Browsing by Author "Haysom, Gareth"

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    Being a teen, tween and in-between girl in Mitchell's Plain: toward a heterogenous conception of youth agency in a Global South city
    (University of Cape Town, 2020) Brain, Ruth; Haysom, Gareth
    How do young South Africans assert agency? This study uses Emirbayer and Mische's (1998) theoretical conception of agency as temporally embedded and constantly reconfiguring; and combines it with the idea of shifting strategies as manifestations of agency. I introduce the seminal works in South African everyday youth literature to orient my study to explore how youth in South Africa assert agency through everyday strategies. Using qualitative methods - photo voice, focus groups, mapping and individual interviews - with four teenage girls from a high school in Mitchell's Plain, this study offers an enriched approach to a conception of youth agency, by overlaying a youth study with a theoretical conception of agency. The girls' everyday accounts show that as young teenagers they are waiting to enter the unknown prospect of teenagehood. To navigate their everyday lives, they draw on iterative (past), practical evaluative (present) and projective (future) agency in shifting configurations to maximise their agency in their lifeworlds. Although their agency is in tension with structures of safety concerns, familial expectations and culturally validated narratives of being a 'good girl'; the girls find ways around and through these limitations by strategically asserting their agency. This study applies a comprehensive theory of agency to a small youth study with rich everyday descriptions, in an effort towards enriching and grounding a conception of youth agency in an urban environment in the Global South.
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    Food system governance for urban sustainability in the global South
    (2014) Haysom, Gareth; Battersby, Jane; Pirie, Gordon
    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 Agriculture Organisation 2013 State of Food and Agriculture review reports that in excess of 868 million people, 12 percent of the global population, are undernourished. Global inequalities mean that this challenge is disproportionately experienced. Food insecurity manifests most severely in specific geographies. Global demographic changes have resulted in shifts in the locus of these experiences. Food insecurity in urban areas, particularly in developing countries, is a persistent yet poorly understood phenomenon. Responses to food security have primarily focused on ensuring food availability, resulting in responses that are predominantly production-orientated. This approach presupposes a principally rural challenge and overlooks critical emerging urban food insecurity challenges. The production and rural dominance in efforts to ameliorate food insecurity have a number of consequences. The first consequence reflects a scientific and technology-driven focus on increasing or optimising net calories produced. Secondly, where access to produced food is constrained, welfare interventions are used to mitigate challenges. Such interventions are predominantly reactive and lack strategic focus. The third consequence, informed by the preceding two interventions, sees policies and legislation that reinforces the production/welfare paradigm. Such food security responses disregard the current transitions evident within society. This thesis identifies a number of global transitions. Within the context of wider global change processes, focus is given to four inter-connected transitions. These transitions include the second urban transition, the food system transition and the nutrition transition. Fourth, driven by the preceding transitions, is the emergence of alternative urban food governance interventions.
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    Student food security: the (dis)connection between student food experiences, sustainability and green spaces from the lens of food security
    (2018) Drewett, Jessica; Haysom, Gareth
    The food security of university students in South Africa is an area of research which is becoming increasingly researched and recognised. Internationally, there has been research into university student food security, recognition of student food insecurity and the links to academic success, and the idea of secure campus food systems. Approaches documented in the literature from the global North include the establishment of food banks and pantries, and the use of university green space in order to feed university students and decrease student food insecurity. Limited research on food security of university students in South Africa has been conducted, but this is increasing. Universities around the world are becoming increasingly aware and active in examining their ecological impacts as universities, and placing sustainability on the university agenda. This research explores the current narratives of student food security, campus food initiatives and the (dis)connection between green spaces and student food security responses at a university in South Africa. In order to achieve the research aim, three objectives were identified. The first objective was to review the global literature of university student food security, the use of green spaces on university campuses as a food security response. The second objective investigated student food security dialogues, and the third objective included the examination of university based food initiatives and university policy documents and reports, and assessing the integration of aspects of student food security. This exploratory research used a mixed methods approach, using a mixture of quantitative and qualitative data, by way of literature review, document analysis, online quantitative surveys and semi structured interviews in order to explore the narrative of student food security in South Africa, as well as the link between university campus sustainability and student food security. Dominant themes which arose from the research include food costs and affordability, in addition to food quality and health. It was found that there is a disconnection between student food experiences, sustainability and green spaces. While the links between green space and student food security may be relevant in Northern contexts, more pressing systemic issues require attention in the context of South Africa, thus adding to the complexity of how student food security is approached in the country. This exploratory research highlights the need for further research to be conducted in the area of student food security.
