We are delighted to announce the final composition of the new AAPS Steering Committee, to serve until 2012.
The Committee election process was a long and democratic one, based on several rounds of nominations and votes from willing AAPS member institutions. Thank you to all those who took the trouble to participate in this crucial aspect of the Association’s history and ongoing function.
The new Steering Committee is constituted as follows:
- CHAIR: Prof Vanessa Watson (University of Cape Town, South Africa)
- CO-CHAIR: Prof Babatunde Agbola (University of Ibadan, Nigeria)
- Prof Peter Ngau (University of Nairobi, Kenya)
- Mtafu Manda (Mzuzu University, Malawi)
- Dr Daniel Inkoom (KNUST, Ghana)
- Dr John Lupala (Ardhi University, Tanzania)
We look forward to being taken to even greater heights by this highly competent, experienced and driven group. One of their first tasks will be to produce a Constitution for AAPS.
Please read on to find out more about our new Committee Chair and Co-chair:
Prof Vanessa Watson is Professor in the School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics at the University of Cape Town (South Africa) and Deputy Dean of the faculty. She holds degrees from the universities of Natal, Cape Town and the Architectural Association of London, and a PhD from the University of Witwatersrand.
She is the author/co-author of seven books, forty journal articles and numerous chapters and published conference papers in the field of planning. Her particular areas of focus are planning theory, the institutional context of planning and large-city planning. She has a particular interest in developing perspectives on planning from the global South.
She has undertaken consultancy work for UN Habitat on the 2009 Global Report. She is an editor of the journal Planning Theory (UK) and is on the editorial board of Planning Practice and Research (UK), the Journal of Planning Education and Research (USA) and Progress in Planning (UK).
She further represents the Association of African Planning Schools on the Global Planning Education Association Network (GPEAN), which she co-chairs; and is on the executive committee of the African Centre for Cities at the University of Cape Town.
Prof Babatunde Agbola is currently the Director of Physical Planning at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Prof Agbola joined the Department of Geography at the University of Ibadan as Lecturer in 1983 and was appointed Professor in 1996.
From 1989-1993 he served as the acting director of the Centre for Urban and Regional Planning and from 2000-2006, he served as the head of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning. Prof Agbola has published ten books and numerous refereed articles in local and international journals.
In addition, he is a life member of the Nigeria Economic Society, a life member of the Society for International Development (SID), a member of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners and a member of the Royal and American Institutes of Town Planners.
Prof Agbola is a two-term nominated member of the 14-member world-wide Advisory Board of the HABITAT Global Research Network on Human Settlement (HS-Net) responsible for the publication of Habitat’s flagship publications. Prof Agbola earned his master’s degree in city and regional planning as well as his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania.
