Cities Alliance is deeply saddened by the passing of Vanessa Watson and extends condolences to her family, friends and to the African Centre for Cities.
As an academic city planner, she has contributed enormously to our collective understanding of the challenges facing African cities and the need to get African cities right. She warned against inappropriate planning practices and theories and quicksilver bullet solutions that are likely to greatly exacerbate the marginalisation and exclusion of the African urban poor.
She has played a pivotal role in redefining planning education and how the next generation of African professional planners is being educated and produced. In this context, she was instrumental in setting up the Association of African Planning Schools.