Abraham R Matamanda
Biographic Data
| ID | 73502 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Abraham R Matamanda |
| GIVEN NAMES | Abraham R |
| FAMILY NAME | Matamanda |
| SIGNATURE | MATAMANDA A R |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of the Free State |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-5260-5560 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 45 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 41 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 42 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 3 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Ambivalent attachments
Footprints of drought in a montane grassland biome
This study examines the impact of drought episodes during the summer and spring months on the socio-ecological livelihoods within the Maloti-Golden Gate Highlands. Given the increasing frequency and intensity of droughts worldwide, montane environments such as the Maloti remain under-researched despite their ecological significance. This study addresses this gap by utilizing MODIS-derived Vegetation Condition Index (VCI) retrieved from AppEEARS, …
Homeless in the Homeland
This paper argues that homelessness in post–Fast Track Land Reform Zimbabwe is not a residual housing deficit or an unintended consequence of rapid urbanisation, but a politically produced condition generated through eviction-led urban governance. Focusing on Operation Murambatsvina (Clear the Filth), and its afterlives and contemporary renewal imaginaries, the paper shows how displacement has been normalised as a routine instrument for regulatin…
Spatial planning legacies and unauthorized land occupations in South Africa’s urban peripheries
This article examines the drivers and implications, of unauthorized land occupations on urban development and spatial planning in South Africa. We argue that these unauthorized land occupations are embedded in various nuances, which are best framed and analysed from a spatial planning perspective. Employing a narrative case study, the qualitative research was informed by key informant interviews, focus group discussions, transect walks, observati…
Urban Water Governance in Postcolonial Zimbabwe
Geographic Approaches to Climate Change and Mitigation
This is God’s land
In the contested urban peripheries of African cities, land is not merely a resource to be owned, it is a moral claim, a spiritual inheritance, and a battleground for survival. As urban expansion collides with histories of displacement and exclusion, marginalized migrants forge insurgent pathways to belonging that defy formal legal frameworks. In some cases, this is because urban and peri-urban farming have become essential survival strategies in …
“Taboos No Longer Exist here!”
The Role of Urban Planning in Strengthening Urban Food Security in Africa
This paper critically examines how urban planning influences food security in the rapidly urbanizing landscapes of Africa, focusing on Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. These countries, with their distinct urban challenges and developmental contexts, provide a comparative framework for understanding the pivotal role of urban planning in addressing urban food security issues. The paper presents several core aspects of urban food systems: the in…
Township Economies as Left-Behind Places
This article applies the left-behind places (LBPs) framework to explain how colonial planning legacies and post-colonial politics jointly reproduce marginalization in Chitungwiza. Drawing on 25 in-depth interviews with entrepreneurs and 10 key-informant interviews, complemented by municipal plans and secondary sources, we show that Chitungwiza’s economy is predominantly survivalist yet entrepreneurial, with firms embedded in dense social networks…
Children and young people's access to food, education, play and leisure in times of crisis
The COVID‐19 pandemic led to an unprecedented global moment when the core needs of children and young people (rights for education, food, play and leisure) were not adequately addressed, recognised from a policy perspective and to varying extents, ignored. This paper, by bringing scholarship and grey literature together, provides an integrative, international, comprehensive review and analysis of how the pandemic affected children's core needs (a…
This settlement is just a launch pad to move to better city spaces’
This ethnographic study investigates the perceptions of place and migration aspirations among young migrants within the Malawian diaspora in Lydiate, an informal settlement in Zimbabwe. Unlike traditional conceptions of diaspora that emphasize long-term settlement and place attachment, this study introduces the concept of a ‘radical sense of place,’ where the settlement is viewed not as a permanent home but as a temporary staging ground for futur…
The interface between politics, ethics and urban planning
The ideals and fundamentals of urban planning are largely to ensure habitable and liveable environments for the citizens. However, while planning is an apolitical profession that is supposed to advance human well-being and urban liveability, we argue that the planning process has been compromised by political interference that jeorpadises the realisation of the envisaged planning outcomes. Applying an exploratory qualitative research design in th…
