Mini Symposium 2025 Oct 23 - Abel Mavura
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Resilience and Participatory Urban Futures: Systems Approaches to Migration and Informal Housing
Abstract
Abel Mavura, presented 'Resilience and Participatory Urban Futures: Systems Approaches to Migration and Informal Housing in the Mini Symposia series. This presentation examines how displaced populations build resilient communities within informal urban housing, focusing on the adaptive strategies migrants develop in restrictive environments. Drawing on three years of ethnographic research in Paris for a PhD in Development Studies specialising in Migration, the researcher traced the lived experiences of young male migrants, revealing how agency and resilience emerge under precarious conditions. Part of this work received the 2025 Margaret Mead Memorial Award from the International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS) for advancing systems thinking and social justice in migration studies. Building on this foundation, ongoing research at the University of Cambridge investigates how spatial design, community planning, and social networks foster a sense of “home” for displaced populations. The study applies systems science to conceptualise resilience as a dynamic property emerging from the interplay of individual agency, collective solidarity, and systemic exclusion (Holling, 2001; Masten, 2014). It also integrates Lefebvre’s (1996) Right to the City and Harvey’s (2012) Urban Commons to examine how migrants exercise spatial agency, collective governance, and resistance to exclusionary urban policies. Using mixed methods including spatial mapping, co-creation workshops, and scenario planning, the study evaluates informal housing models such as Fender Squat, Canal Saint-Denis, and La Kunda. Informed by Turner’s (1976) community-driven design and contemporary work by UN-Habitat (2020) and Awuor (2019), it positions migrants as co-producers of urban commons rather than passive recipients of aid. Amid rising global migration and urbanisation, the project offers practical insights for policymakers, planners, and architects seeking inclusive, adaptable urban spaces. The presentation shares findings from Paris, introduces emerging Cambridge research on participatory urbanism, and proposes a “systemic inclusivity” framework integrating built-environment design, social networks, and equitable governance. Visual case study materials will enrich dialogue and invite attendees to explore how systems science can shape more just, adaptable urban futures for displaced populations.
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Short Bio
Abel Mavura is a Clutton-Brock Scholar at the University of Cambridge, where he is pursuing an MPhil/PhD in Architecture and Urban Studies. Awarded the Clutton-Brock Scholarship by the Cambridge Commonwealth, European and International Trust, his current programme builds on his first PhD in Development Studies (Migration), extending his focus from the lived experiences of young male migrants in Paris’ informal housing to the spatial, architectural, and systemic dimensions of participatory urban futures.
In 2025, Abel became the first African researcher to receive the Margaret Mead Memorial Award from the International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS) for his pioneering research on migrant resilience, recognised for advancing systems thinking and social justice. Abel’s interdisciplinary work explores migration, urban informality, and the co-design of inclusive, safe, and smart cities. Using resilience theory, systems thinking, and participatory methods, he investigates how marginalised communities navigate and transform precarious urban spaces. A graduate of Sciences Po Paris (Paris School of International Affairs), Abel blends development, architecture, and social policy. He is a Student Member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and an active member of the British Sociological Association (BSA), the Development Studies Association (DSA), Systems and Complexity in Organisation (SCiO), and the International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS). He also serves as Vice President for Communications and Membership at the Institute for 21st Century Agoras.
With more than 13 years as a development practitioner and youth advocate, Abel founded the Marvel Act Youth Organisation (MAYO) in Zimbabwe and has consulted for CIVICUS, IREX, and ActionAid International. Through his research, advocacy, and creative practice, Abel bridges systems thinking, participatory design, and lived experience to co-create equitable and resilient urban futures.