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Department of Spatial Planning

ICOLMA - Projectupdate

© IRPUD​/​TU Dortmund
Adjacent informal settlement in Philippi, one of the largest townships in Cape Town

The research project ICOLMA (Impact of COVID-19 on livelihoods, mobility and accessibility of marginalised groups) examines and compares the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mobility, accessibility, and livelihoods of marginalised groups in the Ruhr region (Germany), Cape Town (South Africa) and São Paulo (Brazil). The team of researchers from IRPUD (Tanja Schnittfinke und Dr. Wolfgang Scholz) and IPS (Prof. Dr. Sophie Schramm und Dorcas Nthoki Nyamai) at TU Dortmund University travelled to Cape Town for two weeks of fieldwork and a consortium workshop with colleagues from the University of Cape Town (UCT), the University of Western Cape (UWC), and Universidade Federal do ABC. They were accompanied by this year's advanced students project, supervised by the researchers, in which Bachelor's students work on a related question for two semesters.

Interviews with experts and discussions with researchers from UCT deepened the understanding of how life in Cape Town changed during the pandemic and the effects that can still be seen today. They gave new insights on the challenges that exist to counteract the effects of the pandemic through resilient urban development. The two-day workshop provided a good opportunity to present the progress of the individual partners' work and discuss the further course of research. With the participation of the student project F03, the results of the pre-test of the joint household survey in Dortmund and Cape Town were discussed. The aim is to understand the changing role of mobility in times of pandemic on the livelihoods of marginalised groups and the role of virtual access. Now that a final version of the survey has been agreed upon, discussions with target groups will take place over the next few weeks.

Based on these, measures for equitable accessibility of services will be recommended to support and improve the resilience of marginalised groups in case of a future pandemic or disruption. These measures will be discussed and disseminated by the research team with a broader audience.

© IRPUD​/​TU Dortmund
Excursion of F03
© IRPUD​/​TU Dortmund
ICOLMA Consortium