Small-scale rental housing in Southern Africa
Cultures of Covid-19
Urban Infrastructure in Zimbabwe
Implications of peri-urban land reform programs on urban land markets
Zimbabwe implemented the Fast-Track Land Reform Program (FTLRP) in the year 2000. This program has had far-reaching implications on urban development, especially on urban land markets in cities and towns. This paper highlights the implications of the land reform program on urban land markets, using Harare as a case study. The paper is based on document review (policy, academic and development literature) and interviews with key informants with ex…
Auditing the spatial and temporal changes in urban cropland in Harare metropolitan Province, Zimbabwe
Urban agriculture continues to play a key role in addressing food insecurity and poverty across developing countries. This study used Landsat 5 imagery to map the spatial and temporal distribution of cropland in Harare Metropolitan in Zimbabwe using the Random Forest classifier in Google Earth Engine. Results show that the area under cultivation fluctuated considerably between 1985 and 2019 and several factors account for this trend. The results …
Genesis of Hopley Farm informal settlement in independent Harare, Zimbabwe
Conventional studies on informal urbanism in Zimbabwe focused more on efforts in upgrading informal settlements but did not address their genesis. I argue that finding sustainable solutions to addressing informal settlements challenges and enhancing their liveability must be premised on exploring the factors influencing their genesis and temporal changes. Data were collected from Hopley Settlement, Harare, through interviews with 20 household hea…
Off-campus housing supply and utilization
Off-campus housing remains a major issue related to studentification in African cities. This study analyses the perspectives of landlords and students on off-campus housing supply and utilization in Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe. The study was qualitative and adopted a case study research design. Interviews were conducted with purposively selected key informants, while textual and content analysis was used. We argue that studentification is a potential cata…
Decentralised Water–Energy–Food (WEF) systems in Africa
The African continent is confronted with interconnected challenges of water, energy, and food insecurity, particularly affecting marginalized urban residents. Decentralized Water-Energy-Food (WEF) systems have emerged as potential solutions to alleviate these issues exacerbated by climate change. This paper contributes to the body of research aimed at demonstrating the applicability of decentralised WEF systems at local level, by showcasing the p…
Doing urban research on ‘hard-to-reach’ populations during the Covid-19 pandemic
This paper presents insights on conducting urban research amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing the adoption of digital ethnography as an innovative and flexible approach. Drawing from an expanding body of literature on fieldwork among 'hard-to-reach' populations during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, we share our experiences from a study on the socio-economic impacts of mandatory lockdowns on poor urban residents in Harare, Zimbabwe. O…
Traditional ecological knowledge and practices for ecosystem conservation and management
Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) aids ecosystem conservation and management. While recognising the importance of Western science and knowledge, we argue that TEK practices are not appreciated resulting in continued and accelerated degradation of ecosystem services. This is prevalent among rural communities who are disadvantaged as their livelihoods depend on these ecosystem services. Taking the Capricorn District of Limpopo Province in Sout…
Embedding opportunities for poverty alleviation in urban green infrastructure design and management using South Africa as a case example
The provision and management of urban green infrastructure (UGI) provides multiple benefits to the wellbeing of urban residents. A crucial, yet underexplored benefit, is the role that UGI can play in poverty alleviation. Acknowledging this role raises questions as to how UGI design and management can better provide opportunities for poverty alleviation and how it varies across UGI types and contexts. We consider this, using South Africa as an exa…
Doing Fieldwork Among Hard-To-Reach Populations
Fieldwork challenges involving hard-to-reach populations and with which many novice researchers grapple are apparent. However, literature on the issues related to female researchers' experiences with hard-to-reach populations like undocumented foreign migrants is scarce. This article reflects on local female researchers' fieldwork experiences during a study on the socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on foreign migrants operating infor…
