Motivations & Outcomes of Urban Agriculture in Cape Town, South Africa: A comparative study of three projects in areas with different land rents

Abstract

Academic interest in urban agriculture (UA) has been steadily growing over the last twenty years. It can be considered as a diverse tool that can be applied to different contexts in both the developing and the developed world. Several authors (Battersby & Marshak, 2013; McClintock, 2010; Olivier & Heinecken, 2017) have pointed to a potential divide occurring within UA literature. Battersby & Marshak refer to this as the North-South paradigm (2013). Within this paradigm, a major factor in understanding different reasons for UA involvement is wealth. The general notion is that communities engage in UA for either security or fulfilment needs, producing different livelihood outcomes. This thesis is a comparative study to analyse the role of wealth in the form of land rents plays in UA within the setting of Cape Town, South Africa. It seeks to understand the extent to which land rents can be considered an explanation for different motivations to participate in UA and its similarly distinct effects on livelihoods. The study was carried out at three research sites in Cape Town. Due to South Africa’s history of apartheid, social and economic inequality has a strong geographic factor. The choice for the three sites was based on areas with distinctly different land values and communities with different socioeconomic background. This allowing for comparisons to be draw as to their motivations and outcomes for UA engagement.