As awareness of the centrality of informality in urban development processes in the Global South is slowly incorporated into the international development agenda, a full understanding of the myriad ways in which informal economic activity is governed has become increasingly urgent. This discussion paper seeks to address this need through an analysis of informal economic […]
Food vending is an important component of the South African economy, where it provides employment, income, livelihoods and contributes to the food security of poorer households. Policies towards the informal food sector in most South African cities are restrictive and often punitive, and undermine the critical contributions of informal food vending. To maximize their impacts,
Enabling Informal Food Vending in Urban South Africa Read More »
The informal food sector – comprising retail, distribution, and preparation of food – is critical to the food security of poor urban households in rapidly growing towns and cities in the Global South. A dense and diverse network of informal markets, suppliers, transporters, mobile traders, hawkers, retailers, and street food vendors makes food more accessible
Inclusive Growth and the Informal Food Sector in Cape Town, South Africa Read More »
The role of the informal food sector in the urban food system cannot be appreciated or understood without the compilation and analysis of systematic and representative data on the activities of informal enterprises across a city and along food supply chains outside it. At present, there are significant gaps in the knowledge base about the
Governing the Informal Food Sector in Cities of the Global South Read More »
This discussion paper examines development implications for food and nutrition when cash transfer interventions intersect with food system changes, particularly in urban areas where food is predominantly accessed through the market. South Africa is used as a case study because of its advanced social protection system as well as the rapid food system changes it
Social Protection and Urban Food Systems Read More »
– Master Thesis – This research assesses the potential of organised social networks to improve the resettlement of female forced migrants in their destination country. It looks more specifically at the impact of the Scalabrini women’s platform on women from the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) experience in the city of Cape Town. In the
In South Africa, the informal food sector is either criminalized or ignored, despite the important role it plays in the economy in terms of employment, income generation, food distribution, and general livelihoods. This paper assesses the nature, operations, strategies, and challenges of the informal food sector in Cape Town. Data was collected through a survey
Food Vending and the Urban Informal Sector in Cape Town, South Africa Read More »
Using the concept of Alternative Food Networks (AFNs), this discussion paper interrogates these networks and asks how they manifest in the context of food insecurity in cities of the global South. AFNs evident in Northern cities generally present a perspective of the food system that prioritises sustainability and a deep green and often local ethic,
Food Insecurity and Alternative Food Networks in Cities of the Global South Read More »
This discussion paper aims to advance our understanding of the gendered nature of urban household food security and how it is shaped by the relationships between internal household gender dynamics and external social factors of gender- and race-based inequalities. The manifestation of the gender inequality-food security nexus at the household level is most evident in
Gender Inequality, Poverty and Urban Household Food Security in Cape Town Read More »
This is the first city-wide representative household food security survey of Cape Town and contributes significantly to the growing body of evidence about the food system of the city. This enquiry into the food system has laid bare the deep inequalities in food security across different income groups in Cape Town. For the poor, poverty
The State of Household Food Security in Cape Town, South Africa Read More »
