Welcome…

…to my blog that I have named since 2020, “Charity and Knowledge, For Good People and Good Places” as a motto, and philosophical approach to knowledge production.

Since then, a lot has changed. I spent years of my life pursuing a PhD that I defended in June 2025, then spent a few more months revising it. Interestingly, I am still motivated by the desire to produce and put knowledge to use for people, and places. I realise only now that a PhD in Human Geography and Urban Studies actually is about people and places, though, I do not remember having that in mind then.

Well, this is just a quick introduction to what I intended to be up to when I started. It remains what I will be up to over here, but now, not exclusively (I wrote this first in 2019-2020, and revised it in 2024, in 2025, and again in 2026).

Therefore, I will defintely talk about people, and places, whether they are good, or not, no matter your personnal judgment about the existence of good or bad, or what is actually good or bad. We may disagree on that aspect, but I hope we may all agree that being violent towards people just because they are tall, short, disabled, have a particular type of skin color, is or is not a believer, belongs to a particular tribe, or country, is weak, etc. is all but good.

So, let’s start with “good people in good places”.

Without delving into the plurality of definition one could have for “place”, let’s inspire ourselves from Gregory et al. (2009) Dictionary of Human Geography and say that a place is “a geographic locale of any size or configuration comparable to equally generic meanings of area, region or location” (Gregory et al, 2009:539). This means that instead of saying place, one can also use the vocable area, region, or location, to identify a portion of territory of some size.

That’s where I stopped five years ago.

Now I learnt that place is often analysed with space. Place has “meaning” to those who consider it so (See Yi Fu Tuan, Doreen Massey, no date here, just a quick reference); space, is more “geographical” and abstract.

Five to six years ago, what I had in mind was not that nuanced. However, coming from an environmental politics background, I fused the spatial, and the meaning in what I was refering to as “place”. After all, clean environment (home, school, work, market) means good health, as some might say.

“People” refers here to, “human beings making up a group or assembly or linked by a common interest”. Nonetheless, they may have different interests as well. Some may want electricity to watch football, one may be interested in paved road.

Now talking about what this introduction intends by “good”, it is better to recommend an article written about the ontological and the ethical meaning of good in a Catholic encyclopedia. In fact, the article first highlights the difficulties lying into defining such a word. It defines good as something that is desirable, because of its purpose, or simply because of the perfections it nicely portrays. I would like to add to this perception of “good”, the need for the preservation of human dignity in all circumstances.

And here, I may face some criticism. My undertone is Christian, Catholic, African, religious, or that of a believer. A choice I did not explicitly mention five/six years ago, but that I am highlighting now. This carries a lot of meaning that I hope to unpack.

I wonder why I am stressing these now…Maybe because I am older or more aware…

That being said, “good people” as human beings fully endowed with “worth, value and distinction” (Daniel Groody “Globalization, Spirituality and Justice”) ought to live in “places” which do not affect their dignity, but rather add to the latter, preserve it, promote it, share it with the surrounding environment.

My initiative here is therefore to write about these good people that you and I are, for the good places that you and I share, “Sister (Mother) Earth” as a whole. Remember my undertone.

I do not intend to be fully knowledgeable about these topics, which countless scholars much more erudite than I have extensively debated and are still debating. I will attempt to stay true to these ideas I have briefly mentioned on this blog/page and will gladly accept any remarks or comments you might have.

That being said, things have evolved since 2020 when I started this journey.

I got the amazing opportunity to be a graduate teaching assistant in a the prestigious Department of Geography and Environment (LSE). I have had the time to give deeper thoughts to my teaching style and philosophy. I can therefore say that my teaching philosophy is centered on promoting critical thinking, as well as on experimental, relational, and reflective pedagogies, drawing directly from my research to engage students with pressing global challenges in urban studies, citizen participation, human geography, environmental politics, and African studies. 

I had been a teacher for a while, but it was a first time teaching at university level.

I strived to use evidence-based pedagogical practices to cultivate critical thinking, strong research skills, and a commitment to learner-centered initiatives. 

In a world where so many plagues are affecting all of us, it is positive, I believe to keep reminding ourselves what is at stake, and what matters most: “Charity and Knowledge”.

This will certainly evolve and change over time, and I will do my best to document the change(s) and my journey of curiosity to keep you informed and aware.

Thanks for reading!

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“All knowledge is sterile, which does not lead to action and end in charity” Desire-Joseph Mercier.