The urban penalty of Covid-19 lockdowns across the globe
Land politics and settlers’ responses to land tenure under threat in emerging peri-urban spaces in Zimbabwe
Drawing on the case study of Caledonia peri-urban settlement in Zimbabwe, this study presents the complex struggles and responses undertaken by settlers to assert their access, utilization, and rights to land for settlement. Employing qualitative methodologies including 50 in-depth interviews, participant observations, key informant interviews, and document analysis, the study reveals the lived experiences of vulnerable peri-urban settlers when f…
Gatekeeper politics and urban planning research in the contested space of an emerging settlement
Urban planning research usually requires researchers to undertake fieldwork. This fieldwork is frustrated or enabled by gatekeepers who can influence effective data collection. Traditionally, gatekeepers are perceived as monolithic, neutral, and static individuals, yet they are complex individuals with varying needs and expectations from the researchers. For novice researchers, especially postgraduate students, dealing with and handling gatekeepe…
This settlement is just a launch pad to move to better city spaces’
This ethnographic study investigates the perceptions of place and migration aspirations among young migrants within the Malawian diaspora in Lydiate, an informal settlement in Zimbabwe. Unlike traditional conceptions of diaspora that emphasize long-term settlement and place attachment, this study introduces the concept of a ‘radical sense of place,’ where the settlement is viewed not as a permanent home but as a temporary staging ground for futur…
The unwavering bond
This paper investigates the sense of place in Hopley and Hatcliffe Extension, the largest informal neighbourhoods in Harare, Zimbabwe. The study draws from insights gained through focus group discussions with selected participants from these two communities. Contrary to conventional beliefs, we contend that residents of these neighbourhoods, despite enduring significant deprivation, exhibit a profound emotional connection to their neighbourhoods.…
Risk communication in an informal settlement during Covid-19
This article interrogates the nuances of risk communication in a poor neighbourhood of South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic. We argue that risk communication had multifaceted implications for managing and governing the COVID-19 pandemic. This pandemic has coincided with the information age, where multiple communication channels affect the success of risk communication through miscommunication, false news, or distortion. Using a qualitative s…
The interface between politics, ethics and urban planning
The ideals and fundamentals of urban planning are largely to ensure habitable and liveable environments for the citizens. However, while planning is an apolitical profession that is supposed to advance human well-being and urban liveability, we argue that the planning process has been compromised by political interference that jeorpadises the realisation of the envisaged planning outcomes. Applying an exploratory qualitative research design in th…
Small-scale rental housing in Southern Africa
Doing Fieldwork Among Hard-To-Reach Populations
Fieldwork challenges involving hard-to-reach populations and with which many novice researchers grapple are apparent. However, literature on the issues related to female researchers' experiences with hard-to-reach populations like undocumented foreign migrants is scarce. This article reflects on local female researchers' fieldwork experiences during a study on the socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on foreign migrants operating infor…
The interplay between urban agriculture and spatial (In) justice
The Planning Profession Questioned
The planning profession is contested, especially in southern Africa where it remains rooted in colonial political economy, the consequential Western ideologies it poses on African cities, and its seeming failure to address the myriad problems inherent in these cities. In exploring the planning profession in Zimbabwe, this commentary involved document analysis and empirical engagement with planning professionals. It was revealed that the planning …
Elitist Domination and Its Import
The purpose of the paper is to interrogate the meaning of Zimbabwe’s four decades of independence after the country attained it in 1980. We argue that the creation of and continued dominance by a new class of elites in the country is the principal reason why many citizens remain entrenched in poverty. Based on a desktop study of the evidence and cases of issues surrounding dichotomies of sectors – urban versus rural, formal versus informal, low-i…
Mugabe's Urban Legacy
Robert Gabriel Mugabe resigned as the President of Zimbabwe in 2017 after being in office since 1980 when Zimbabwe gained independence from British colonial rule. Mugabe implemented various policies that impacted on the urbanscape of Zimbabwe. Using a desktop approach that is based on bibliography research, the study examines Mugabe's urban legacy through the lenses of postcolonial theory and the concept of Mugabeism. The results show that power …
