Lena Jarlov

In: UA Magazine 4 - Integration of UPA in urban planning

This article is a synthesis of insights from a short period of participation in a comprehensive urban planning project in Kimberley and Port Elizabeth (South Africa) in 1998 and 1999. It has been observed that the phenomenon of urban agriculture in these two cities challenges the western concepts of urban planning and reinforces the need for new models appropriate to non-industrialised cities of Africa and other developing countries. The western model assumes labour employment for the majority, travel to work and the separation of work, employment, recreation and so on. However, drawing in particular from Port Elizabeth, the South African experience is that a majority of urban inhabitants is unemployed, and the informal sector economy dominates. This means that work, recreation and housing all occur in one place. Urban agriculture is one activity in the informal sector.