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Informal Food Deserts and Household Food Insecurity in Windhoek, Namibia

Author

Listed:
  • Jonathan Crush

    (Balsillie School of International Affairs, Waterloo, ON N2L 6C2, Canada
    University of Western Cape, Robert Sobukwe Drive, Cape Town 7535, South Africa)

  • Ndeyapo Nickanor

    (Faculty of Science, University of Namibia, 340 Mandume Ndemufayo Avenue, Windhoek 13301, Namibia)

  • Lawrence Kazembe

    (Department of Population and Statistics, University of Namibia, 340 Mandume Ndemufayo Avenue, Windhoek 13301, Namibia)

Abstract

Informal settlements in rapidly-growing African cities are urban and peri-urban spaces with high rates of formal unemployment, poverty, poor health outcomes, limited service provision, and chronic food insecurity. Traditional concepts of food deserts developed to describe North American and European cities do not accurately capture the realities of food inaccessibility in Africa’s urban informal food deserts. This paper focuses on a case study of informal settlements in the Namibian capital, Windhoek, to shed further light on the relationship between informality and food deserts in African cities. The data for the paper was collected in a 2016 survey and uses a sub-sample of households living in shack housing in three informal settlements in the city. Using various standard measures, the paper reveals that the informal settlements are spaces of extremely high food insecurity. They are not, however, food deprived. The proximity of supermarkets and open markets, and a vibrant informal food sector, all make food available. The problem is one of accessibility. Households are unable to access food in sufficient quantity, quality, variety, and with sufficient regularity.

Suggested Citation

  • Jonathan Crush & Ndeyapo Nickanor & Lawrence Kazembe, 2018. "Informal Food Deserts and Household Food Insecurity in Windhoek, Namibia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-15, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2018:i:1:p:37-:d:192282
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Selma T Karuaihe & Philip R Wandschneider, 2018. "Limited access to services for the urban poor in Windhoek, Namibia," Development Southern Africa, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(4), pages 466-479, July.
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    3. Gulyani, Sumila & Talukdar, Debabrata, 2010. "Inside Informality: The Links Between Poverty, Microenterprises, and Living Conditions in Nairobi's Slums," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(12), pages 1710-1726, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. João Carrilho & Jorge Trindade, 2022. "Sustainability in Peri-Urban Informal Settlements: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-35, June.
    2. Olivia Souza Honório & Paula Martins Horta & Milene Cristine Pessoa & Mariana Zogbi Jardim & Ariene Silva Carmo & Larissa Loures Mendes, 2022. "Food deserts and food swamps in a Brazilian metropolis: comparison of methods to evaluate the community food environment in Belo Horizonte," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 14(3), pages 695-707, June.

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