The Prospects for African Urban Economies
Cities generally function as sources of economic development and human progress. One of the puzzles about Africa’s urbanization is that it has not been accompanied by greater economic dynamism.
Publishing
Towards A Developmental State? Provisional Economic Policy in South Africa
This paper explores the meaning of the developmental state for spatial economic policy in South Africa. Two main questions are addressed: do provincial governments have a role to play in pro- moting economic prosperity, and to what extent do current provincial policies possess the attri- butes of a developmental state?
Urban Food Security Series
Visit AFSUN’s website to download some of their recent publications on Food Security related issues
Street Trade In Africa: A Review
Despite the advances in modern retailing, millions of people throughout the world still make their living partly or wholly through selling goods on the streets.
Wiego Urban Policies Research Report Series
The global research-policy-action network Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO) launched this dedicated urban policies research report series in October 2009. The series profiles content that makes either an empirical or theoretical contribution to existing knowledge about the urban working poor, their living and work environments and/or their organisations.
No Cushion To Fall Back On: The Global Economic Crisis and Informal Workers
Much has been said about the impact of the global economic crisis on those employed in the formal economy while its impact on those employed informally – in enterprises and as wage workers – has received little or no attention.
Urban Food Security Series No. 4: Urban Food Production & Household Food Security in Southern Africa
Optimism about the role of household food production (urban agriculture) in improving the food security of the urban poor has given way to pessimism and even scepticism. This paper critically examines the views of advocates of urban agriculture and suggests that it cannot be isolated from a broader consideration of the changing nature of urban food supply systems in Southern African cities.
Urban Food Security Series No. 2 : The State of Urban Food Insecurity in Southern Africa
The number of people living in urban areas is rising rapidly in Southern Africa. By mid-century, the region is expected to be 60% urban. Rapid urbanization is leading to growing food insecurity in the region’s towns and cities.
Urban Food Security Series No 1: The Invisible Crisis: Urban Food Security in Southern Africa
Over 1 billion people in the world are now undernourished. The current international food security agenda focuses almost exclusively on the food insecurity of rural populations and ways to increase smallholder production.
On Urban Resilience and Human Dominated Ecosystems
Urbanization is a global multidimensional process paired with increasing uncertainty due to climate change, migration of people, and changes in the capacity to sustain ecosystem services. This article lays a foundation for discussing transitions in urban governance, which enable cities to navigate change, build capacity to withstand shocks, and use experimentation and innovation in face of uncertainty.
Network Analysis in Conservation Biogeography: Challenges & Opportunities. Diversity & Distributions
Aims: To highlight the potential value of network analysis for conservation biogeography and to focus attention on some of the challenges that lie ahead in applying it to conservation problems.
Social Movements and Ecosystem Services
Exploitation and degradation of urban green areas reduce their capacity to sustain ecosystem services. In protecting and managing these areas, research has increasingly focused on actors in civil society.
South Africa’s Informal Economy: A Statistical Profile
This report presents a statistical profile of informal employment in South Africa from 2005 to 2007, using September Labour Force Surveys.
Urban Food Security Series No 5: The HIV and Urban Food Security Nexus
Considerable attention has been devoted to the impact of the HIV and AIDS epidemic on small farmers and the food security of the rural poor.
Urban Food Security Series No 6: Urban Food Insecrutiy and the Advent of Food Banking in Southern Africa
In most African cities, there is sufficient food to feed everyone and considerable wastage of fresh and processed foodstuffs. Poor households are food insecure because they cannot afford to purchase enough quality food and are unable to access the surplus food that exists.