Hangwelani Hope Magidimisha-Chipungu (known simply as Hope) is a renowned South African urban planner, academic and advocate for inclusive cities. She serves as a Full Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN).
She holds the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) Chair in Inclusive Cities, funded by the National Research Foundation and the South African Cities Network. She is a Member of the National Planning Commission under the Presidency of South Africa, and Head of Planning and Housing Discipline at the School of Built Environment and Development Studies, UKZN.Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Inclusive Cities and Built Environment, she also serves as a member of the Scientific Committee of the International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP) and Vice President of the South African Council for Planners (SACPLAN).
In 2018, she was listed among the Mail & Guardian’s Top 200 Young South Africans. She has authored numerous books and academic papers. Highly influential in urban planning circles across South Africa and the wider African continent, Hope spearheads the shift of planning paradigms from colonial spatial segregation towards inclusive, participatory and resilient urban development.