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    Sustainable urban agriculture: a sustainable adaptation strategy for the City of Cape Town? : Practices and views on sustainable urban agriculture and climate change in Cape Town
    (2017) Anaïs, Marie; Haysom, Gareth; Pasquini, Lorena
    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 a critical matter for humanity. Adaptation is sustainable only if it takes into consideration climate risks, while maximizing both social justice and environmental integrity. Urban agriculture is defined in this dissertation as the urban and peri-urban locations where agricultural practices, either the production of crops, livestock, or fish, utilize urban resources for the purpose of selling and consuming these goods produced locally, supporting the urban economy and providing a supply of food for urban citizens. Sustainable urban agriculture encompasses urban agricultural areas operating towards the satisfaction of human food, the preservation of environmental resources, the economic viability of agriculture and the enhancement of the quality of life of farmers, farm workers, and society. This research reviews the practices and views of urban agriculture stakeholders in Cape Town on sustainable urban agriculture to determine if the practices of urban agriculture could be a part of a sustainable adaptation strategy. The methods used to answer this question included a systematic review of studies on urban agriculture worldwide since 1980, and a review of the urban agriculture and adaptation to climate change policies which are implemented at the metropolitan level, all supported and tested through interviews with key informants. Non-Government Organization (NGO)-based community farming initiatives such as Oranjezicht City Farm, Abalimi Bezekhaya or the ERF 81, independent farmers, municipal and provincial government representatives were interviewed. A critical discourse analysis method was utilized to analyze the findings. The study found that the narratives at the metropolitan level, including the policies and the views of governmental representatives, remains focused on the food security contribution whereas the practitioners' narrative expressed an interest in the economic opportunities and social benefits that sustainable urban agriculture can bring, as stated by the literature on sustainable urban agriculture. The key practitioners and NGOs narratives suggest that sustainable urban agriculture is contributing to the adaptive capacity of the farmers as they are using practices such as permaculture or organic farming, which allow them to cope with the impacts of climate variability and climate change. If sustainable farming practices were emphasized instead of farming practices towards small-scale, home-based activity to improve households' food security, the adaptation framework at the municipal and provincial level would be aligned with practitioners and NGOs narratives and would contribute to the sustainable adaptation capacity of the city. The recent shift within the City of Cape Town towards the broad concept of resilience could bridge the gap between current policy and practices, and informants' narratives, but it remains too soon for this to be tested. This study concludes suggesting that the analysis of the informants' and literature's narratives on sustainable urban agriculture express potential to contribute to climate change adaptation and the reduction of vulnerability in Cape Town but alignment between policy and practitioners' needs, wants and actions needs to take place.
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    Unlocking small-scale fisheries value chains through Information & Communication Technology (ICT) - the case studies of Lamberts Bay & Kleinmond, South Africa
    (2019) George, Robin Peter; Raemaekers, Serge; Haysom, Gareth
    Focusing on the small-scale fisheries sector, this thesis examines the question of how the usage of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can unlock value chain opportunities for fishers. Using a case study approach by focusing on the communities of Lamberts Bay and Kleinmond in the Western Cape of South Africa, it seeks to discover what ICTs should take cognisance of to adequately speak to the value chain realities of small-scale fishers. Some of the work done was observed while engaging with fishers from both communities and other relevant stakeholders during certain engagements with the Abalobi programme, a co-designed smartphone application programme. The emphasis of the research was to speak to different stakeholders who are involved in the value chain and who are engaging with or impact the value chains of small-scale fishing communities. As value chains start with small-scale fishers, their narratives are of utmost importance as they are the initiators of these value chains. The three objectives of this research are to understand the value chain activities of the two communities, differentiate the different value chain activities of the communities at the local, regional and international levels and then contribute to how ICTs such as Abalobi can assist efforts of connecting fishers to their markets. Interviewing and engaging fishers, supportive organisations, authorities, value chain stakeholders in both communities as well as corporates and an ICT specialist, the thesis considers the different perspectives and needs of those involved in the small-scale fisheries value chain. The result of this thesis lead to six ICT requirements being identified to unlocking of small-scale fishing value chains: easy to use, self-sustaining, people-centred and inclusive, integrated, evolving and detailed. Although value chains exist in the sector, ICTs can enable better coordination between stakeholders in it. This research was done to understand how ICTs as a tool can improve and better facilitate the interactions between fishers and their desired markets and that their narratives are brought to the fore in understanding the value chains and in sourcing ICT solutions for them.
