Politics and Community-Based Research

Abstract

We wish to dedicate this book to three key figures among our community partners -Maurice Smithers, without whom the Studio would not have been born; George Lebone, who gave the Studio wings through the breadth of his experience and networks in Yeoville; and Edmund Elias, who perhaps most clearly understood the possibilities opened up by the Studio, and continues to work with us to this day. ContentsAcknowledgements xi section a: introducing the book 1 Why tell the story of Yeoville Studio? Claire Bénit-GbaffouNo book is a single person's adventure, but this book even less so than any other. The book is the tip of an iceberg -a reflection on a much broader research initiative, Yeoville Studio, undertaken by the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) between 2010 and 2012, and involving more than 300 students and 20 staff, including some from other departments. The book itself includes only a few of the Studio's participants, young and senior scholars alike. They committed to the Studio and to Yeoville, beyond the class project, and did not give up editing and updating their work in spite of the many years it took to finalise the book: we thank them all. The book is dedicated to the young scholars who are authors in the book: