Warren Smit | University of Cape Town (original) (raw)

Papers by Warren Smit

Housing Studies, 2009

ABSTRACT

International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 2009

am Beispiel türkischer Moscheen und Cafés [Ethnic colonies. Their foundation, function and change... more am Beispiel türkischer Moscheen und Cafés [Ethnic colonies. Their foundation, function and change as exemplified by Turkish mosques and cafés]. Wiesbaden: Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften The Turks make up the largest and most researched group of migrants in Germany, but the private life of Turkish families, their social relations and networks, the inner life of their institutions, and the interactions within neighbourhoods dominated by Turks, have remained largely unknown. Looking behind the façade is more difficult with the Turks than with many other groups of migrants. The two books under review, however, do look behind this façade in order to investigate social interactions and institutions. From different perspectives both tackle the question of integration or marginalization in two neighbourhoods in Hanover (northern Germany) and in Duisburg (the Ruhr). Gestring, Janssen and Polat deal with this question on the basis of qualitative interviews with second-generation Turkish families and with gatekeepers in housing and employment, combined with participant observation. A first chapter deals with relevant approaches and notions. Integration and marginalization are seen as processes towards and away from the core of society. Integration is regarded as successful if and when ethnicity does not influence the chances of getting decent housing and of finding a job. The borderline of exclusion remains unclear. Another chapter concerns the practical problems of carrying out qualitative interviews among migrants. The next chapter on the social situations of Turkish migrants first tackles housing standards, which are still below average but have largely improved due to the relaxed housing market in Hanover and in northern Germany in general. The first generation's low levels of education and formal skills have improved in the second generation, but remain far below those of the Germans. The employment positions and chances of the second generation are worse than those of their parents. The second generation has entered the labour market during crisis years, so many of them have been 'too late' for stable integration into employment. Most men are still industrial workers; the small group of economically active women mostly have part-time jobs. Many have precarious jobs. Unemployment rates are double the German average. Even among the successful, many are working below their qualifications. These chapters include little new information. Nevertheless, this fairly short and easy-to-read book is new and original and worth reading, in three respects. First, the authors have produced empirical evidence on discrimination, which takes two forms. Large firms carry out administrative discrimination. Social housing associations take in Turkish and other immigrants only in accordance with a quota system. In a slowing housing market this form of discrimination can be realized only with respect to the attractive parts of the housing stock-as a consequence, Turkish migrants are concentrated in the inferior parts of social housing. Large firms give limited

Questioning the mythologies of Hernando de Soto. Plaas Policy Brief, Oct 1, 2005

High levels of poverty and inequality persist in democratic South Africa despite a decade of gove... more High levels of poverty and inequality persist in democratic South Africa despite a decade of government policies and budgetary realignments designed to address the legacies of apartheid and steady economic growth. Some policies have been relatively successful: access by the poor to clean water, electricity and sanitation has improved dramatically, and increased numbers receive social grants. But South Africa has the second highest level of inequality in the world after Brazil, and the gap between the rich and the poor appears to ...

Urban transformations and public health in the emergent city, 2020

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Global Public Health, 2021

The term “global South” (or just “South” or “south”) refers to the diverse range of countries in ... more The term “global South” (or just “South” or “south”) refers to the diverse range of countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America that have a colonial past and are usually characterized by high levels of poverty and informality. The term global South has widely replaced other, similar, terms such as the Third World, developing countries, and low- and middle-income countries. Urbanization, in its narrow sense, refers to an increase in the proportion of the population living in urban areas; in its wider sense it refers to all the social, economic, biophysical, and institutional changes that result from and accompany urban growth, many of which have a profound impact on human health and well-being. The global South is the most rapidly urbanizing part of the world. Since about 2015, more than 75% of the world’s urban population lives in the global South. It is projected that by 2025, the urban population of the global South will be 3.75 billion (54.3% of the total population of the globa...

