Catherine Sutherland
Biographic Data
| ID | 4004370 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Catherine Sutherland |
| GIVEN NAMES | Catherine |
| FAMILY NAME | Sutherland |
| SIGNATURE | SUTHERLAND C |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of KwaZulu-Natal |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-0415-5232 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 72 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 17 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Experimenting in Cities
Urban living labs (ULLs) are increasingly recognised as strategic sites for experimentation in sustainability transitions. However, in sites of informality and complex urban governance, their transformative potential remains under-examined. Based on assemblage and actor-network theory, this article develops a framework to explore how ULLs reconfigure actor networks, affective relations and circulations of knowledge. Drawing on case studies in Ajm…
Urban reform coalitions for transformative sustainability
City managers, research institutions, civil society organizations, communities, and to some degree the private sector, are grappling with what kinds of social formations and governance processes are best suited to address wicked urban challenges. Centralized, modernist forms of government can no longer address urban problems alone, given the complexity of environmental and social risks. In response, urban reform coalitions bring actors together i…
Sculpting stories
Purpose This study examines the application of arts-based research (ABR) methods in producing knowledge about the lived experiences of disasters, particularly focusing on the effects of flooding in an informal settlement in South Africa. It emphasizes the use of playdough sculpting as a tool for storytelling, aiming to address and reduce power imbalances between local participants and external researchers. Design/methodology/approach The study em…
Countering urban binaries within a third space
This paper explores the notion of the ‘counter-city’, which has emerged through processes of ‘countering’ within the framework of ‘third space’, in Durban, South Africa. Countering represents alternate conceptualizations and practices of urban processes to those of dominant northern discourse. Durban transitioned from a colonial and apartheid city, based on social separation, inequality, and differential service provision in the 20th century, to …
Governing river rehabilitation projects for transformative capacity development
River rehabilitation projects are framed as water security interventions in South Africa. They aim to address water quality and water quantity issues, as well as to improve socio-ecological relationships. These projects acknowledge the value of capacity building and social learning in enhancing water security. However, they adopt different governance approaches and hence have different knowledge construction and capacity building outcomes. This p…
Durban’s 100 Resilient Cities journey
Urban resilience is the focus of a global policy discourse that is being mobilized by a wide range of organizations to reduce urban risk and respond to the shocks and stresses facing cities. This paper explores the process of “governing for resilience” through Durban’s resilience journey as part of the 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) programme. From an insider perspective, it presents both 100RC and Durban’s approaches to developing a resilience str…
Constructing resilience at three scales
Resilience is a ‘re-emerging concept’ which is being applied to deal with the shocks and stresses facing society and the environment as a result of both human induced and physical hazards. Resilience thinking is shaping policy and practice across the world through global programmes such as the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR)'s Making Cities Resilient Campaign; UN Habitat's City Resilience Profiling Programme; and Rockefeller Founda…
Vulnerability of informal settlements in the context of rapid urbanization and climate change
Rapid urbanization and climate change together increase the vulnerability of poor urban communities to natural hazards, undermining urban resilience. It is therefore critical to identify and deepen our understanding of the main variables, and the complex interactions between them, producing and shaping the vulnerability of poor urban communities to natural hazards. Identifying factors that challenge or support the efforts of these communities in …
Possibilities for a Hybrid Approach to Planning and Governance at the Interface of the Administrative and Traditional Authority Systems in Durban
Durban’s Back of Port Project
Conceptualizing ‘the Urban’ Through the Lens of Durban, South Africa
Water, equity and resilience in Southern Africa
Mega-projects and sustainability in Durban, South Africa
Contested discourses of a mixed-use megaproject
Urban Water Governance for More Inclusive Development
Water and sanitation provision in eThekwini Municipality
The rescaling of responsibilities in water governance in South Africa has enabled strong water services authorities, such as the eThekwini Water and Sanitation Unit (EWS) in eThekwini Municipality, to play a leading role in shaping water and sanitation policy in South Africa. Yet water governance in the city is complex, shaped by the interactions of multiple social, economic, political and environmental relations in a transforming, fast-growing c…
Resilience, transition or transformation? A comparative analysis of changing water governance systems in four southern cities
Delegating state responsibilities for the management of water resources to regional bodies and the provision of drinking water and sanitation to local governments has led to new configurations in urban water governance. Drawing on case studies from four cities in the global South (Guarulhos, Arequipa, Lima and Durban), this article analyzes recent changes in these configurations, with particular attention to the role and power of the municipality…
Vulnerability of informal settlements in the context of rapid urbanization and climate change
Rapid urbanization and climate change together increase the vulnerability of poor urban communities to natural hazards, undermining urban resilience. It is therefore critical to identify and deepen our understanding of the main variables, and the complex interactions between them, producing and shaping the vulnerability of poor urban communities to natural hazards. Identifying factors that challenge or support the efforts of these communities in …
Durban’s 100 Resilient Cities journey
Urban resilience is the focus of a global policy discourse that is being mobilized by a wide range of organizations to reduce urban risk and respond to the shocks and stresses facing cities. This paper explores the process of “governing for resilience” through Durban’s resilience journey as part of the 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) programme. From an insider perspective, it presents both 100RC and Durban’s approaches to developing a resilience str…
Resilience, transition or transformation? A comparative analysis of changing water governance systems in four southern cities
Delegating state responsibilities for the management of water resources to regional bodies and the provision of drinking water and sanitation to local governments has led to new configurations in urban water governance. Drawing on case studies from four cities in the global South (Guarulhos, Arequipa, Lima and Durban), this article analyzes recent changes in these configurations, with particular attention to the role and power of the municipality…
