Urban Limitrophe

What does it mean to design from an African perspective? And how do questions of identity, belonging, and culture shape the spaces we create? In this episode, I speak with Eunice Nanzala Schumacher, architect and founder of My African Aesthetic, about how her experiences living between Uganda and Norway inspired a deeper exploration of African aesthetics, design philosophy, and placemaking. Throug...

A gift isn't always free. But when a foreign government offers to build your parliament—for free—it's easy to miss where the real cost lands. In this episode, Dr. Innocent (Ib) Batsani-Ncube discusses China's role in constructing parliament buildings across Africa, and what these projects reveal about architecture, power, procurement, and urban development. Drawing from years of resear...

We often think of innovation as something inherently good — new technologies, sleek apps, disruptive ideas, and economic growth. But who actually benefits from innovation? And what gets erased in the process? In this episode, Alexandra speaks with Dr. Pierce Otlhogile-Gordon, a knowledge architect and social change educator based in Botswana, about the relationship between innovation, development,...

How will water scarcity shape the future of cities, migration, and global stability? From climate change to migration, the African water crisis is deeply connected to global challenges — and global solutions.  In the final episode of this series, we explore why water scarcity is not just a regional issue, but a global one. We unpack the legacy of extractive systems, the role of youth and local lea...

Why do some water systems work— and others fail? Successful water infrastructure isn’t just about engineering. There’s a hidden social side — shaped by governance, culture, and power — that often determines whether systems actually work, or get built at all. In this second episode, beyond the technical side of infrastructure to explore the social, ethical, and ecological dimensions of water access...

What if water infrastructure could do more than deliver clean drinking water — what if it could transform economies, support food security, reduce climate migration, and unite communities across borders? In this 3-part series, Urban Limitrophe explores the story of the TransAfrica Pipeline (TAP) — a visionary project to bring clean, desalinated water across the Sahel through a 7,000-kilometre pipe...

What does it mean to rebuild with dignity after disaster strikes? In this episode of Urban Limitrophe , we speak with architect Omar Degan , founder of DO Architecture and the Fragility Lab . Together, they explore how architecture can be a tool for healing, not just shelter — and how co-designing with communities leads to more just, resilient spaces in the aftermath of crisis. Omar shares his jou...

What do you build when the systems around you fall short? In Season 2 of Urban Limitrophe , we travel across continents, through cities, and into communities — from the innovation hubs of Botswana to the rural coastlines of Nova Scotia, the medinas of Tunisia to the farmlands of Togo, from Athens to Abidjan. This season is about community, imagination, innovation , and the power of everyday people...

The built environment is a reflection of political decisions. The officials you elect shape the environment around you. So, what happens if people don’t participate in the voting process? In this episode, we delve into the critical intersection of civic action and urban development with our insightful guest, Dafe Oputu. We’ll explore the urban landscapes of Accra, Ghana; Cotonou, Benin; and Lagos,...

What makes a city truly smart? Or just? The answer lies with the people. In this episode, we explore the human-centric side of Smart Cities with our guest Titus Kaloki from the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Kenya office. Through their Just Cities Project, Titus is on a mission to make cities both smart and just, leveraging technology to put people at the center of urban planning. Titus and his team hav...

What if the true architects of our cities are not the government officials or urban planners, but the communities who live in them? In this episode, we dive deep into a provocative question: When governments fail to provide essential services like water and electricity, and communities step up to fill the gaps, who define the future of urban development? We journey to Brazil to unravel the story o...

In this episode, we're headed to Tangier, Morocco. My co-host Naziha Nasrin and I speak with Amine Houari of Think Tanger, a non-profit cultural agency shaping Tangier's development through art, research, and collaboration. Together, we discuss crucial topics such as creative insurgency, planning in suburban contexts in Toronto (Scarborough) and Tangier (Bir Chifa), multicultural approache...

Join me, along with my co-hosts Joycelyn and Erin, as we dive into an insightful conversation with Lanrick Bennett Jr., Toronto's Bicycle Mayor, and the Executive Director of Charlie's FreeWheels. We explore his tenure as a bike mayor and the expansive network of BYCS-appointed mayors, stretching from India to Uganda and beyond. In this episode, we discuss crucial topics such as Vision Zer...

