For many years, urban food insecurity has been 'invisible' to urban planners and policy makers. This is due to the misconception of food insecurity as being primarily a rural issue and attributable to a lack of supply of food; however, it is clear that the issue of urban food insecurity is systemic, embedded in socio-economic and spatial disparities. Rapid supermarket expansion in low income areas in the City of Cape Town (CoCT), has in many ways limited access to food security, due to the urban poor's lack of financial access to this food. Through a case study method approach, the area surrounding the Langa Junction Mini Mall was used to explore the effects of supermarket expansion in low income areas on the urban poor's access to food security. Fieldwork consisting of observations at the Langa Junction Mini Mall, semi-structured interviews with the Langa Junction Mini Mall manager, the Langa Shoprite manager, informal street traders around the Langa Junction Mini Mall and City of Cape Town land use and spatial planners, as well as three focus groups conducted with Langa residents was conducted. The research findings show that supermarket expansion in Langa has drastically reduced the amount of informal street trade which is an important point of access to food security for the urban poor. Therefore, the Langa Junction Mini Mall has had an effect on the way in which the residents access food security. In addition, these findings suggest that the increase in supermarket expansion in the area are contributing to the food desertification of Langa. Despite an Urban Agriculture Policy, the City of Cape Town has made no spatial or land use interventions in order to alleviate urban food insecurity within the City. Due to the systemic nature of urban food insecurity, interventions must take place at an institutional level in order to appropriately address this issue. This research provides recommendations towards the creation of a Municipal Urban Food Security Policy for the City of Cape Town through the formation of an Urban Food Security Policy Council, an Urban Food Charter as well as an Urban Food Security Strategy. Land use and spatial planning interventions are recommended as ways in which an affordable and equitable urban food system can be created. In addition, this research suggests that there is a need to increase awareness regarding urban food insecurity amongst land use and spatial planners within the City of Cape Town.

This research is founded on the argument that food systems are (and should be) a core mandate for urban planners, particularly as food is connected to many other functions relevant for built-environment professionals. To date, city officials and built-environment professionals in South Africa have adopted a laissez-faire attitude to food systems, simply assuming that for their constituents, food security can be easily solved by supporting urban agriculture projects and allowing the private sector to open new supermarket retail outlets across a city. While the literature on food security in South Africa's poorer areas is vast, no other published South African studies have considered the ways in which inner city regeneration and commercial supermarket expansion combine to impact the food security of the urban poor. Using a case study approach, this research aims to uncover the food security implications, which arise from gentrification and the growth of the commercial supermarket sector, for middle- and low-income households in Sea Point, an inner-city neighbourhood of Cape Town. This study used techniques including interviews, photography, mapping, food-price recording, document and archival research, and direct observation. It was discovered that gentrification creates an environment where local food systems are altered by policy prescriptions and improvement projects which, in turn, enable the growth of commercial food retail and high-end food service outlets. This research shows being located close to a supermarket is no guarantee of being able to afford what's being sold, and this is important because inadequate access to good-quality food has implications for health and human development over time. The experience and knowledge gained from this research has been used to support appropriate food security policy recommendations for the City of Cape Town.

Walking is a widely accessible mode of transportation, yet our urban environments are automobile dependent. Automobile dependence, in turn, led to a rise in the level of inactivity amongst urban residents. Studies investigating the relationship between urban form and human health created walkability indices measuring urban environmental features contributing to the walkability of an area. However, walkability has only recently become the subject of research within urban planning. Within a South African context limited research is available on walkability and to date, there is no metropolitan-wide walkability index for any South African metropolitan. The research presented in this dissertation addresses the gap in South African walkability studies through the composition of a walkability index for Cape Town. From previous studies, the research identifies three main measures of walkability. These measures and a fourth Cape Town specific measure of walkable areas around informal and formal destinations are quantified and mapped using GIS research methods and techniques. The GIS results are validated against field validations points depicting streetscapes within enumeration areas. Based on the results and the validation thereof the study suggests possible applications of the walkability index for non-motorised transport planning in Cape Town.