City, 2021

The analysis draws on, and as far as possible seeks to triangulate across, diverse sources of evi... more The analysis draws on, and as far as possible seeks to triangulate across, diverse sources of evidence from around the world. This is illustrated with reports on the experiences of the diverse cities where Mistra Urban Futures has been working, written by key team members on the ground in each case. In so doing, it speaks to some of the ideas articulated in David Madden' s (2020) recent editorial in this journal, 'The urban process under covid capitalism' , and develops several others.

Science for Sustainable Societies, 2020

Current research suggests that knowledge co-production processes offer an alternate and enduring ... more Current research suggests that knowledge co-production processes offer an alternate and enduring approach to addressing urban sustainability challenges. This chapter explores the potential of such alternative approaches to knowledge production for informing urban management and tackling the different sustainability challenges that cities in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) face. The aim of this chapter is to extract the main lessons learned from how knowledge co-production approaches were established to engage with urban sustainability challenges in SSA cities and eventually unfolded. We draw on three applied and transdisciplinary urban research projects conducted at the African Centre for Cities (ACC) at the University of Cape Town, spanning the neighbourhood, city and national urban policy scales. We identify some of the key aspects of these urban knowledge partnerships related to the quality of the knowledge collaborations and their influence on outcomes. We adopt an analytical framework based on the criteria of legitimacy, credibility and salience to explore these relationships between collaboration and outcomes. The findings show that context and history are key variables in shaping each knowledge co-production partnership. Whilst urban policy change is often slow, the data and outputs generated through these knowledge collaboration and co-production processes can serve to increase the confidence and commitment of urban stakeholders in addressing urban sustainability challenges in SSA.

Urban Food Systems Governance and Poverty in African Cities, 2018

Sustainability, 2021

Remarkably little is known about how small and intermediate urban centres tackle their various su... more Remarkably little is known about how small and intermediate urban centres tackle their various sustainability challenges, particularly climate and broader environmental change. Accordingly, we address this in the very different contexts of India and South Africa. We conceptualise the small and intermediate towns, and the policy challenges and priorities for mitigating and adapting to the effects of climate/environmental change that can enable transformative adaptations to changing conditions. Central issues are the divisions of powers, responsibilities and the fiscal capacity and independence of local authorities within the respective countries’ multi-level policy and governance frameworks. In India, various functions have been constitutionally devolved to city governments to enable them to govern themselves, while more strategic ones lie at state level. In South Africa, the divisions of power and responsibility vary by city size category. We compare the relevant city government fun...

Habitat International, 2020

Transformation: Critical Perspectives on Southern Africa, 2017

This paper traces two dominant approaches to state-led spatial transformation evident in South Af... more This paper traces two dominant approaches to state-led spatial transformation evident in South African cities: the institutional reform approach and the projectfocussed approach. The institutional reform approach works to create strong local systems which, over time, can produce new and different urban outcomes. The project-focussed approach aims to transform space through the development of large projects which themselves alter the urban form. Within South Africa's national urban policy debates, both approaches are currently being promoted. In this paper, we discuss these competing narratives and the stakes, particularly for South African cities. 1

Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 2019

Applied research has evolved to play an important role in understanding and reorienting relations... more Applied research has evolved to play an important role in understanding and reorienting relationships between different knowledge partnerships in urban sustainability. This paper reflects on experiences from the global South on knowledge co-production experiments through 'CityLabs', which are forums for bringing together different knowledge brokers (particularly government and academia) to co-produce policyrelevant urban knowledge. Each CityLab experimented with different configurations to generate knowledge relevant for addressing urban sustainability challenges. This paper reflects on these experiences and identifies emerging common principles. These include: deliberate formulation of safe spaces, in which to engage, willingness for flexibility around the direction, focus and outputs, and carefully fostering trust and mutual understanding among participants. Urban experimentation, and CityLabs in particular, provide real opportunities for facilitating learning, reframing issues and shifting practices around urban sustainability between government and the academy.

Technology|Architecture + Design, 2019

Environment and Urbanization, 2018

This reflective paper surveys the lessons learnt and challenges faced by the Mistra Urban Futures... more This reflective paper surveys the lessons learnt and challenges faced by the Mistra Urban Futures (MUF) research centre and its research platforms in Sweden, the UK, South Africa and Kenya in developing and deploying different forms of transdisciplinary co-production of knowledge. Considerable experience with a distinctive portfolio of such methods has been gained and reflective evaluation is now under way. While it is important to understand the local context within which each method has evolved, we seek to explain the potential for adaptation in diverse contexts so that such knowledge co-production methods can be more widely utilized. Furthermore, the current phase of MUF’s work is undertaking innovative comparative transdisciplinary co-production research across its research platforms. Since the specific local projects differ, systematic thematic comparison requires great care and methodological rigour. Transdisciplinary co-production is inherently complex, time consuming and oft...

The Lancet, 2019

The Global Syndemic-A Policy Brief The Report of the Lancet Commission on Obesity demonstrates th... more The Global Syndemic-A Policy Brief The Report of the Lancet Commission on Obesity demonstrates that the pandemics of obesity, undernutrition, and climate change represent the paramount challenge for humans, the environment and our planet. As we describe below, these interacting pandemics represent The Global Syndemic with common, underlying drivers in the food, transport, urban design, and land use systems. Strong and concerted efforts are required by multiple actors to implement double-duty and triple-duty actions to address the systems that drive The Global Syndemic. These synergistic actions will be essential to achieve planetary health, which we define as the health and wellbeing of humans and the natural environments we depend on. The health gains achieved over the past 50 years of global economic development could be reversed over the next 50 years due to the consequences of climate change. Other non-monetised costs, such as the loss of human potential, social inequities, societal disruption, environmental damage, and loss of biodiversity, are enormous and overshadow the economic costs. The societal costs of The Global Syndemic are extensive and disproportionally affect poor people and low-income countries. Obesity: Excess body weight affects over 2 billion people worldwide and accounts for approximately 4 million deaths annually. The current estimated economic costs of obesity are approximately 2.8% of the world's gross domestic product (GDP). Undernutrition: In Asia and Africa, undernutrition costs 4-11% of GDP. In 2017, 155 million children were stunted and 52 million children were wasted. Two billion people suffer from micronutrient deficiencies, and 815 million people are chronically undernourished. Climate change: Estimates of the future economic costs of climate change are 5-10% of the world's GDP, with costs in low-income countries that may exceed 10% of their GDP.

Revue internationale de politique de développement, 2018

This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the prevailing CC-BY-NC License at ... more This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the prevailing CC-BY-NC License at the time of publication.

Cities, 2016

Urban food systems have increasingly been recognised as a topic that needs to be better understoo... more Urban food systems have increasingly been recognised as a topic that needs to be better understood, in order to address issues of urban food security and urban poverty. This is particularly so in Africa, which has high rates of urban population growth and high levels of urban food insecurity. There has, however, been surprisingly little work on examining the existing processes through which urban food systems are governed. In this article, based on a review of the relevant literature, I examine what we know about urban governance and urban food systems in Africa. The governance of urban food systems in Africa is complex, with a range of governance actors with competing agendas. These governance actors impact on urban food systems, and thus on urban food security, in a variety of ways, including: the impact on food production (e.g. urban and peri-urban agriculture); the impact on the distribution of food; the impact on the retail of food by formal and informal traders; and the impact on food safety. There are many gaps in our knowledge about urban governance and urban food systems in Africa, including: processes in secondary cities; the role of, and impact of, local governments on urban food systems; the impact of inadequate transport systems on food distribution; and the impact of supermarkets (and their expanding supply chains) on urban food systems. We need to better understand existing urban governance processes, and their impacts on urban food systems, in order to be able to collaboratively design interventions to improve urban food security in Africa.

Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, Jan 5, 2016

Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, Aug 16, 2016