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    What does it take to feed a city? Understanding the urban food system
    (2014-08-22) Pirie, Gordon; Battersby, Jane; Haysom, Gareth
    Coordinated by Professor Gordon Pirie, Deputy Director, African Centre for Cities, UCT; lecturers associated with Food Security and Ways of Knowing projects hosted by the Africa Centre for Cities, this resource studies urban food systems. Food is one of the essentials of life and yet relatively little attention is paid to how it reaches us in our cities. Although there has always been enough food to feed everyone in Cape Town, up to eighty percent of residents in low income areas struggle to access adequately nutritious and affordable food. In urban centres worldwide, areas of food scarcity and oversupply exist in close proximity. The complexity of food production, distribution, access, control and consumption are critical development challenges for all cities – no less for Cape Town. This three-lecture course will investigate the workings of the Cape Town food system and will argue that food is an essential lens through which to view urban sustainability and issues of justice. LECTURE TITLES: 1. Philippi horticultural area: food flows and politics (Dr Jane Battersby) 2. Food and urban sustainability (Gareth Haysom) 3. The urban food policy gap (Dr Jane Battersby) This resource is useful for anyone interested in food security issues in an urban environment. Recommended reading: Joubert, L. 2012. The Hungry Season. South Africa: Pan MacMillan. Lemonick, M.D. Top 10 Myths about Sustainability in Scientific American. March 2009, 19, pps. 40–45.
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    Your Mess, My Life: The Junction between Land Use Planning and Street Vending in the Accra Mall Enclave
    (2022) Quarcoo, Joseph Dennis Nii Noi; Haysom, Gareth
    City managers and planners in the global South, particularly in African cities are confronted with an unprecedented urbanisation fraught with complexities such as urban sprawl, jobless growth, and informality. Urban planning practice in Ghana has retained colonial legacies that outlaw informality, be it economic, such as, street trading or housing, such as, slums. This has led to the marginalisation of the urban poor, who make up the majority of urban dwellers. Consequently, the masses invent ways to survive in the city and thus reshape the materiality of urban spaces. Most planners and state officials consider the activities of street vendors as a nuisance that mar the beauty of our cities. For this reason, 24% of the Ghanaian labour force who work on the streets are targets of misaligned and officious controls that include but are not limited to evictions. However, when evicted, most generally return to the streets. Building on existing work on urban planning in the global South and feeding into Southern urban theory, the research focuses explicitly on the Accra Mall Enclave (AME) as a microcosm of African cities. It explores how various players – planners/vendors/politicians – interact and navigate the dynamics of daily experiences. The research asks, how are planners navigating the tensions between planning regulations and the reality of street trading around the Accra Mall Enclave (AME)? What are street traders' logics, strategies, and experiences? How are vendors negotiating their interactions with state actors such as police, planners, city guards, toll collectors, etc.? The questions were answered through qualitative research methods; field observations, interviews, and a review of planning regulations and policies. The results of the study contribute to our understanding of how cities are being built in Africa, particularly Accra, Ghana. As a case study, the focus on the AME assisted in exposing the role of planners in this mode of urbanisation, while also uncovering meaning associated with space and place. Findings show that the state is reluctantly, if not unwillingly, coming to terms with vending within the AME. This could however change quickly if politics change, so still precarious. There are no viable alternatives to relocation, and vendors have established significant relationships and tactics that somehow entrench their position howbeit insecure. Besides all these, state officials, when acting in their individual capacity side with the vending profession because the state has not created jobs. Despite this personal understanding, the system, specifically state bureaucracy, generates obstacles, and as a result existing state structures frustrate the planning practice. This is complicated further by politics. Hence, planners themselves feel helpless, marginalised, and trapped. Further, spatial plans do not adequately provide access to the land needed by informal sector actors. The state resorts to occasional evictions when there is an adequate budget for this action. Imaginations of world class cityness dominate perceptions of the space. This is a candid depiction of the do-nothing scenario – the active contribution of the state in the creation of informality within the AME and the city of Accra, Ghana.