ABSTRACT
This chapter broadly explores the linguistic and material conditions currently shaping debate on sustainable design in cities in Africa. The current discourse on sustainable built environments in Africa is strongly influenced by theoretical concepts and legal regulations produced by and applied in Western countries. It depicts a conspicuous lack of language, theoretical framework, and cultural references embedded within the lives and common practices in Africa. This chapter argues that it is counteractive to discuss sustainable design without asking sustainable for who and by what means. It explores the antagonistic relationship between contextual diversity and standardisation of concepts such as sustainable design, challenging the imposition of knowledge constructed in the West on the global South. Fundamentally, this chapter seeks to theorise how and why international influence continues to repress Africa and build on the dialogue around epistemological change towards a situated construction of the concept of sustainability.