Includes bibliographical references / Affordable housing in Cape Town tends to be located far away from economic opportunities, social facilities and public transport infrastructure, which serves to reinforce inequality, burdening poor households and the City. This dissertation explores the current challenges in bringing well-located, affordable housing units to market in Cape Town; the opportunities for greater private sector participation; and the public interventions required in order to enable actors to overcome these challenges and capitalise on the opportunities. These issues were gradually refined from a global scale to a local area, beginning with a review of the relevant urban development and housing economics literature in order to form a theoretical framework, followed by an overview of the local housing market and national housing policy. Precedent, interviews and a workshop were then conducted with participants from the private and public sectors, NGOs and academia in order to explore the key challenges, opportunities and potential solutions in Cape Town. Finally, these challenges and opportunities were investigated and interventions proposed in a particular context, namely Parow train station precinct within the Voortrekker Road Corridor (VRC) in Cape Town. While a comprehensive review of national housing policy and funding is required, the focus of this dissertation is on the many city-scale interventions which are possible within a short- to medium-term, which tackle inefficiencies in the market and regulatory system in order to leverage the power of the private sector towards the goal of well-located affordable housing. The findings for Cape Town indicate that the greatest challenges for developers are the limited availability of well-located land at affordable prices; lack of depreciated, higher-density buildings for redevelopment; excessive parking ratios; delays in the development process; and a lack of nuanced market demand information. Fortunately, there are many opportunities, including a capable and facilitative municipality in Cape Town; growing private sector interest in affordable housing; the power of small-scale landlords and innovative design; a shift from ownership to rental; and potential synergy between affordable housing, transit-oriented development (TOD) and urban regeneration (provided policy and public spending are aligned). Key recommendations for public intervention, applicable both city-wide and to the Parow Study Area, are: firstly, to urgently develop programmatic (national and city scale) and area-based (precinct scale) strategies which position affordable housing (including social housing) as a catalyst for urban regeneration and TOD, and align public investment in order to incrementally densify appropriate areas; secondly, to protect and package public land for affordable housing and other public benefit uses; and thirdly, to remove obstacles to private sector provision of affordable housing by both institutional and small-scale actors (for example, by reducing parking requirements and restrictive development parameters (potentially through affordable housing overlay zones), making market data available and fast-tracking approvals). An essential institutional intervention is the creation of an inter-departmental 'affordable housing task-team' within the municipality to champion and facilitate such interventions.

Includes bibliographical references / Since the collaborative turn, planning has been 'captive to an inclusionary view of society' and to the assumed value that public participation automatically confers on development outcomes. In the global South however, the extreme diversity of people and activities coupled with 'advanced marginality', perhaps inspires different interpretations of 'public' and 'private' space and the activities enacted within each, as well as of the universal acceptance and application of formal processes which aim 'to include'. In this dissertation I explore the implicit value of public participation when planning with informality, for 14 skarrelers in Cape Town's Southern Suburbs, as well as the potential for a 'deepening' of democracy through more genuine and flexible forms of engagement and learning. This involves research participants setting the terms and settings of engagement prior to the development of objectives. Joining research participants 'on the skarrel', I learn that ontologies are fluid rather than fixed, with skarrelers expressing different desires for inclusion than expected. I argue that, at the heart of such engagements with informally organised and/or marginalized groups, there should be an ethic of care and justice, with a morality that is based on responsibility and relationships rather than rights and rules. This suggests a relational approach to planning that embraces principles of democracy and pluralism, and of difference and multiculturalism - one that is thoroughly flexible in both form and ontology, and that is able to achieve far more nuanced conceptions of what it means to be included - with genuine intentions to plan with informality, rather than for it.

