Full Text Available
Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.
A nodal governance approach to understanding the barriers and opportunities for disaster governance : a case study on flood governance in an informal settlement in Cape Town, South Africa
The premise of this thesis is that complex socio-environmental problems, such as those associated with urban disaster risk and climate change, cannot be managed by individual organisations or hierarchical forms of organisation, but require integrated, inclusive, and multi-actor forms of governance....
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Department of Environmental and Geographical Science
2016
|
| Subjects: | |
| Tags: |
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1867613219879649280 |
|---|---|
| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Waddell, Joy |
| author2 | Ziervogel, Gina |
| author_browse | Waddell, Joy Ziervogel, Gina |
| author_facet | Ziervogel, Gina Waddell, Joy |
| author_sort | Waddell, Joy |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | The premise of this thesis is that complex socio-environmental problems, such as those associated with urban disaster risk and climate change, cannot be managed by individual organisations or hierarchical forms of organisation, but require integrated, inclusive, and multi-actor forms of governance. By adopting the concept of 'disaster governance' and by drawing on governance discourse, this thesis argues that multiple actors with various capacities and understanding of the problem should be involved in disaster management processes. This thesis demonstrates that in practice, however, a collaborative, decentralised, and inclusive disaster governance approach, which often involves actors outside of taken-for-granted networks, is harder to design, implement, and maintain in cities of the global South. In this thesis, an embedded qualitative case study approach is adopted to explore how the local municipality in Cape Town manages flood risk in one of their high-risk informal settlements called Sweet Home, which is located in Philippi on the Cape Flats. Qualitative data is collected from in-depth, semi-structured interviews and multi-actor workshops with local government officials in Cape Town, residents from Sweet Home informal settlement, and non-governmental organisations involved in flood management activities. This research uses a nodal governance approach to describe and analyse the unique mentalities, resources, technologies, and institutions that shape actors' actions and decisions with regard to flood governance. Added to this is an in-depth look at what barriers might be present as a product of these characteristics, and how these barriers impact on the ability of these actors to collaboratively address disaster risk. This thesis demonstrates that by unpacking these characteristics and the potential barriers, the conditions needed to strengthen disaster governance can then be identified. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/20413 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:32:39.476Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publishDateRange | 2016 |
| publishDateSort | 2016 |
| publisher | Department of Environmental and Geographical Science |
| publisherStr | Department of Environmental and Geographical Science |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/20413 A nodal governance approach to understanding the barriers and opportunities for disaster governance : a case study on flood governance in an informal settlement in Cape Town, South Africa Waddell, Joy Ziervogel, Gina Environmental and Geographical Science Disaster Management The premise of this thesis is that complex socio-environmental problems, such as those associated with urban disaster risk and climate change, cannot be managed by individual organisations or hierarchical forms of organisation, but require integrated, inclusive, and multi-actor forms of governance. By adopting the concept of 'disaster governance' and by drawing on governance discourse, this thesis argues that multiple actors with various capacities and understanding of the problem should be involved in disaster management processes. This thesis demonstrates that in practice, however, a collaborative, decentralised, and inclusive disaster governance approach, which often involves actors outside of taken-for-granted networks, is harder to design, implement, and maintain in cities of the global South. In this thesis, an embedded qualitative case study approach is adopted to explore how the local municipality in Cape Town manages flood risk in one of their high-risk informal settlements called Sweet Home, which is located in Philippi on the Cape Flats. Qualitative data is collected from in-depth, semi-structured interviews and multi-actor workshops with local government officials in Cape Town, residents from Sweet Home informal settlement, and non-governmental organisations involved in flood management activities. This research uses a nodal governance approach to describe and analyse the unique mentalities, resources, technologies, and institutions that shape actors' actions and decisions with regard to flood governance. Added to this is an in-depth look at what barriers might be present as a product of these characteristics, and how these barriers impact on the ability of these actors to collaboratively address disaster risk. This thesis demonstrates that by unpacking these characteristics and the potential barriers, the conditions needed to strengthen disaster governance can then be identified. 2016-07-18T12:46:36Z 2016-07-18T12:46:36Z 2016 Doctoral Thesis Doctoral PhD http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20413 eng application/pdf application/pdf Department of Environmental and Geographical Science Faculty of Science University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Environmental and Geographical Science Disaster Management Waddell, Joy A nodal governance approach to understanding the barriers and opportunities for disaster governance : a case study on flood governance in an informal settlement in Cape Town, South Africa |
| thesis_degree_str | Doctoral |
| title | A nodal governance approach to understanding the barriers and opportunities for disaster governance : a case study on flood governance in an informal settlement in Cape Town, South Africa |
| title_full | A nodal governance approach to understanding the barriers and opportunities for disaster governance : a case study on flood governance in an informal settlement in Cape Town, South Africa |
| title_fullStr | A nodal governance approach to understanding the barriers and opportunities for disaster governance : a case study on flood governance in an informal settlement in Cape Town, South Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | A nodal governance approach to understanding the barriers and opportunities for disaster governance : a case study on flood governance in an informal settlement in Cape Town, South Africa |
| title_short | A nodal governance approach to understanding the barriers and opportunities for disaster governance : a case study on flood governance in an informal settlement in Cape Town, South Africa |
| title_sort | nodal governance approach to understanding the barriers and opportunities for disaster governance a case study on flood governance in an informal settlement in cape town south africa |
| topic | Environmental and Geographical Science Disaster Management |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20413 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT waddelljoy anodalgovernanceapproachtounderstandingthebarriersandopportunitiesfordisastergovernanceacasestudyonfloodgovernanceinaninformalsettlementincapetownsouthafrica AT waddelljoy nodalgovernanceapproachtounderstandingthebarriersandopportunitiesfordisastergovernanceacasestudyonfloodgovernanceinaninformalsettlementincapetownsouthafrica |