Urban agriculture as a source of social capital in the Cape Flats of Cape Town
Abstract
This paper contributes to the debate on urban agriculture as a source of
social capital amongst local communities in African cities through a casestudy of Mitchells Plain, a low-income neighborhood in the Cape Flats
region of Cape Town, South Africa. A mixed-methods approach, combining a questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews with urban gardeners,
as well as interviews with officials was undertaken. The findings show that
urban agriculture increases social interaction among urban gardeners and
the community. They also show that non-governmental organizations and
government actors are crucial in enhancing social interaction within the
community. Therefore, these findings have implications for development
practitioners who continue supporting and encouraging the uptake of
urban agriculture by residents of Mitchells Plain.