Publications
Towards Measuring the Informal City: A Societal Metabolism Approach Journal Article
Smit, Suzanne; Musango, Josephine K.; Kovacic, Zora; Brent, Alan C.
In: Journal of Industrial Ecology, 23 (3), pp. 674–685, 2019, ISSN: 1088-1980.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Informal settlement, MuSIASEM, Societal metabolism, South Africa, Urban metabolism, urban slum
@article{Smit2019,
title = {Towards Measuring the Informal City: A Societal Metabolism Approach},
author = {Suzanne Smit and Josephine K. Musango and Zora Kovacic and Alan C. Brent},
url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jiec.12776 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jiec.12776 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jiec.12776},
doi = {10.1111/jiec.12776},
issn = {1088-1980},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-06-01},
journal = {Journal of Industrial Ecology},
volume = {23},
number = {3},
pages = {674--685},
publisher = {John Wiley & Sons, Ltd},
abstract = {The rapid growth of urban informal settlements, or slums, poses a particular challenge for balancing developmental and environmental goals. In South Africa, high levels of inequality, poverty, and unemployment contribute to widespread migration. The influx of migrant workers to cities, however, is rarely matched with adequate housing and infrastructure, resulting in the formation and growth of urban informal settlements. Despite the persistence of the slum phenomenon, very few studies provide an in-depth understanding of the metabolic processes that link these spaces, and informal economies, to the broader urban environment and economy. This article therefore utilized a multiscale integrated assessment of the societal and ecosystem metabolism approach to examine human activity and land use in Enkanini, an urban informal settlement in Stellenbosch, South Africa. The results highlight a number of issues to be addressed through spatial, developmental, and local economic policy, such as the need for improved transport linkages. The time-use results show that Enkanini is a net provider of labor to the surrounding area. Further, geographical mapping indicates Enkanini as a small, but vibrant, informal economy, while being grossly underserviced in terms of water, waste, and sanitation infrastructure. Key implications are discussed in terms of the theoretical, methodological, societal, and policy impact of the study, including the need for city observatories that conduct regular data collection and analysis.},
keywords = {Informal settlement, MuSIASEM, Societal metabolism, South Africa, Urban metabolism, urban slum},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
The rapid growth of urban informal settlements, or slums, poses a particular challenge for balancing developmental and environmental goals. In South Africa, high levels of inequality, poverty, and unemployment contribute to widespread migration. The influx of migrant workers to cities, however, is rarely matched with adequate housing and infrastructure, resulting in the formation and growth of urban informal settlements. Despite the persistence of the slum phenomenon, very few studies provide an in-depth understanding of the metabolic processes that link these spaces, and informal economies, to the broader urban environment and economy. This article therefore utilized a multiscale integrated assessment of the societal and ecosystem metabolism approach to examine human activity and land use in Enkanini, an urban informal settlement in Stellenbosch, South Africa. The results highlight a number of issues to be addressed through spatial, developmental, and local economic policy, such as the need for improved transport linkages. The time-use results show that Enkanini is a net provider of labor to the surrounding area. Further, geographical mapping indicates Enkanini as a small, but vibrant, informal economy, while being grossly underserviced in terms of water, waste, and sanitation infrastructure. Key implications are discussed in terms of the theoretical, methodological, societal, and policy impact of the study, including the need for city observatories that conduct regular data collection and analysis.
Conceptualising slum in an urban African context Journal Article
Smit, Suzanne; Musango, Josephine Kaviti; Kovacic, Zora; Brent, Alan C.
