Biography: Litsoanelo Sekonyela is a SMUS doctoral candidate specialising in Town and Regional planning at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. With an interest in urban sustainability, her PhD focuses on exploring the wickedness of waste management and the informal system thereof through a spatial planning lens in Global South Cities. While in pursuit of her PhD, she is also an assistant lecture in the department of Town and Regional Planning.
Prior to her academic career, she worked at Gudlhuza Development Solutions as Town Planning Intern focusing on Land Use Management and Municipal Profiling. This opportunity provided practical experience in land development applications and assessments of land use patterns at local government. She completed her Masters degree at the University of Pretoria in 2024. During her first degree (Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning) at the National University of Lesotho, she became president of NULPA (National University of Lesotho Planning Association) and the student representative of LTRPI (Lesotho Town and Regional Planning Institute). She continues to make a contribution to the body of knowledge on waste management as wicked urban problem.
PhD Thesis Working Title: Land, Planning & Rubbish: Assessing Spatial Integration of Informal Waste Systems in Global South Cities
Abstract: Waste management has emerged as a wicked urban problem in the Global South. It embodies social, political and economic complexities that resist simple solutions. Cities grapple with increasing waste volumes which are driven by rapid urbanization, limited landfill capacity and uneven service delivery. In this context, informal waste systems; primarily composed of waste
pickers, play a vital role in the recycling economy and environmental sustainability. However, they remain largely excluded from spatial planning frameworks and in spatial planning processes which reflect challenges of urban inequality, spatial injustices, informality and governance fragmentation. Previous studies acknowledge that waste management is deeply entangled with urban planning frameworks that govern land allocation and urban development.
This research posits that, although informal waste management systems make a significant contribution to urban sustainability, there is limited understanding of how planning frameworks in Global South Cities influence, facilitate or restrict the spatial integration of informal waste systems. This study therefore aims to assess how urban planning frameworks influence the spatial integration of informal waste management systems in Global South cities using the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality as a case study. The research draws from Henry Lefebvre’s theory of production of space which explains how urban space is produced and contested through the intersection planning frameworks, municipal practices, and everyday spatial negotiations.
Rooted in the qualitative research approach, the research employs a case study research design to evaluate the policies, to examine municipal interpretations of the policies, to map the spatial
practices of waste pickers and to assess their lived experiences of exclusion. Data will be collected through policy documents, interviews, focus groups, participatory mapping and observations respectively. The study argues that the wicked nature of informal waste management must be re-examined through the spatial dimension to improve inclusive waste governance in Global South cities. It will contribute theoretical insights which will demonstrate how space is produced through municipal planning frameworks and informal spatial practice thus, highlighting urban informality as a spatial phenomenon. Ultimately, this research will provide evidence-based recommendations which will inform policy makers and planners in designing for inclusive land use strategies and planning frameworks that reframe informality as an asset, not a problem within urban landscapes.