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Trevor Wills’ (1991) chapter underscored how segregationist policy and practices shaped the development of Pietermaritzburg and environs from its very inception. Wills concluded that ‘closing the gaps’ in Pietermaritzburg’s racialized form would take a long time after the scrapping of apartheid laws. In this chapter, we draw on new insights from the historiography since then, including on gender and the city’s peripheral areas, recent census data and close observation, to assess changes and continuities in the city’s de facto racial segregation. The data presented suggests that while patterns of desegregation are certainly present in all city suburbs—and in some areas like the city centre far more advanced than anticipated—class dynamics continue to align with a legacy of racial segregation in both the most affluent and poorest areas of the city, and a trend of uneven development continues. As pertinently, the analytical lens of the city as a de jure political-administrative entity that Wills employed is too limiting. We argue that apprehending the city as a broader conurbation and de facto metropolitan is more appropriate, and that attempts to redress the inequities of the past, amidst ongoing spatial agglomeration and desegregation in the post-apartheid period, have to a large degree been hampered by the fact that an appropriate metropolitan area has yet to be demarcated, much less agreed to.
Adrian Nel; Marc Epprecht; Rob Haswell. Pietermaritzburg: Desegregation and the Metropolitan Imperative. Representing Place and Territorial Identities in Europe 2021, 129 -147.
AMA StyleAdrian Nel, Marc Epprecht, Rob Haswell. Pietermaritzburg: Desegregation and the Metropolitan Imperative. Representing Place and Territorial Identities in Europe. 2021; ():129-147.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAdrian Nel; Marc Epprecht; Rob Haswell. 2021. "Pietermaritzburg: Desegregation and the Metropolitan Imperative." Representing Place and Territorial Identities in Europe , no. : 129-147.
Southern Waste geographies have focused on informal waste-picking and the emergence of neoliberal waste regimes as responses to inadequate Household Solid Waste Management (HWSM) – exploring cost-benefit relationships, labour, and market dynamics, respectively. Less understood regarding reconfigurations of waste governance is the role and performance of Environmental Non-Governmental Organisations (ENGOs) that have attempted to improve HSWM and recycling practices through Community-Based Recycling Interventions (CBRIs). Exploring the case of Wildlands Conservation Trust (WCT) “wastepreneur” initiative in rural and peri-urban communities in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa, this study sought to critically assess the sustainability and labour dynamics of the intervention, highlighting its response to changing conditions. The project had initial successes in both facilitating and compensating pro-poor peri-urban waste-picking, generated high expectations and positively impacted recycling practices and perceptions in the process. After a point, however, the initiative experienced financial and institutional challenges which precipitated a restructuring of the initiative in line with prevailing recycling market dynamics – of which it had been naïve – and changing government labour funding; fostering a significant downscaling and disappointment on the part of participants. The findings highlight the limitations of CBRIs in hybrid governance contexts and with underdeveloped recycling markets, and the need for analysis that moves beyond critiques of neoliberalism to consider the ongoing role of the developmental state in local urban service provision.
Shaheen Sewparsadh Thakur; Adrian Nel. Between the market and the developmental state – the place and limits of pro-poor ENGO led “waste-preneurship” in South Africa. Local Environment 2021, 1 -15.
AMA StyleShaheen Sewparsadh Thakur, Adrian Nel. Between the market and the developmental state – the place and limits of pro-poor ENGO led “waste-preneurship” in South Africa. Local Environment. 2021; ():1-15.
Chicago/Turabian StyleShaheen Sewparsadh Thakur; Adrian Nel. 2021. "Between the market and the developmental state – the place and limits of pro-poor ENGO led “waste-preneurship” in South Africa." Local Environment , no. : 1-15.
This article seeks to characterise and contextualise land reform, and the experiences of resettled farmers, in the under-researched Matabeleland South. It does so through a historicised, landscape approach to changes in the post-Fast Track Land Reform Programme agrarian structure in two wards in Matobo District. While new land dispensation is still consolidating, outcomes are varied, and while beneficiaries are vulnerable to drought in mixed farming there is also notable resilience. Importantly, we argue that changes in the landscape ‘echo’ the past, where material and discursive changes play out at the same time as agrarian livelihoods evolve.
Adrian Nel; Clifford Mabhena. Echoes From the Rocks: Contextualising Land Reform and Resettled Farmer Experiences in Matabeleland, Zimbabwe. Journal of Asian and African Studies 2020, 56, 818 -835.
