The South African Research Chair in Cities, Law and Environmental Sustainability (CLES) was established in 2018 as one of the SARChI Initiative research chairs of the National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF). The Research Chair is held by the North-West University, and forms part of the Research Unit on Law, Justice and Sustainability of the Faculty of Law, situated in Potchefstroom, South Africa. Based on its outputs and achievements over the course of its first five-year funding cycle, CLES has been upgraded to a Tier 1 Chair, and its funding has been approved for another five years, effective from 2025 onwards.

CLES is an academic institution devoted to legal scholarship and the development of research skills for sustainable urban development in South Africa, the broader African region, and beyond.  To this end, the Chair hosts full-time postdoctoral fellows and postgraduate students furthering their studies in the intersecting field of law, governance, urban development, and environmental sustainability. Professor Oliver Fuo has been appointed as the full-time Chairholder of CLES in 2025, following in the footsteps of the incumbent Chairholder, Prof Anél du Plessis, who departed from the Chair during 2023. Prof Fuo is an established researcher who has received international recognition for his research contributions in the field of local government and social justice, and he also has an interest in environmental law.

In order to make a sustained impact, CLES produces and publishes its work through postgraduate dissertations and theses, scholarly journal articles, books and book chapters, reports, and policy papers; and actively participates in science engagement with policymakers, government officials, NGOs and other institutions devoted to urban development and sustainable governance. Our publications can be accessed here.

To stay up to date on our latest work and activities, please feel free to view our CLES inPRESS Newsletter here.