Urban Water Governance for More Inclusive Development
Water and sanitation provision in eThekwini Municipality
The rescaling of responsibilities in water governance in South Africa has enabled strong water services authorities, such as the eThekwini Water and Sanitation Unit (EWS) in eThekwini Municipality, to play a leading role in shaping water and sanitation policy in South Africa. Yet water governance in the city is complex, shaped by the interactions of multiple social, economic, political and environmental relations in a transforming, fast-growing c…
Mega-projects and sustainability in Durban, South Africa
Contested discourses of a mixed-use megaproject
Water, equity and resilience in Southern Africa
Constructing resilience at three scales
Resilience is a ‘re-emerging concept’ which is being applied to deal with the shocks and stresses facing society and the environment as a result of both human induced and physical hazards. Resilience thinking is shaping policy and practice across the world through global programmes such as the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR)'s Making Cities Resilient Campaign; UN Habitat's City Resilience Profiling Programme; and Rockefeller Founda…
Urban reform coalitions for transformative sustainability
City managers, research institutions, civil society organizations, communities, and to some degree the private sector, are grappling with what kinds of social formations and governance processes are best suited to address wicked urban challenges. Centralized, modernist forms of government can no longer address urban problems alone, given the complexity of environmental and social risks. In response, urban reform coalitions bring actors together i…
Water and sanitation provision in eThekwini Municipality
The rescaling of responsibilities in water governance in South Africa has enabled strong water services authorities, such as the eThekwini Water and Sanitation Unit (EWS) in eThekwini Municipality, to play a leading role in shaping water and sanitation policy in South Africa. Yet water governance in the city is complex, shaped by the interactions of multiple social, economic, political and environmental relations in a transforming, fast-growing c…
Resilience, transition or transformation? A comparative analysis of changing water governance systems in four southern cities
Delegating state responsibilities for the management of water resources to regional bodies and the provision of drinking water and sanitation to local governments has led to new configurations in urban water governance. Drawing on case studies from four cities in the global South (Guarulhos, Arequipa, Lima and Durban), this article analyzes recent changes in these configurations, with particular attention to the role and power of the municipality…
Mega-projects and sustainability in Durban, South Africa
Contested discourses of a mixed-use megaproject
Urban Water Governance for More Inclusive Development
Water, equity and resilience in Southern Africa
Possibilities for a Hybrid Approach to Planning and Governance at the Interface of the Administrative and Traditional Authority Systems in Durban
Durban’s Back of Port Project
Conceptualizing ‘the Urban’ Through the Lens of Durban, South Africa
Constructing resilience at three scales
Resilience is a ‘re-emerging concept’ which is being applied to deal with the shocks and stresses facing society and the environment as a result of both human induced and physical hazards. Resilience thinking is shaping policy and practice across the world through global programmes such as the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR)'s Making Cities Resilient Campaign; UN Habitat's City Resilience Profiling Programme; and Rockefeller Founda…
Vulnerability of informal settlements in the context of rapid urbanization and climate change
Rapid urbanization and climate change together increase the vulnerability of poor urban communities to natural hazards, undermining urban resilience. It is therefore critical to identify and deepen our understanding of the main variables, and the complex interactions between them, producing and shaping the vulnerability of poor urban communities to natural hazards. Identifying factors that challenge or support the efforts of these communities in …
Durban’s 100 Resilient Cities journey
Urban resilience is the focus of a global policy discourse that is being mobilized by a wide range of organizations to reduce urban risk and respond to the shocks and stresses facing cities. This paper explores the process of “governing for resilience” through Durban’s resilience journey as part of the 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) programme. From an insider perspective, it presents both 100RC and Durban’s approaches to developing a resilience str…
Governing river rehabilitation projects for transformative capacity development
River rehabilitation projects are framed as water security interventions in South Africa. They aim to address water quality and water quantity issues, as well as to improve socio-ecological relationships. These projects acknowledge the value of capacity building and social learning in enhancing water security. However, they adopt different governance approaches and hence have different knowledge construction and capacity building outcomes. This p…
Sculpting stories
Purpose This study examines the application of arts-based research (ABR) methods in producing knowledge about the lived experiences of disasters, particularly focusing on the effects of flooding in an informal settlement in South Africa. It emphasizes the use of playdough sculpting as a tool for storytelling, aiming to address and reduce power imbalances between local participants and external researchers. Design/methodology/approach The study em…
Countering urban binaries within a third space
This paper explores the notion of the ‘counter-city’, which has emerged through processes of ‘countering’ within the framework of ‘third space’, in Durban, South Africa. Countering represents alternate conceptualizations and practices of urban processes to those of dominant northern discourse. Durban transitioned from a colonial and apartheid city, based on social separation, inequality, and differential service provision in the 20th century, to …
Urban reform coalitions for transformative sustainability
City managers, research institutions, civil society organizations, communities, and to some degree the private sector, are grappling with what kinds of social formations and governance processes are best suited to address wicked urban challenges. Centralized, modernist forms of government can no longer address urban problems alone, given the complexity of environmental and social risks. In response, urban reform coalitions bring actors together i…
Experimenting in Cities
Urban living labs (ULLs) are increasingly recognised as strategic sites for experimentation in sustainability transitions. However, in sites of informality and complex urban governance, their transformative potential remains under-examined. Based on assemblage and actor-network theory, this article develops a framework to explore how ULLs reconfigure actor networks, affective relations and circulations of knowledge. Drawing on case studies in Ajm…
Geography (14 works) · Economics (11 works) · Environmental planning (11 works) · Political science (10 works) · Urban and Rural Development Challenges (9 works) · Economic growth (8 works) · Sociology (8 works) · Urban Planning and Governance (8 works) · Business (7 works) · Economic geography (6 works)