In responding to food price riots and other unrest in 2008, Gauteng province in South Africa hosted a two-day Food Summit attended by 4000 delegates. Summit invitees expected to be consulted on issues of concern about food prices, but the government instead responded with the message that the poor must be self-sufficient and grow their own food (via the Ilima/Letsema campaign launch), an impractical suggestion in a crisis. The timing of the 2008 Summit in relation to major changes within the African National Congress and the looming 2009 national election in South Africa leads to a conclusion that the Summit was a political event designed to build political capital ahead of the elections, rather than a genuine stakeholder consultation event linked to food security. Findings of this study indicated that food security planning in Gauteng is exclusionary through its rural bias and excludes, for example, urban dwellers and foreign migrants. Also, at that time, Gauteng would have been underprepared for a genuine food emergency as there was no working provincial strategy to deal with urban food security or a severe food crisis.

This document review evaluates modes of appropriate urban tree planting that could quickly (within 20 years) create a tree canopy in Phuthaditjhaba to provide social benefits, deal with a future urban heat island effect and create resilience to climate change. Phuthaditjhaba (pop. 54 000), a dense rural–urban settlement in QwaQwa, South Africa, faces looming threats linked to climate change, including health impacts as heat waves become more common and severe in southern Africa. One of the ways of creating a more liveable and sustainable urban environment is through tree planting in streets, schools, clinics and homesteads. Phuthaditjhaba, located in a montane grassland biome, is virtually treeless and a future tree canopy in this city would need to be envisaged and planned for. Challenges to growing trees here include the harsh climate and the shortage of water, the lack of a ‘green’ vision from the local municipality, as well as the cost of purchasing or growing thousands of suitable saplings. Modelling and various other forms of data and information gathering can assist in optimising tree species selection and planting, but data for Phuthaditjhaba is not available. Creating an urban tree canopy in Phuthaditjhaba would contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 11 of making cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. This study also reflects on ways to create livelihoods in this remote semi-urban setting through tree growing, tree planting, arbocare and landscape restoration measures.

This introductory chapters presents aims, approach and main contents of the edited volume, framing a practical discussion about sustainable development in Phuthaditjhaba, a southern-african informal town which is facing multilevel social, political and environmental challenges. By employing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) throughout, the Goals serve as a common reference point which unites the written contributions and which can be employed by researchers, policy makers and practitioners alike. The book brings together diverse contributions from scholars and practitioners on Phuthaditjhaba and the area of the former homeland QwaQwa. Each chapter addresses the city from a different disciplinary perspective, with the overall objective of shedding light on the challenges and opportunities presented with regards to sustainable development.

In the conclusive chapter we underline that—in line with UN Agenda 2030—many research funding bodies now require researchers to explicitly address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their research design. Consultations with scientists and practitioners in Phuthaditjhaba during research for this book highlighted that the SDGs still do not currently have a prominent role in the scientific research in the region. Nevertheless, throughout this collective volume they have provided authors with an important reference point which helps frame local research in a global agenda. Mountain communities are often especially challenged by increased exposure and vulnerability to global change including climate change, and there is a need for on-going research to highlight local adaptation and mitigation strategies. These communities need to be recognised as partners in research, policy and decision-making processes. While the UN SDGs can be used as a roadmap towards a more sustainable future, this depends on their application by scientists, practitioners and policymakers at local level. The ongoing European-South African research partnership which produced this publication will continue providing a space for co-learning on data collection and analysis methods, within the theoretical framework jointly defined. Only with close collaboration between scientists from multiple disciplines, policymakers and civil society will a sustainable future for this African mountain city be possible.