Kibera Public Space Project.
Informal Cities Workshop Kickoff Lecture: Chelina Odbert
Chelina Odbert—co-founder and executive director of Kounkuey Design Initiative (KDI), an internationally recognized and award-winning design, planning, and community development firm—will deliver a public lecture titled Informal Cities at Hand: Designing Justice Near and Far in conjunction with the annual Informal Cities Workshop. The lecture will be delivered in person in Steinberg Auditorium, and also aired via Zoom (register online).
Odbert believes in the potential of low-cost, high-impact design interventions to improve the physical, economic, and social quality of life in low-income communities. Her expertise covers a range of topics, including participatory planning, social entrepreneurship, urban development, equity, environmental remediation, and social impact design. She holds a Master of Urban Planning from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts from Claremont McKenna College.
About the Informal Cities Workshop
The annual Informal Cities Workshop provides students with an intensive, hands-on opportunity to grapple with frictions and interconnections that exist between the informal and the formal aspects of the city. It consists of a keynote lecture, which is free and open to the public, followed by a one-credit, weekend-long design charrette. Previous workshops have explored conditions in Varanasi, India; Lima, Peru; Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa; and Caracas, Venezuela.
View the Recording
Recording of Chelina Odbert’s lecture on November 12, 2021.
University Health & Safety Protocols
Your health and safety are important to us. All visitors to campus must complete WashU’s visitor screening tool no more than two hours before coming to campus. Kindly be prepared to show your screening results when you arrive at the event.
Visitor screening
Faculty, staff, and students screening
Masks are required indoors and encouraged outdoors.