In: Cities, 62 , pp. 107–119, 2017, ISSN: 02642751.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Informal settlement, Multi-scale analysis, South Africa, Urban Africa, Urban metabolism, Urban slums
@article{Smit2017,
title = {Conceptualising slum in an urban African context},
author = {Suzanne Smit and Josephine Kaviti Musango and Zora Kovacic and Alan C. Brent},
url = {https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0264275116302311},
doi = {10.1016/j.cities.2016.12.018},
issn = {02642751},
year = {2017},
date = {2017-02-01},
journal = {Cities},
volume = {62},
pages = {107--119},
publisher = {Pergamon},
abstract = {Increasing urbanisation and the proliferation of slums require a holistic understanding of the urban metabolism of cities. However, existing urban metabolic analyses exclude a detailed understanding of how urban slums function and contribute to biophysical, including energy, flows. This paper aims at filling this gap by critically investigating the notion of the urban slum in general, the extent to which it differs in the African context, specifically in South Africa, and broadening the understanding of urban slum based on the concept of urban metabolism, using the multi-scale integrated analysis of societal and ecosystem metabolism (MuSIASEM) approach, which was applied to the Enkanini informal settlement in Stellenbosch, South Africa. The analysis shows that South Africa has a more nuanced typology of the notion of urban slums categorised as: (i) townships; (ii) housing-turned-slum; (iii) squatter camps; (iv) site and service settlements; (v) transit camps; and (vi) hybrid multi-structured settlements. Beyond these definitions, the case study illustrates that urban slums, however defined, are complex systems with their own internal flows and processes that are connected in a myriad of ways to the larger urban system. The investigation into the use of Time, Money and Energy in the Enkanini case further revealed the productive (hypercyclic) and consumptive (dissipative) nature of the components of the urban informal settlement. This type of analysis reveals new insights into the linkages between urban informal settlements and the city.},
keywords = {Informal settlement, Multi-scale analysis, South Africa, Urban Africa, Urban metabolism, Urban slums},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Increasing urbanisation and the proliferation of slums require a holistic understanding of the urban metabolism of cities. However, existing urban metabolic analyses exclude a detailed understanding of how urban slums function and contribute to biophysical, including energy, flows. This paper aims at filling this gap by critically investigating the notion of the urban slum in general, the extent to which it differs in the African context, specifically in South Africa, and broadening the understanding of urban slum based on the concept of urban metabolism, using the multi-scale integrated analysis of societal and ecosystem metabolism (MuSIASEM) approach, which was applied to the Enkanini informal settlement in Stellenbosch, South Africa. The analysis shows that South Africa has a more nuanced typology of the notion of urban slums categorised as: (i) townships; (ii) housing-turned-slum; (iii) squatter camps; (iv) site and service settlements; (v) transit camps; and (vi) hybrid multi-structured settlements. Beyond these definitions, the case study illustrates that urban slums, however defined, are complex systems with their own internal flows and processes that are connected in a myriad of ways to the larger urban system. The investigation into the use of Time, Money and Energy in the Enkanini case further revealed the productive (hypercyclic) and consumptive (dissipative) nature of the components of the urban informal settlement. This type of analysis reveals new insights into the linkages between urban informal settlements and the city.
Between theory and quantification: An integrated analysis of metabolic patterns of informal urban settlements Journal Article
Kovacic, Zora; Giampietro, Mario
In: Energy Policy, 100 , pp. 377–386, 2017, ISSN: 03014215.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Brazil, Complexity, Energy poverty, Slums, Societal metabolism, South Africa
@article{Kovacic2017b,
title = {Between theory and quantification: An integrated analysis of metabolic patterns of informal urban settlements},
author = {Zora Kovacic and Mario Giampietro},
url = {https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0301421516303524},
doi = {10.1016/j.enpol.2016.06.047},
issn = {03014215},
year = {2017},
date = {2017-01-01},
journal = {Energy Policy},
volume = {100},
pages = {377--386},
publisher = {Elsevier},
abstract = {As informal urban settlements grow in size and population across the developing world, the issue of how to design and implement effective policies to provide for the needs and the aspirations of dwellers becomes ever more pressing. This paper addresses the challenge of how to characterise in quantitative terms the complex and fast-changing phenomenon of informal urban settlements without falling into oversimplification and a narrow focus on the material deficits of informal settlements. Energy policies are taken as an example to illustrate the shortcomings of oversimplification in producing policy relevant information. We adopt a semantically open representation of informal settlements that can capture the diversity of adaptive strategies used by different settlement typologies, based on the societal metabolism approach. Results show that as settlements grow in size and complexity, they remain economically and politically marginalised and fail to integrate into the city. We argue that in the case of energy policy, the analysis must go beyond the definition of problems such as access to energy at the level of the individual, and focus on a multi-scale assessment including the household and community levels studying the capacity of the household to increase it energy throughput through exosomatic devices and infrastructure.},
keywords = {Brazil, Complexity, Energy poverty, Slums, Societal metabolism, South Africa},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
As informal urban settlements grow in size and population across the developing world, the issue of how to design and implement effective policies to provide for the needs and the aspirations of dwellers becomes ever more pressing. This paper addresses the challenge of how to characterise in quantitative terms the complex and fast-changing phenomenon of informal urban settlements without falling into oversimplification and a narrow focus on the material deficits of informal settlements. Energy policies are taken as an example to illustrate the shortcomings of oversimplification in producing policy relevant information. We adopt a semantically open representation of informal settlements that can capture the diversity of adaptive strategies used by different settlement typologies, based on the societal metabolism approach. Results show that as settlements grow in size and complexity, they remain economically and politically marginalised and fail to integrate into the city. We argue that in the case of energy policy, the analysis must go beyond the definition of problems such as access to energy at the level of the individual, and focus on a multi-scale assessment including the household and community levels studying the capacity of the household to increase it energy throughput through exosomatic devices and infrastructure.
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