Food System transformation in the Absence of Food System Planning: The Case of Supermarket and Shopping Mall Retail Expansion in Cape Town, South Africa
Uses a case study to examine the urban planning agenda that is inadvertently generating a system that undermines food security
Abstract
The South African, and wider African, food system is undergoing a rapid transformation, with an associated transformation in nutrition. Both transformations are most advanced in cities where the food system is increasingly characterized by the presence of supermarkets and fast food outlets in malls selling highly processed foods. While local government has no clear formal mandate to address the food system, this paper argues that it is playing a profound role in reshaping the food system through non-food related planning and policy decisions designed to achieve urban development objectives.
This paper uses a case study of the changing food system in Cape Town, South Africa, as an entry point to examine the urban planning agenda that is inadvertently generating a food system that undermines food security.
This work is part of ‘Governing Food Systems to Alleviate Poverty in Secondary Cities in Africa’ project supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the UK Department for International Development.
Citation
Battersby, Jane (2017) Food System transformation in the Absence of Food System Planning: The Case of Supermarket and Shopping Mall Retail Expansion in Cape Town, South Africa. Built Environment, Volume 43, Number 3, Autumn 2017, pp. 417-430(14) https://doi.org/10.2148/benv.43.3.417