AMA StyleAdrian Nel, Clifford Mabhena. Echoes From the Rocks: Contextualising Land Reform and Resettled Farmer Experiences in Matabeleland, Zimbabwe. Journal of Asian and African Studies. 2020; 56 (4):818-835.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAdrian Nel; Clifford Mabhena. 2020. "Echoes From the Rocks: Contextualising Land Reform and Resettled Farmer Experiences in Matabeleland, Zimbabwe." Journal of Asian and African Studies 56, no. 4: 818-835.
This article seeks to contribute to growing academic literature on land reform and whiteness in Zimbabwe, where there have been calls for nuance in the analysis of agrarian change. The research which underpins it explores differentiated responses to land reform on the part of a sample of white farmers (as well as A1 and A2 beneficiaries), in the environs of Matobo district, Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe. It characterises a range of responses on the part of white farmers – dropping out, pushing back, accommodating and adapting – and charts the various outcomes of these strategies. I further utilise the concept of subjectivity to reflect on these diverse responses and to disaggregate essentialised or homogenised understandings of whiteness. The article focuses on the small number of white farmers who retain a connection to the land and agrarian production in the study area and argues they embody aspects of a particular subjectivity. This conciliatory subjectivity is characterised by openness to reconciliation, rapprochement and partnership-making. Specifically, it is located along the following lines: (1) in contrast to the perceived ‘islands of privilege’ of some of their peers; (2) within a challenging context where they no longer occupy a hegemonic position; (3) wherein they are inclined or required to (re)form collaborations and alliances in the new dispensation; and (4) the subjectivity of these farmers could be said to be pre-occupied less with issues of identity and belonging, than with surviving and ‘becoming’ amidst the multi-faceted challenges of contemporary Zimbabwean rural agricultural endeavours and socio-political life.
Adrian Nel. Conciliatory whiteness: white farmers’ accommodations and responses to land reform in Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe. Journal of Contemporary African Studies 2020, 38, 72 -88.
AMA StyleAdrian Nel. Conciliatory whiteness: white farmers’ accommodations and responses to land reform in Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe. Journal of Contemporary African Studies. 2020; 38 (1):72-88.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAdrian Nel. 2020. "Conciliatory whiteness: white farmers’ accommodations and responses to land reform in Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe." Journal of Contemporary African Studies 38, no. 1: 72-88.
Machaya Jeff Chomba; Trevor Hill; Bimo Nkhata; Adrian Nel. A Social Exchange Analysis of Adaptive Governance in Water Allocation Processes, the Kafue Flats, Zambia. International Journal of the Commons 2019, 13, 949 -961.
AMA StyleMachaya Jeff Chomba, Trevor Hill, Bimo Nkhata, Adrian Nel. A Social Exchange Analysis of Adaptive Governance in Water Allocation Processes, the Kafue Flats, Zambia. International Journal of the Commons. 2019; 13 (2):949-961.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMachaya Jeff Chomba; Trevor Hill; Bimo Nkhata; Adrian Nel. 2019. "A Social Exchange Analysis of Adaptive Governance in Water Allocation Processes, the Kafue Flats, Zambia." International Journal of the Commons 13, no. 2: 949-961.
Contemporary urban theory raises many questions about how ‘the urban’ is being conceptualized in a fast changing world that is approaching an urban epoch. Evolving debates about what it means to be urban, including the similarities and differences between so-called northern and southern cities, the future of cities, the way to manage and sustain cities, and cities’ relationships to the new Urban Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, reveal the need for urban theory that can explain and provide insights into contemporary urban governance, processes, and outcomes. This special issue uses Durban as a lens to provide insight into the changing nature of cities in the Global South and Africa in particular, which encapsulate and reflect both formality and informality; tradition and modernity; uneven and unequal growth and social transformation; environmental crises and ‘resilience and sustainability’. This paper reflects on the dominant processes shaping the development of the city, revealing the challenges, tensions, and opportunities that emerge as the city assembles new ways of being urban, through the rationalities, knowledge, experiences, practices and actions of the state, citizens, and the private sector.
Catherine Sutherland; Dianne Scott; Etienne Nel; Adrian Nel. Conceptualizing ‘the Urban’ Through the Lens of Durban, South Africa. Urban Forum 2018, 29, 333 -350.
