Public Defence Doctoral Thesis: Manyama Majogoro
Manyama Majogoro has the pleasure to invite you to the public defence of his doctoral thesis on June 2nd 2026: Extended Planners in Action: Grassroots Urban Planning and Conflict Resolution in Sinza D, Dar es Salaam.
Doctoral Defence
This thesis examines how grassroots planning institutions navigate land-use transformation, green space conflict, and fragmented urban governance in Sinza D, Dar es Salaam. Using a qualitative embedded case study design, the research followed an iterative and longitudinal fieldwork process conducted between 2023 and 2026, combining household interviews, participatory mapping, observations, workshops, meetings, and reflective sessions across household, neighbourhood, and municipal scales.
Methodologically, the study is grounded in Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), expansive learning, and an adapted Extended ChangeLab approach developed to examine learning, negotiation, and collective action within everyday grassroots governance practices. Rather than relying on predefined interventions, the study traced how contradictions, roles, and collaborative practices evolved over sustained engagement.
The findings show that grassroots leaders, conceptualised as extended planners, played a critical role in coordinating collective action, mediating land-use conflicts, and sustaining community-led planning processes. The study further demonstrates how documentation, participatory mapping, and reflective dialogue became important mediating tools for learning, legitimacy, and institutional coordination. The thesis contributes conceptually through the notion of the Extended ChangeLab and empirically through insights into adaptive and community-led urban governance in rapidly transforming African cities.
Date and locations:
- Tuesday June 2nd 2026
- oude Gevangenis, Martelarenlaan 42, 3500 Hasselt
- Defence: 17h00 - 19h00
Registration:
- Click here to register - please register before May 28th 2026