CHAPTER EIGHT TEACHING SHAPE GRAMMARS AND PARAMETRIC URBAN DESIGN IN THE CONTEXT OF INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS: THE WORLD STUDIO PROJECT FERNANDO LIMA AND JOSÉ P. DUARTE Introduction Population growth in dense urban centres—most notably in regions referred to as “the global south”—is increasingly impacted by rapid urbanisation. Rapid urbanisation describes population growth and development that occur faster than formal governing bodies (or the formal sector) can anticipate or accommodate with infrastructure and services. Numerous urban and social problems develop when the formal sector do not provide adequate housing for these growing populations, leading to the emergence of informal settlements, such as ghettos, slums, favelas, and other poor residential neighbourhood types. According to the latest population estimates and projections (United Nations 2020), a total of three billion people will require adequate and affordable housing by 2030, and approximately one billion people live in informal settlements and slums worldwide. According to UN-Habitat (2015), many interrelated factors have led to the rise of informal settlements, including population growth; rural-urban migration; lack of affordable housing; weak governance (particularly in policy, planning, and urban management); economic vulnerability and low- paid work; marginalisation; and displacement caused by conflict, racism, natural disasters, and climate change. These neighbourhoods tend to occupy geographically and developmentally marginal areas and usually lack essential services and infrastructure. The dwellings may not comply with