AMA StyleCatherine Sutherland, Dianne Scott, Etienne Nel, Adrian Nel. Conceptualizing ‘the Urban’ Through the Lens of Durban, South Africa. Urban Forum. 2018; 29 (4):333-350.
Chicago/Turabian StyleCatherine Sutherland; Dianne Scott; Etienne Nel; Adrian Nel. 2018. "Conceptualizing ‘the Urban’ Through the Lens of Durban, South Africa." Urban Forum 29, no. 4: 333-350.
Adrian Nel; Kristen Lyons; Janet Fisher; David Mwayafu. An environmental justice perspective on the state of carbon forestry in Uganda. Conservation and Development in Uganda 2018, 125 -147.
AMA StyleAdrian Nel, Kristen Lyons, Janet Fisher, David Mwayafu. An environmental justice perspective on the state of carbon forestry in Uganda. Conservation and Development in Uganda. 2018; ():125-147.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAdrian Nel; Kristen Lyons; Janet Fisher; David Mwayafu. 2018. "An environmental justice perspective on the state of carbon forestry in Uganda." Conservation and Development in Uganda , no. : 125-147.
The 2011 Durban Adaptation Charter for Local Governments calls on local governments, worldwide, to institutionalise climate response, with the aim of minimising the impacts of climate change on local livelihoods and vulnerable communities. This paper, through the use of case studies, in-depth interviews and document review, assesses how three non-metropolitan municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal, a district municipality, and two local municipalities under its jurisdiction, are responding to this call. The results suggest that while the municipalities have adopted measures to institutionalise climate responses, the responses are relatively new and implementation is slow, complex and fraught with limitations and competing demands. Furthermore, there appears to be a lack of co-ordination of responses between the two levels of government, which has the potential to lead to duplication. Given the multi-scalar nature of climate change, emphasis on co-ordination and the inclusion of all municipal departments in the development and implementation of responses is necessary.
S. Hlahla; A. Nel; T.R. Hill. Assessing municipal-level governance responses to climate change in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 2018, 62, 1089 -1107.
AMA StyleS. Hlahla, A. Nel, T.R. Hill. Assessing municipal-level governance responses to climate change in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management. 2018; 62 (6):1089-1107.
Chicago/Turabian StyleS. Hlahla; A. Nel; T.R. Hill. 2018. "Assessing municipal-level governance responses to climate change in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa." Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 62, no. 6: 1089-1107.
The paper investigates whether farm dwellers in the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province of South Africa are subject to a “double exposure”: vulnerable both to the impacts of post-apartheid agrarian dynamics and to the risks of climate change. The evidence is drawn from a 2017 survey that was undertaken by the Association for Rural Advancement (AFRA), which is a land rights Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), of 843 farm dweller households. Data on the current living conditions and livelihoods was collected on 15.3% of the farm dweller population in the area. The paper demonstrates that farm dwellers are a fragmented, agricultural precariat subject to push and pull drivers of mobility that leave them with a precarious hold on rural farm dwellings. The key provocation is that we need to be attentive to whether the hold farm dwellers have over land and livelihoods is slipping further as a result of instability in the agrarian economy? This instability arises from agriculture’s arguably maladaptive response to the intersection of structural agrarian change and climate risk in post-apartheid South Africa. While the outcomes will only be apparent in time, the risks are real, and the paper concludes with a call for agrarian policy pathways that are both more adaptive and achieve social justice objectives.
Donna Hornby; Adrian Nel; Samuel Chademana; Nompilo Khanyile. A Slipping Hold? Farm Dweller Precarity in South Africa’s Changing Agrarian Economy and Climate. Land 2018, 7, 40 .
AMA StyleDonna Hornby, Adrian Nel, Samuel Chademana, Nompilo Khanyile. A Slipping Hold? Farm Dweller Precarity in South Africa’s Changing Agrarian Economy and Climate. Land. 2018; 7 (2):40.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDonna Hornby; Adrian Nel; Samuel Chademana; Nompilo Khanyile. 2018. "A Slipping Hold? Farm Dweller Precarity in South Africa’s Changing Agrarian Economy and Climate." Land 7, no. 2: 40.
Adrian Nel; Kristen Lyons; Peter Westoby. Reforming global carbon markets or re-imagining alternative climate solutions and sustainabilities? An analysis of selected NGO strategies in Uganda. Journal of Political Ecology 2017, 24, 324 -341.
