ABSTRACT
This chapter explores a concept of engagement that privileges the social over the spatial. Spatial tactics of including people who have previously been excluded from decision-making processes because of race and gender are being identified as a forceful means of expanding social engagement. The chapter explores social engagement through a diverse range of participatory projects. The architecture imposed in the context of colonialism has impacted heavily on the social. The configuration of space is perhaps the most enduring legacy of colonialism and apartheid. Community participation in the design and implementation of built environment projects in developing contexts of the South has been foregrounded as a critical component to ensure positive social outcomes. Community-based projects have provided a significant basis for exploring transformation in the post colony. The Training for Self-Reliance Project is an integrated education program of the government of Lesotho with the International Development Association of the World Bank.
