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Food for the Future: Planning for Urban Agriculture In Cape Town's City Bowl

The field of urban planning engages with many aspects of human life, but urban food systems, especially food production, have somehow slipped the agenda. Food insecurity and food-related challenges have for a long time been viewed as rural issues related to environmental factors affecting food produ...

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Main Author: Rabkin, Nicola Nan
Other Authors: Katzschner, Tania
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics 2014
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access_status_str Open Access
author Rabkin, Nicola Nan
author2 Katzschner, Tania
author_browse Katzschner, Tania
Rabkin, Nicola Nan
author_facet Katzschner, Tania
Rabkin, Nicola Nan
author_sort Rabkin, Nicola Nan
collection Thesis
description The field of urban planning engages with many aspects of human life, but urban food systems, especially food production, have somehow slipped the agenda. Food insecurity and food-related challenges have for a long time been viewed as rural issues related to environmental factors affecting food production. Now that, in 2013, more than half the world's human population lives in cities, food insecurity has become an urban issue just as much, if not more, than that of rural areas. At the same time industrial and conventional agricultural methods fail to satisfy global human hunger and contribute to large-scale ecological destruction and a variety of human health problems. In many cities around the world, local governments and planning departments, and the planning profession more broadly, have begun to think more deeply about urban food systems: can food systems be more just, more equal, more accessible, healthier and ecologically sustainable. The literature on urban agriculture generally follows two themes: one being urban agriculture as a livelihood and food security strategy for the poor and the other being as socio-ecological strategy to build community through enlivened, green public spaces. Global ecological and economic crises are slowly bringing these themes closer towards one another. Cape Town, in policy and practice, generally remains within the theme of urban agriculture as a food security strategy for the poor. This is a narrow and limited conception of urban agriculture that creates spatial and behavioral barriers to food production in the city. A case study of Cape Town's City Bowl presents an opportunity to engage planners, and ordinary citizens, with food and food systems through urban agricultural strategies. This study examines the constraining factors of urban food production and the potential that this unique urban centre holds for building a healthier food system for all inhabitants. These opportunities are, in this thesis, transformed into proposals for interventions, primarily involving local government and planning.
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institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:37:37.448Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2014
publishDateRange 2014
publishDateSort 2014
publisher School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics
publisherStr School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics
record_format dspace
source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/7518 Food for the Future: Planning for Urban Agriculture In Cape Town's City Bowl Rabkin, Nicola Nan Katzschner, Tania The field of urban planning engages with many aspects of human life, but urban food systems, especially food production, have somehow slipped the agenda. Food insecurity and food-related challenges have for a long time been viewed as rural issues related to environmental factors affecting food production. Now that, in 2013, more than half the world's human population lives in cities, food insecurity has become an urban issue just as much, if not more, than that of rural areas. At the same time industrial and conventional agricultural methods fail to satisfy global human hunger and contribute to large-scale ecological destruction and a variety of human health problems. In many cities around the world, local governments and planning departments, and the planning profession more broadly, have begun to think more deeply about urban food systems: can food systems be more just, more equal, more accessible, healthier and ecologically sustainable. The literature on urban agriculture generally follows two themes: one being urban agriculture as a livelihood and food security strategy for the poor and the other being as socio-ecological strategy to build community through enlivened, green public spaces. Global ecological and economic crises are slowly bringing these themes closer towards one another. Cape Town, in policy and practice, generally remains within the theme of urban agriculture as a food security strategy for the poor. This is a narrow and limited conception of urban agriculture that creates spatial and behavioral barriers to food production in the city. A case study of Cape Town's City Bowl presents an opportunity to engage planners, and ordinary citizens, with food and food systems through urban agricultural strategies. This study examines the constraining factors of urban food production and the potential that this unique urban centre holds for building a healthier food system for all inhabitants. These opportunities are, in this thesis, transformed into proposals for interventions, primarily involving local government and planning. 2014-09-17T12:15:55Z 2014-09-17T12:15:55Z 2013 Master Thesis Masters MCRP http://hdl.handle.net/11427/7518 eng application/pdf School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment University of Cape Town
spellingShingle Rabkin, Nicola Nan
Food for the Future: Planning for Urban Agriculture In Cape Town's City Bowl
thesis_degree_str Master's
title Food for the Future: Planning for Urban Agriculture In Cape Town's City Bowl
title_full Food for the Future: Planning for Urban Agriculture In Cape Town's City Bowl
title_fullStr Food for the Future: Planning for Urban Agriculture In Cape Town's City Bowl
title_full_unstemmed Food for the Future: Planning for Urban Agriculture In Cape Town's City Bowl
title_short Food for the Future: Planning for Urban Agriculture In Cape Town's City Bowl
title_sort food for the future planning for urban agriculture in cape town s city bowl
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/7518
work_keys_str_mv AT rabkinnicolanan foodforthefutureplanningforurbanagricultureincapetownscitybowl