By John Odhiambo Onyango

Since the Boyer of 1996 of ‘Building Communities: A New future for Architectural Education and Practice’ there has been some movement in architectural and design schools and practitioners exploring ways to inculcate a concern for larger social issues in the design process. Several alternative approaches to the education, practice of architecture and urban design have emerged rooted in the Social Architecture based on four groups of participants; the private visionary; the public professional with a vision; the professional based at non-profit organisations and the activist university. The urban laboratory model is one such model housed in the activist university. One of the arguments for this methodology is that it would lead to a better place-making process.