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 past five years, CLES has been renewed for another 5 year-cycle from 2024 onwards.

CLES is an academic institution devoted to legal scholarship and research skills development 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. The Interim Chairholder is Prof Oliver Fuo, an established researcher in the field of local government and social justice, with an interest in environmental law.

CLES produces and publishes relevant research of an excellent standard through postgraduate dissertations and theses, scholarly journal articles, book chapters, books, reports and policy papers; and actively participates in science engagement with policymakers, government officials, NGOs and institutions devoted to urban development and sustainable governance in order to sustain impact and relevance. You can stay in the loop about all our work and activities through our Newsletter CLES inPress.