Critical gaming practices: Alex Apsan Frediani in conversation with Liza Cirolia

Alexandre Apsan Frediani is co-director of the masters programme in Social Development Practice at the Bartlett Development Planning Unit, University College London (UCL). He has worked extensively in various parts of the world exploring the potential of urban games to address injustices in the city — especially when applied in contexts of informal settlement upgrading.

In a wide ranging conversation with Liza Cirolia, a housing policy specialist who co-convenes the Human Settlements CityLab at African Centre for Cities, Frediani will discuss the capacity of urban games to creatively engage with social diversity and power relations and foster cross-scalar thinking and share some of his experiences working with Architecture Sans Frontières and in Salvador (Brazil), Nairobi (Kenya) and Quito (Ecuador) with local collectives who embedded participatory design initiatives within their wider agenda of deepening democratic practices in the city.