Ayanda Roji is a social scientist passionate about people-centered public spaces. Her focus is on how shared urban spaces could be thought through, designed, used and    managed with communities and groups with divergent aspirations, particularities and worldviews. She strongly advocates for innovative participatory planning practices that stimulate belonging and public ownership, particularly in the face of rapid urbanisation, rising inequality and injustice. She is the Head of Research and Knowledge Management at the City of Johannesburg’s Parks and Zoo agency. Ayanda holds a Master’s degree in Local and Regional Development from the International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University in the Netherlands.