Includes bibliographical references / Cities in South Africa are currently experiencing rapid urbanisation, especially Cape Town. Infrastructure development has long been a critical component with a large amount of money invested in the development of hard infrastructure. However, in light of excessive stormwater runoff, the increased deterioration of surface water resources, degraded water quality, and the rapid progression of climate change around the global, many cities including Cape Town have progressed towards more sustainable forms of infrastructure development. Discourse surrounding sustainable development often encourages the improvement of the quality of urban areas without compromising the carrying capacity of ecosystems. This is a fairly new model in South Africa, which challenges the underlying principles of conventional infrastructural design and management. There is particularly an enthusiastic interest in the promotion of green infrastructure as a water sensitive design strategy in the management of stormwater and surface water. Presently, drainage systems for urban areas in Cape Town are constructed using principles of hard infrastructure, which often consist of complex man-made networks of underground tunnels and pipes that gather and direct stormwater runoff towards a surface waterbody. However, the extensive development of drainage infrastructure has led to increased stormwater runoff volumes, flooding, and flows. Urban stormwater runoff is known to be one of main sources of pollution and degradation of waterbodies, which has in turn resulted in the degradation of other environmental assets. Therefore, the planning, design, and implementation of infrastructural solutions there is a need to move towards a more sustainable and water sensitive model, in order to remediate these problems. Green infrastructure in this respect offers an opportunity to better manage both stormwater and surface water in a more holistic, cost-effective, efficient and ecological sound manner. The main objective of green infrastructure urban water management is to mimicking the natural hydrological cycle through various stormwater management interventions, in order to achieve what conventional drainage systems currently do and beyond their existing capacity. This dissertation uses Paarden Eiland as a case study and experimental project site in order to assess and investigate how green infrastructure can be utilised to effectively manage stormwater runoff and surface water within a heavily developed urban area. It explores the potential benefits this method of management provides in comparison to a conventional infrastructural approach of management. This study also highlights some of the critical issues and barriers that urban practitioners need to take into account when implementing such systems. A green infrastructure urban water management framework and conceptual layout are presented in order to demonstrate potential green infrastructure tools and strategies that may be used in retrofitting heavily developed areas, as well as provide guidance on how spatial planning can be utilised as a tool in the planning, design, and implementation of green infrastructure as well as in overcoming identified financial, technical, and institutional barriers.

This study contributes a critical geographic perspective to understanding possibilities and constraints for achieving more sustainable and just urbanization through New Urbanism, a market-oriented, Smart Growth approach consistent with the trend of deregulation of growth management in the US in recent decades. Six master-planned Florida New Urbanist developments were evaluated using mixed methods. Empirical analyses were conducted using geographic information system (GIS) tools to assess the "locational sustainability" of the developments in relation to the surrounding regional fabric, and census data were used to evaluate the racial and ethnic composition of residents. In addition, the study investigates whether greater public participation is linked to stronger sustainability outcomes and how a New Urbanist "brand" affected development processes. Finally, archival research is employed to uncover development histories to enrich understandings of development processes and the role of New Urbanism from pre-development through siting and actual development. The findings show generally poor and patchy fulfillment of sustainability outcomes for the New Urbanist communities studied, with no single community scoring well for both locational sustainability and racial and ethnic population diversity. Communities where the strongest participatory processes were in effect prior to development exhibited better sustainability outcomes; however, for all six cases, siting and development decisions were driven by economic factors similar to those for conventional suburban developments. The findings suggest that rather than focusing on particular styles of built forms, efforts be directed at promoting political and economic processes and policies that lead to more just and sustainable outcomes. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Geography in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2016. / July 12, 2016. / Florida, growth management, New Urbanism, sustainability, urbanization, Urban Political Ecology / Includes bibliographical references. / Joseph Pierce, Professor Directing Dissertation; Christopher Coutts, University Representative; Victor Mesev, Committee Member; Xiaojun Yang, Committee Member.

