Challenges in the Walking Journeys of an African Pedestrian: A Case Study from Makhanda, South Africa

Makhanda possesses many features of a typical post-apartheid city with many low-income households located in peripheral townships. A lack of economic development within these areas means access to everyday amenities and services most often requires a journey to the CBD. Residents often include walking within their daily journeys, either as part of an intermodal journey or as their sole means of mobility in a context of transport poverty. This research uses time-geography to delve into the walking journeys traversed by residents of Makanaskop, a township neighbourhood. It views these journeys through the lens of walkability, urban planning, and the geographies of the Global South. This lens highlights the fact that walking occurs as a matter of course in spaces that are deemed ‘unwalkable’ in much of the literature from the Global North. Photographs and maps document these daily journeys and the walking conditions experienced. Interviews with residents are used to explore the walking practices that form part of the choreography of everyday lives in Makanaskop.