Driving Forces of Citizen Participation in Urban Development Practice in Harare, Zimbabwe
Resisting, frustrating or embracing the urban agenda
Ecological planning as an inner-city revitalisation agenda for Harare, Zimbabwe
This article examines approaches for integrating ecological thought in inner-city revitalisation with a special focus on the inner-city of Harare. It is an exploration and possible (re-)framing of the garden suburb approach that is strongly rooted in the garden city concept with the aim of enabling the attainment of the City of Harare Vision 2025 that the city leaders and managers have envisioned. The methods used to collect data included key inf…
Harare’s Deteriorating Wetlands
This article assesses the legal and institutional framework around governance of wetlands and wetland-related ecosystem services in Harare, the capital city of Zimbabwe (member of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands). A mixed research methodology, comprising review of literature, interviews, document analysis, and Geographical Information Systems, forms the key methodology used in this study. Results from analyzed data show that lack of a clear and…
The Ecological Politics Surrounding the Downsizing and Downgrading of Public Park
The study of protected area downgrading and downsizing (PADD) in Africa has largely been confined to rustic and nature reserves outside urban boundaries. This study addresses the gap in research practice and puts a focus on urban public parks, a reference to Harare Gardens, located within central Harare. The case study of this important park engaged the political ecology lenses as a basis for understanding the significance of public parks in urba…
Living in an Emerging Settlement
The urban penalty of Covid-19 lockdowns across the globe
Driving Forces of Citizen Participation in Urban Development Practice in Harare, Zimbabwe
Resisting, frustrating or embracing the urban agenda
Urban Geography in Postcolonial Zimbabwe
Paradoxes surrounding carbon credits and local area development
Curbing deforestation, through carbon rights, has become a top priority in many countries in the face of climate change and global warming. This article is based on a study that investigated the promotion of clean environments in Zimbabwe. It seeks to question and investigate the effectiveness and efficiency of carbon credits in promoting development in Mbire District. Using documentary analysis, secondary data guided by the Reducing Emissions fr…
Politics and the legacy of street renaming in postcolonial Zimbabwe
The announcement by the government of Zimbabwe on 21 November 2019 that a good number of streets were to be renamed motivated this study. We argue that the postcolonial urban landscape in Zimbabwe is increasingly becoming a space of contestation regarding renaming streets. Street renaming in Zimbabwe emphasizes the struggle against coloniality and a search for resilience and purpose among those in power. The leaders seek to use the renaming proce…
The Planning Profession Questioned
The planning profession is contested, especially in southern Africa where it remains rooted in colonial political economy, the consequential Western ideologies it poses on African cities, and its seeming failure to address the myriad problems inherent in these cities. In exploring the planning profession in Zimbabwe, this commentary involved document analysis and empirical engagement with planning professionals. It was revealed that the planning …
Elitist Domination and Its Import
The purpose of the paper is to interrogate the meaning of Zimbabwe’s four decades of independence after the country attained it in 1980. We argue that the creation of and continued dominance by a new class of elites in the country is the principal reason why many citizens remain entrenched in poverty. Based on a desktop study of the evidence and cases of issues surrounding dichotomies of sectors – urban versus rural, formal versus informal, low-i…
Mugabe's Urban Legacy
Robert Gabriel Mugabe resigned as the President of Zimbabwe in 2017 after being in office since 1980 when Zimbabwe gained independence from British colonial rule. Mugabe implemented various policies that impacted on the urbanscape of Zimbabwe. Using a desktop approach that is based on bibliography research, the study examines Mugabe's urban legacy through the lenses of postcolonial theory and the concept of Mugabeism. The results show that power …
Broken bridges over troubled waters
The increasing informal urbanism in Africa exposes its residents to multiple shocks, including urban public health pandemics. South Africa is not an exception due to the squalid living conditions, lack of essential services and amenities, and overcrowding characterizing informal settlements. We argue that such conditions compromise the liveability of the informal settlements and the wellbeing of the communities. The urban health inequality concep…
Risk communication in an informal settlement during Covid-19
