Project Title: Marginal Praxis

Project Location: Pretoria 

Project Focus Area: Public Interest Design 

Supervisor(s):  Dr Carin Combrinck 

Project Description: 

The title "Marginal Praxis" in the context of facilitating refugee integration in
The City of Tshwane implies a focus on an unconventional, innovative approach
and actions to address the challenges and opportunities related to refugee
integration within Southern Africa. It suggests a departure from traditional or
mainstream practices to a nuanced approach in supporting marginalised
groups, such as refugees, in the urban environment.

The term "marginal" is aimed at those on the fringes of society or facing social,
economic, or cultural marginalisation, like refugees often do. "Praxis" implies an
active, practical approach that combines theory and action to create positive
change. Therefore, "Marginal Praxis" signifies an approach that seeks to
empower refugees through practical, hands-on initiatives and policies that
address their unique needs and challenges.

The title “Marginal Praxis: Integrating refugees into the urban fabric of the city
of Tshwane” focuses on providing a culture of welcome as a first point of
contact for migrants regardless of their status, in the context of the city of
tshwane.
Public interest design becomes the foundational research to this project which
informs the architectural approach within the context of South Africa. The
project aims to see migrants and cultivate an architecture of welcome through
investigating the potential of a distributed welcome centre network.

The South African government has altered its policies and stance, emphasising
exclusion over acceptance of refugees with a trend towards restricting refugees
to the nation's borders, and poor facilitation of documentation processes
(Khan, Mbatani & Marais 2021). Without the correct short-term
implementation and collective efforts from government and communities, long
term integration poses a difficult path (Nyamwanza & Dzingirai 2017).

Through distributing the load currently placed on one facility in the city, local
authorities and community organisations can play a more active role in
supporting decentralised networks, fostering a sense of shared responsibility
for the welfare of refugees, whilst reducing the stigmatisation often associated
with centralised refugee facilities. This can positively impact public perceptions
and attitudes towards refugees (Jacobsen et al., 2017).