Publications: Theses

Master Thesis, University of Cape Town This research is founded on the argument that food systems are (and should be) a core mandate for urban planners, particularly as food is connected to many other functions relevant for built-environment professionals. To date, city officials and built-environment professionals in South Africa have adopted a laissez-faire attitude to…

PhD Thesis, University of Cape Town Food security in Africa is a foremost development challenge. Dominant approaches to addressing food security concentrate on availability and increasing production. This ‘productionist’ focus arguably limits the capacity of government policies to address contemporary food problems. It does so by obscuring both the specific food insecurity dynamics linked to…

Master Thesis, University of Cape Town This work explores the narratives associated with the benefits of sustainable urban agriculture areas in terms of adaptation to climate change in the Cape Town Metropolitan Area, South Africa. Urbanization and climate change are stressing urban areas in developing countries. Therefore, finding a development path towards “sustainable adaptation” remains…

Master Thesis, University of Cape Town Living in impoverished urban areas, female headed households are most vulnerable to food insecurity. In order to reduce the risk and abate the experience of household food insecurity, civil society (NGO) and government have established numerous poverty reduction programmes and initiatives. However, in spite of ongoing efforts, the proportion…

PhD Thesis, University of Cape Town Rapid urbanization and rising urban poverty characterize much of Sub-Saharan Africa in the 21st Century. Africa’s urban transition provides the context within which this thesis examines the causes and consequences of poverty and food insecurity in the growing informal settlements of Windhoek, Namibia. Rapid urbanization in Windhoek has been…

PhD Thesis, University of Cape Town Food security remains a persistent global challenge. Food security is defined as a situation where all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food which meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. The Food and…

Master Thesis, University of Cape Town For many years, urban food insecurity has been ‘invisible’ to urban planners and policy makers. This is due to the misconception of food insecurity as being primarily a rural issue and attributable to a lack of supply of food; however, it is clear that the issue of urban food…

Master Thesis, University of Waterloo Food security is a global concern and will remain so in the foreseeable future as the global food system experiences pressures on both the production and demand sides. Modern agriculture has given rise to a linear food production and consumption system. Such a food system is deemed inherently unsustainable and…

PhD Thesis, University of Waterloo China’s rural and agricultural sector has been undergoing a dramatic transformation in the form of three major trends. First, the modernization and capitalization of agriculture has significantly modified traditional agriculture and exacerbated path-dependency towards an agro-industrial paradigm. Second, the Chinese government at various levels has been promoting an ‘ecological civilization’…

PhD Thesis, University of Waterloo Urban food systems exist in a paradox – there are large amounts of available food, as well as hungry people. Urban governments are often held responsible for food insecurity in their jurisdiction, however the governance of urban food systems is influenced by social, economic, and political forces at various levels…