This episode marks the first video episode of the podcast! Here's a sneak peek of my conversation with Destinie Adélakun, an emerging multi-disciplinary artist, who masterfully weaves her Nigerian-Indian heritage into her breathtaking solo exhibition, "Journey of Adé." Destinie also shares the excitement of exhibiting at Toronto's renowned Nuit Blanche, her work bridging mental wel...

Join me in this captivating episode of the podcast as I have an insightful conversation with Heba Elhanafy, an urban researcher from the Charter Cities Institute (CCI) Zambia. Together, we explore the fascinating world of charter city development and dive deep into the Planning Guidelines Report titled "Guided Organic Growth: An urban planning framework for charter cities."  In this episod...

In this episode, I chat with Angela Oduor Lungati, the CEO of Ushahidi. Ushahdi is a mobile platform dubbed “Africa’s Gift to Silicon Valley” by the New York Times. Born out of a crisis, the open-source software enables virtually anyone with a cellphone or internet connection to efficiently crowd-source information, map it and share it with those the most in need and guide those who can provide ai...

En novembre 2021, j'ai eu le plaisir de parler avec M. Patrick Mudekereza le Directeur Exécutif du Centre d'Art Waza. Le Centre d'Art Waza, situé à Lubumbashi, en République démocratique du Congo une ville désignée en 2015 par l'UNESCO, comme étant la Ville créative d'artisanat et des arts populaires. Ainsi, pendant notre discussion nous parlons par rapport de la créativité des...

In this episode, my co-host Sami Ferwati and I chat with Salma Elbasty from  CLUSTER  (Cairo Lab for Urban Studies, Training and Environmental Research). CLUSTER undertakes a number of research, architecture, and arts-based urban initiatives with a special focus on analyzing urban informality and highlighting its role in our cities. During our discussion, we explore the impact of two of CLUSTER&#3...

In this episode, my co-host Jane O'Brien Davis and I chat with Marion Anvango at Book Bunk. Book Bunk is "working to restore some of Nairobi's most iconic public libraries into sites of heritage, public art, collective memory, knowledge production, shared experiences, cultural leadership and information exchange." During our discussion, we explore their diverse series of programmin...

In this episode, I chat with Adwoa Afful, the founder of Black Futures Now Toronto (BFN TO). BFN TO is collective that uses a mixture of storytelling, radical mapping, and a whole lot of creative talent, to develop a number of interactive ways of archiving, experiencing, and celebrating overlooked Black histories and geographies. During our talk, we explore their innovative Mapping Black Futures (...

In this episode, I speak with Tatu Gatere, the co-founder and CEO of Buildher. Buildher is a non-profit based in Nairobi Kenya that is on a mission to promote gender equality within the construction industry through the provision of accredited construction, artisanry, and manufacturing skills to women that participate in their training program. Through their holistic approach to skills training an...

In this episode, my co-host Hannah Ahamedi and I chatted with Milly Kakungulu, the Education Department Lead at Justice Defenders Uganda. Through our discussion, we learned more about how the Justice Defenders (formerly known as the African Prisons Project) are defending the defenceless by educating prisoners on how to provide legal services for themselves and others.  In this episode, you'll...

In this episode, I chat again with Roxana Escobar Ñañez. Roxana is pursuing her Ph. D. in Human Geography at the University of Toronto and she was recently one of five special guests on the 12th episode of the podcast. Given her unique research interests, after our last conversation, I decided to invite her to the show again to dive deeper into her work examining 'the places Afro-Peruvian wome...

This special episode of Urban Limitrophe is brought to you in collaboration with the Graduate Geography & Planning Student Society (GGAPSS) in celebration of Black History/Black Futures Month! In this episode, I speak with Roxana Escobar Ñañez (PhD Human Geography), Brianna Lane (MSc Physical Geography), Priscilla Ankomah-Hackman (MSc Planning), Jane O'Brien Davis (MSc Planning), and Bola...

In this episode, I speak with Abigail Moriah, a registered urban planner and founder of the Black Planning Project. Through this initiative, Abigail and her team, collect and share the stories of Black urban planning professionals and students to highlight their important work and encourage more diverse voices to enter the profession. Most importantly, through its various mentorship opportunities...