This article interrogates the nuances of risk communication in a poor neighbourhood of South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic. We argue that risk communication had multifaceted implications for managing and governing the COVID-19 pandemic. This pandemic has coincided with the information age, where multiple communication channels affect the success of risk communication through miscommunication, false news, or distortion. Using a qualitative s…
Gatekeeper politics and urban planning research in the contested space of an emerging settlement
Urban planning research usually requires researchers to undertake fieldwork. This fieldwork is frustrated or enabled by gatekeepers who can influence effective data collection. Traditionally, gatekeepers are perceived as monolithic, neutral, and static individuals, yet they are complex individuals with varying needs and expectations from the researchers. For novice researchers, especially postgraduate students, dealing with and handling gatekeepe…
The interplay between urban agriculture and spatial (In) justice
Land politics and settlers’ responses to land tenure under threat in emerging peri-urban spaces in Zimbabwe
Drawing on the case study of Caledonia peri-urban settlement in Zimbabwe, this study presents the complex struggles and responses undertaken by settlers to assert their access, utilization, and rights to land for settlement. Employing qualitative methodologies including 50 in-depth interviews, participant observations, key informant interviews, and document analysis, the study reveals the lived experiences of vulnerable peri-urban settlers when f…
Urban Infrastructure in Zimbabwe
Implications of peri-urban land reform programs on urban land markets
Zimbabwe implemented the Fast-Track Land Reform Program (FTLRP) in the year 2000. This program has had far-reaching implications on urban development, especially on urban land markets in cities and towns. This paper highlights the implications of the land reform program on urban land markets, using Harare as a case study. The paper is based on document review (policy, academic and development literature) and interviews with key informants with ex…
Auditing the spatial and temporal changes in urban cropland in Harare metropolitan Province, Zimbabwe
Urban agriculture continues to play a key role in addressing food insecurity and poverty across developing countries. This study used Landsat 5 imagery to map the spatial and temporal distribution of cropland in Harare Metropolitan in Zimbabwe using the Random Forest classifier in Google Earth Engine. Results show that the area under cultivation fluctuated considerably between 1985 and 2019 and several factors account for this trend. The results …
Genesis of Hopley Farm informal settlement in independent Harare, Zimbabwe
Conventional studies on informal urbanism in Zimbabwe focused more on efforts in upgrading informal settlements but did not address their genesis. I argue that finding sustainable solutions to addressing informal settlements challenges and enhancing their liveability must be premised on exploring the factors influencing their genesis and temporal changes. Data were collected from Hopley Settlement, Harare, through interviews with 20 household hea…
Off-campus housing supply and utilization
Off-campus housing remains a major issue related to studentification in African cities. This study analyses the perspectives of landlords and students on off-campus housing supply and utilization in Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe. The study was qualitative and adopted a case study research design. Interviews were conducted with purposively selected key informants, while textual and content analysis was used. We argue that studentification is a potential cata…
Decentralised Water–Energy–Food (WEF) systems in Africa
The African continent is confronted with interconnected challenges of water, energy, and food insecurity, particularly affecting marginalized urban residents. Decentralized Water-Energy-Food (WEF) systems have emerged as potential solutions to alleviate these issues exacerbated by climate change. This paper contributes to the body of research aimed at demonstrating the applicability of decentralised WEF systems at local level, by showcasing the p…
Doing urban research on ‘hard-to-reach’ populations during the Covid-19 pandemic
This paper presents insights on conducting urban research amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing the adoption of digital ethnography as an innovative and flexible approach. Drawing from an expanding body of literature on fieldwork among 'hard-to-reach' populations during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, we share our experiences from a study on the socio-economic impacts of mandatory lockdowns on poor urban residents in Harare, Zimbabwe. O…
Geography (30 works) · Sociology (26 works) · Urban and Rural Development Challenges (25 works) · Political science (23 works) · Economic growth (22 works) · African studies and sociopolitical issues (20 works) · Economics (19 works) · Business (15 works) · Politics (14 works) · Environmental planning (12 works)