AMA StyleAdrian Nel, Kristen Lyons, Peter Westoby. Reforming global carbon markets or re-imagining alternative climate solutions and sustainabilities? An analysis of selected NGO strategies in Uganda. Journal of Political Ecology. 2017; 24 (1):324-341.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAdrian Nel; Kristen Lyons; Peter Westoby. 2017. "Reforming global carbon markets or re-imagining alternative climate solutions and sustainabilities? An analysis of selected NGO strategies in Uganda." Journal of Political Ecology 24, no. 1: 324-341.
Adrian Nel. Contested carbon: Carbon forestry as a speculatively virtual, falteringly material and disputed territorial assemblage. Geoforum 2017, 81, 144 -152.
AMA StyleAdrian Nel. Contested carbon: Carbon forestry as a speculatively virtual, falteringly material and disputed territorial assemblage. Geoforum. 2017; 81 ():144-152.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAdrian Nel. 2017. "Contested carbon: Carbon forestry as a speculatively virtual, falteringly material and disputed territorial assemblage." Geoforum 81, no. : 144-152.
Adrian Nel. The neoliberalisation of forestry governance, market environmentalism and re-territorialisation in Uganda. Third World Quarterly 2015, 36, 2294 -2315.
AMA StyleAdrian Nel. The neoliberalisation of forestry governance, market environmentalism and re-territorialisation in Uganda. Third World Quarterly. 2015; 36 (12):2294-2315.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAdrian Nel. 2015. "The neoliberalisation of forestry governance, market environmentalism and re-territorialisation in Uganda." Third World Quarterly 36, no. 12: 2294-2315.
Adrian Nel. The choreography of sacrifice: Market environmentalism, biopolitics and environmental damage. Geoforum 2015, 65, 246 -254.
AMA StyleAdrian Nel. The choreography of sacrifice: Market environmentalism, biopolitics and environmental damage. Geoforum. 2015; 65 ():246-254.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAdrian Nel. 2015. "The choreography of sacrifice: Market environmentalism, biopolitics and environmental damage." Geoforum 65, no. : 246-254.
Adrian Nel; Douglas Hill. Beyond “Win–Win” Narratives: The Varieties of Eastern and Southern African Carbon Forestry and Scope for Critique. Capitalism Nature Socialism 2014, 25, 19 -35.
AMA StyleAdrian Nel, Douglas Hill. Beyond “Win–Win” Narratives: The Varieties of Eastern and Southern African Carbon Forestry and Scope for Critique. Capitalism Nature Socialism. 2014; 25 (4):19-35.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAdrian Nel; Douglas Hill. 2014. "Beyond “Win–Win” Narratives: The Varieties of Eastern and Southern African Carbon Forestry and Scope for Critique." Capitalism Nature Socialism 25, no. 4: 19-35.
Carbon forestry represents a degree of continuity and discontinuity with traditional conservation practices, rescripting forestry management/governance and land access through projects on the ground in variegated, context-dependent ways. Utilising the comparative lens of two distinct projects operating on state-led protected areas in the east of Uganda, and focusing on their contested boundaries, this paper reflects on these dynamics and tries to make sense of the implications for the rural communities within the project vicinities. The projects and their framings reassert the claims to territory of the state in different ways which are contingent upon and emergent from the local institutional and historical context, or ‘legacies of the land’, which can be seen in context to be disputed and contested. Whilst it must be said that there can be selectively progressive elements within carbon forestry initiatives, it can be observed that techno-centric interventions, which depoliticise their local contexts and selectively transnationalise access to land and forestry resources, can further marginalise local communities in the process.
Adrian Nel; Douglas Hill. Constructing walls of carbon – the complexities of community, carbon sequestration and protected areas in Uganda. Journal of Contemporary African Studies 2013, 31, 421 -440.
AMA StyleAdrian Nel, Douglas Hill. Constructing walls of carbon – the complexities of community, carbon sequestration and protected areas in Uganda. Journal of Contemporary African Studies. 2013; 31 (3):421-440.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAdrian Nel; Douglas Hill. 2013. "Constructing walls of carbon – the complexities of community, carbon sequestration and protected areas in Uganda." Journal of Contemporary African Studies 31, no. 3: 421-440.