Participatory research in Makers Valley to surface, map and amplify the grassroots initiatives building a more resilient Johannesburg

The Goethe-Institut’s Sustainable Together residency brought together practitioners to explore circular neighbourhoods and sustainable urban development. Through the 2024 residency, we engaged over 50 community members through workshops, focus groups and walking dialogues – prioritising community knowledge and lived experience as the primary source of insight. We used collective inquiry and community-based asset mapping to surface what was already known, active and working within the neighbourhood. The research findings were brought together into a field record of community-led initiatives, shared with external stakeholders to catalyse support for grassroots projects. The full report can be viewed here, or via Network Weaver.

We have continued to build on the methodology used in this residency, supporting Masters of Architecture students from the University of Liechtenstein to better listen to the Makers Valley residents during the research process of their design studio week in 2024.