- Title
- A proposed framework for the development of urban agriculture in South African cities
- Creator
- Brown, Nicola Jayne
- ThesisAdvisor
- Greyling, Letitia
- Subject
- Urban agriculture -- South Africa
- Subject
- Sustainable development -- South Africa
- Subject
- Food security -- Climatic factors -- South Africa
- Subject
- Resilience (Ecology)
- Date
- 2021-04
- Type
- text
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- MBA
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10962/174413
- Identifier
- vital:42475
- Description
- While climate change and rapid urbanisation are impacting our cities and existing infrastructure, population growth and resource scarcity are placing unprecedented pressure on our food systems. In light of such challenges and the Sustainable Development Goals, resilient solutions are being sought to move both urban development and food production towards a more sustainable future. In this context, Urban Agriculture (UA) has been identified as a possible mechanism to complement rural food production with many associated social, economic and environmental benefits for urban communities. Some of these benefits include increased food system resilience, better urban environmental management, circular and productive reuse of urban wastes, employment opportunities, reduced food miles and the promotion of social inclusivity. Through a sustainable food system lens and underpinned by Resilience Theory, this research study sets out to investigate and explore the considerations for UA development. The research study reviews UA literature to identify and analyse the common challenges which act as barriers to implementation, as well as the current or potential opportunities which could be leveraged to drive UA development. The insights gained from literature on UA and UA development frameworks; and the data gathered from qualitative interviews with experts working in UA-related fields in South Africa (SA), were used to build a conceptual framework for UA development in SA. The conceptual framework developed is intended to be used as a guide for local municipalities, urban planners, urban farmers, urban communities and UA support organisations in their approach to developing UA initiatives. The findings from this research study reveal that UA development in SA involves numerous actors at both provincial and municipal levels; and within private institutions, businesses, universities, farmer organisations and society. The findings also reveal that UA currently occurs at many levels in SA, with each level drawing a particular range of participants due to the various social, economic and/or environmental features of the initiative. Along with challenges associated with land access, the lack of UA-related knowledge, the threat of theft, vandalism and soil contamination (to name a few); a lack of understanding of how agriculture can fit into urban spaces was found to be a major obstacle. The findings suggest that this lack of understanding has led to an under-realisation of the full potential of UA in South African towns and cities; and an inability to incentivise and optimise the development of UA. Considering the findings derived from the investigation, the study proposes five major considerations for UA development in SA, all of which are unpacked in the conceptual framework. The study concludes by making recommendations for UA decision-makers and UA organisations to consider for future developments.
- Format
- 103 pages, pdf
- Publisher
- Rhodes University, Faculty of Commerce, Rhodes Business School
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Brown, Nicola Jayne
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details | SOURCE1 | BROWN-MBA-TR21-62.pdf | 3 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details |