations,

Hosting Academics and Government programs such as:

• Local and National Government

• Training programs (Harvard Training Institute)

• JWTC: Johannesburg Workshop in Theory and Criticism (Judith Butler, Wendy Brown, Achille Mbembe),

COLLABORATIONS STICKYSITUATIONS.ORG

Publication: Professor of Journalism at University of the Witwatersrand and well known South African Journalist, Anton Harber

Has lead to further collaborations on www.diepsloot.com + DIEP FM Community Radio Station

COLLABORATIONS STICKYSITUATIONS.ORG

‘I Love You….. I Love You Not’ Public Art project collaboration with DACN [Diepsloot Arts & Culture Network’

The Trinigy Session, City of Johannesburg, Genevieve Blanchett (GS Alumni)

COLLABORATIONS STICKYSITUATIONS.ORG

D.A.C.N.

COLLABORATIONS STICKYSITUATIONS.ORG

www.wassupdiepsloot.com Charlotte Fliegner (GS Alumni)

I Love Diepsloot

COLLABORATIONS

www.diepslootarts.org Barnaby Bennet (GS Alumni)

STICKYSITUATIONS.ORG

D.A.C.N.

COLLABORATIONS STICKYSITUATIONS.ORG

D.A.C.N.

I LOVE DIEPSLOOT

T-Shirts raise funds for the Diepsloot Arts & Culture Network

ZAR100.00 (USD20.00) not including postage - orders taken today.

CONCLUSIONS

• Short term goal:

• GIS, Communities empowered to use tools and support WASSUP in its activities

• Longer term goals for Global Studio:

• Partner with communities and share the tools of education; ‘people as partners’

• Next Global Studio- Bhopal, India January 2012

THANK YOU

COLLABORATIONS STICKYSITUATIONS.ORG

D.A.C.N.

GLOBAL STUDIO BHOPAL

January 7-24, 2012

Things to keep in mind

Studio and research projects Mentors’ roleFacilitate and enable the work of the groupNot a traditional teaching role Seek participants’ inputs and agreementHelp manage group and community expectations

Participants’ roleExercise care with regard to community expectationsWork collaboratively and respectfullyWork with mentors towards productive outcomesProvide material for presentations and final report

EveryonePARTICIPATE: COLLABORATE: RESPECT: LISTEN: ENJOY

Stages

Interim presentation: January 17Learn across studio and research groups; feedback from invited guests

Final presentation: January 23Mentors and participants to invite community and other stakeholders to provide feedback

Report materials : by January 25Groups to provide materials for Global Studio 2012 report for www.theglobalstudio.com

HAVE A WONDERFUL TWO WEEKS!