This webinar series brings together researchers from the Town Observatory (United Kingdom) and the Gauteng City-Region Observatory (South Africa) to explore how urban data, digital tools, and storytelling practices can shape contemporary understandings of urban heritage and placemaking. Across the thematic sessions, speakers will share comparative perspectives, emphasising the intersection of data governance, digital innovation, and community narratives in urban observatories. Through this international exchange of knowledge, the series aims to foster dialogue on how cities can be more effectively observed, preserved, interpreted, and represented from local to global levels, while encouraging collaborative pathways for future research and practice.
Dashboards & AI Tools
11 Feb 2026 (14:00 UK, 16:00 SA)
The session examines how emerging technologies are redefining how urban information is gathered and analysed.
Speakers
Sara Saravi, Loughborough University, UK
Firat Batmaz, Loughborough University, UK
Yashena Naidoo, Gauteng City-Region Observatory, South Africa
Laven Naidoo, Gauteng City-Region Observatory, South Africa
Storytelling & Community
18 Feb 2026 (14:00 UK, 16:00 SA)
This session engages the intertwining of narrative and community lived experience within urban observatories, emphasising dialogic exchange, interdisciplinary approaches and inclusive co-production of place-based knowledge.
Speakers
Mike Wilson, Loughborough University, UK
Cristina Goldschmidt-Kimiani, Loughborough University, UK
Shamsunisaa Miles-Timotheus, Gauteng City-Region Observatory, South Africa
Thembani Mkhize, Gauteng City-Region Observatory, South Africa
The Gauteng City-Region Observatory (GCRO) is a partnership between the University of Johannesburg, the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG), and organised local government in Gauteng (SALGA-Gauteng).