The Conversation

Climate change is affecting cities more and more. This creates major challenges, but it also gives fast-growing cities, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, the chance to adapt to global warming in new and better ways. Cities rely on roads, pipes and flood barriers to work well when a climate disaster strikes. This is physical infrastructure. But they also rely heavily on social infrastructure. This is the public spaces, relationships, and community networks that help people connect, organise and …

Corruption in South Africa’s public institutions has been a pressing issue for the past two decades. From national government offices to local municipalities, stories of officials enriching themselves at the expense of the public have become all too familiar. The Tshwane Metropolitan Police Department – responsible for traffic policing, crime prevention, and by-law enforcement in South Africa’s capital city – has not escaped this crisis. With over four million residents spread across 6,298 …

South Africa’s long-governing party, the ANC, performed disastrously in the country’s May 2024 elections. Its electoral fortunes are now tied to regaining support in Gauteng, the most populous and economically important province, which it had governed with outright majorities since 1994. In 2024 the ANC’s Gauteng result of 34.8%, along with its 17% in KwaZulu-Natal, sealed the party’s loss of its national outright majority. We asked political scientist Susan Booysen for her perspective on the …

Diabetes is a chronic condition that affects how the body turns food into energy. In South Africa there has been a notable rise in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in recent years, due to changing diets. People are consuming more processed foods, sugary drinks and high-calorie meals. Other factors are the lack of physical activity and high levels of obesity. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form, making up 90% of cases. With this type, the body produces insulin but can’t use it …

Diabetes is a chronic condition that affects how the body turns food into energy. In South Africa there has been a notable rise in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in recent years, due to changing diets. People are consuming more processed foods, sugary drinks and high-calorie meals. Other factors are the lack of physical activity and high levels of obesity. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form, making up 90% of cases. With this type, the body produces insulin but can’t use it …

Supporters of the opposition EFF carry a mock coffin bearing the face of the President Cyril Ramaphosa, leader of the ruling ANC. Phill Magakoe / AFP via Getty Images.South Africa’s 2024 national and provincial elections are regarded as a realistic opportunity for coalition governments to be formed in some provinces and also at the national level. This would mark a dramatic change from the current situation in which coalition governments have only been formed at local level. Electoral trends …

Green spaces provide benefits for people and nature. Photo by Ida Breed, GRIP Research teamUrban green spaces have recently been getting more research attention because of the benefits they offer. Gardens, parks, reserves and trees have been linked to cultural, spiritual and alternative medical solutions. Natural or semi-natural land areas can also deliver ecosystem services like food, storm water management and climate control. Cities can plan and manage these for maximum benefit. Our …

Johannesburg cityscape panorama sunset. THEGIFT777/GettyImagesSouth Africa’s major cities in the Gauteng Province – the country’s economic heartland – are experiencing major water shortages. In Johannesburg and Tshwane taps have run dry, with numerous areas experiencing intermittent supply while some areas have no water at all. The province has metropolitan areas – the City of Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni. All are affected. Rand Water, the water authority for the region, has imposed …

The late Pat Mokoka photographed at home in 2019.  Ihsaan Haffejee/New FrameThe lack of archive around the life and music of bass guitarist Patrick Thabo “Pat” Mokoka is emblematic of how little South African cultural history has really been preserved. Mokoka, a founder member of the radical, influential 1980s musical outfit the Malopoets, died last week. I did not know Mokoka well. I interviewed him once in 2019 for a story tracing the history of the Malopoets, when it appeared possible their …