Cities and towns in Southern Africa are living archives of, amongst others, migration, development, hardships, innovation, indigenous knowledge, memory and identity. From pre-conquest trading settlements and missionary stations to spatial and economic rivalries among cultures. The late 19^th and 20^th century witnessed the establishment of colonially established towns and cities, followed by post-independence urban expansions. The region’s rural and urban spaces reflect deep historical processes that continue to shape 21^st century’s everyday life. Micro spaces and local histories in rural and urban contexts, usually reveal the footprint of power, race, class, gender, labour, environmental use and abuse. These histories are inscribed onto the landscape: its streets, towns, central business districts, informal settlements, transport routes, public spaces, entrepreneurship, cultural expression, political activism, and social networks.

The Regional History Society for Southern Africa (RHSSA) invites historians, scholars, practitioners, archivists and urban planners to explore the multiple pasts of Southern Africa’s rural and urban histories in microspatial and translocal contexts. As the past informs the present, an understanding how rural and urban communities evolved, contributes to a better understanding of its current status and dynamics.