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The exodus of residents and employment opportunities from central cities has greatly impacted the low income residents which have remained as suitable employment opportunities are locating further from their residence. This trend has negatively impacted the employment participation of these residents, worsening their economic situation. The implementation of light rail transit is considered to address this issue as it can connect this population to new labor markets and attract development along its corridor. This development has the potential to produce suitable employment opportunities for low income residents. Surprisingly, studies have found light rail investment to have negligible impacts on the employment participation of low income inner city residents. The researcher theorizes that these findings are due, in part, to the development outcomes achieved within light rail service areas. The aggressive development activity which is commonly observed within new transit areas has the potential to change the character of the surrounding environment. This change may come at the expense of low income residents as areas experience gentrification and lose suitable employment opportunities. This study explores the change in, and nature of, development which arises within light rail station areas in order to better comprehend the impact which resulting development outcomes have on opportunities suitable for low income residents. This is done by focusing on four cities which have implemented a light rail system between 2000 and 2010. The change in employment opportunities within station areas which can be attributed to the presence of light rail is estimated via a difference in difference model implemented within a negative binomial regression. Focus is placed on the change in employment opportunities suitable for low income residents. Next, the impact which light rail has on the odds of station areas gentrifying is explored via the generation of a gentrification index and application of a logistic regression. Lastly, cases which experienced diverging development outcomes were identified and further explored. Interviews and the review of relevant documents provided additional insight on the factors which contribute to the attainment of more equitable development outcomes. The results of this study indicate that development activity within light rail service areas has the potential to eliminate certain which are likely to employ low income residents. At the same time, some employment categories which employ low income residents were found to experience growth. Additionally, station areas in one case were found to face greater odds of gentrifying when compared to similar areas not serviced by rail transit. Results were not consistent across all cases as they deviated based on their respective location. The exploration of cases which experienced diverging outcomes provided insight on factors which may contribute to the attainment of specific development outcomes. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Urban and Regional Planning in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2018. / June 20, 2018. / Development, Equity, Light Rail, Urban Planning / Includes bibliographical references. / Jeffrey R. Brown, Professor Directing Dissertation; Earle Klay, University Representative; Michael Duncan, Committee Member; April Jackson, Committee Member.

Despite the rapid global motorization, especially in developing countries, the use of the bicycle as urban transportation has increased in the last 35 years (Shaheen, Guzman, & Zhang, 2012). However, the United States, Canada, and Mexico have low cycling levels with bicycle mode share of little more than one percent (Buehler & Pucher, 2012). Some of the possible alternatives to promote the use of the bicycle is that the presence of bikeshare systems can encourage cycling by providing a safer environment for all types of cyclists (Fischman & Schepers, 2014). This dissertation examines the drivers’ perception towards cyclists and the possible difference in perception towards Ecobici bikeshare users and private cyclists. This research was carried out in Mexico City, at the EcoBici bikeshare service area. Data collection was done by a self-reported survey distributed online and by intercept surveys conducted to drivers who drive within the study area and control area. The analysis of the 710 participants' responses shows that drivers from the control area have a more positive perception towards cyclists, especially on issues related to bicycle investment and bicycle infrastructure. Overall, younger generations reported a more positive perception towards cyclists, and most drivers perceive that cyclists are not predictable on the roads as most of the drivers reported feel nervous when overtaking cyclists. When comparing Ecobici users to private cyclists, the results suggest that drivers do not have a clear preference for Ecobici users over private cyclists. Nevertheless, drivers are also more in favor of encouraging family and friends to use Ecobici bicycles over private bicycles, which could indicate that, unconsciously, participants consider that traveling on an Ecobici bicycle is safer than going on a private bicycle. The results from this study could have an impact on policymakers and transportation practitioners in Mexico City who would like to improve drivers-cyclists’ interactions in the road and to promote the use of the bicycle for transportation. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Urban and Regional Planning in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / 2019 / October 31, 2019. / Bikeshare systems, Drivers perception / Includes bibliographical references. / Michael Duncan, Professor Directing Dissertation; Mark Horner, University Representative; Jeffrey Brown, Committee Member; John Felkner, Committee Member.