US-South Africa Workshop: Space, Race and Urban Development; Durban, South Africa, August 2002

Association Of American Geographers, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

0138349 Abler/Gaile/Aspaas This award supports 30 participants (15 from the United States and 15 from the Republic of South Africa) in a US-South Africa Workshop on Space, Race and Urban Development, scheduled for August 8-10, 2002 in Durban, South Africa. The co-organizers are Drs. Ronald Abler, Gary Gaile, and Helen Aspaas with the International Research and Scholarly Exchange Committee in the Association of American Geographers; Dr. Christopher Rogerson, in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Witswatersrand; and Dr. Etienne Nel, in the Department of Geography at Rhodes University. There will be a total of approximately 38 participants, who will be drawn from academia and governmental organizations in the United States, the Republic of South Africa, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Workshop discussions will be organized around three themes: 1) Urban Dynamics, 2) Local Economic Development, and 3) Race and Space. The major goal of the workshop is to establish linkages between the geography communities in the United States and the Republic of South Africa for the development of collaborative research and education programs. An additional goal is to identify ways that geographers can help policymakers make better, scientifically-based decisions in order to contribute to the sustainability of democratic and fair economic/urban systems. The United States has also experienced many changes that can be linked to the issues of "Space, Race, and Urban Development," but these changes and major policy shifts have occurred much more rapidly in the Republic of South Africa. This changing urban situation in South Africa provides US geographers an opportunity to contrast and compare the urban situations in the two countries. At the same time South African geographers and policymakers will be able to learn from US experiences in more mainstream local economic and other urban development issues. A virtual conference will be conducted, via e-mail, one week prior to the workshop so the participants can become familiar with the agenda and begin to develop some ideas for cooperative research projects. Workshop results will be disseminated through professional journals, meetings, and a web site. The project supports the participation of five junior investigators from the United States. The Office of International Science and Engineering and the Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences jointly support this award.