Aidan Africa is an MPhil candidate in the Department of Environmental and Geographical Science (EGS) and a research assistant at the African Centre for Cities (ACC). His research interests straddle cultural, urban, and political geographies, with specific interests in placemaking, memory politics, and urban justice.

Aidan holds a Bachelor of Arts degree (Summa Cum Laude) and a Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in geography from the University of the Western Cape (UWC). His current MPhil explores the intersections between memory politics and placemaking in the context of the River Club Redevelopment in Cape Town.

In recognition of his academic acumen, Aidan has received scholarships from the National Research Foundation, the Centre for Humanities Research and the Society of South African Geographers (SSAG). In 2021, his honours research exploring the impact of gentrification on the Bo-Kaap was awarded the Society of South African Geographers Outstanding Honours Research Award. As part of the ACC’s Norway-India-South Africa (NISA) project, Aidan was selected to conduct fieldwork in Kochi, India, and attended the 6th Asian Cities Summit in New Delhi, India. For the same project, in 2024 Aidan was selected for a 2-month long student mobility programme in Trondheim, Norway, where he spent time working on his thesis and engaging with academic staff in the Urban Ecological Planning Department at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

In his spare time, Aidan enjoys meeting new people, socialising with friends, baking, hosting games and dinner evenings, gardening and hiking!