Urban Food Systems Governance and Poverty in African Cities - (Open Access)

This book argues that an examination of food system and food security provides a valuable lens to interrogate urban poverty

Abstract

As Africa urbanises and the focus of poverty shifts to urban centres, there is an imperative to address poverty in African cities. This is particularly the case in smaller cities, which are often the most rapidly urbanising, but the least able to cope with this growth. This book argues that an examination of the food system and food security provides a valuable lens to interrogate urban poverty. Chapters examine the linkages between poverty, urban food systems and local governance with a focus on case studies from 3 smaller or secondary cities in Africa: Kisumu (Kenya), Kitwe (Zambia) and Epworth (Zimbabwe).

The book makes a wider contribution to debates on urban studies and urban governance in Africa through analysis of the causes and consequences of the paucity of urban-scale data for decision makers, and by presenting potential methodological innovations to address this paucity. As the global development agenda is increasingly focusing on urban issues, most notably the urban goal of the new Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda, the work is timely.

The book emerges out of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) / UK Department for International Development funded Governing Food Systems to Alleviate Poverty in Secondary Cities in Africa project (branded as Consuming Urban Poverty or CUP). The project, housed at the African Centre for Cities at the University of Cape Town (UCT), was a partnership between UCT, the Kisumu Local Interaction Platform (KLIP) in Kenya, the University of Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe, and Copperbelt University in Zambia

Citation

Battersby, J. (Ed.), Watson, V. (Ed.). (2019). Urban Food Systems Governance and Poverty in African Cities - (Open Access). London: Routledge.

Urban Food Systems Governance and Poverty in African Cities - (Open Access)

Published 22 August 2018