330pp., 4to., b/w & colour illus., maps, paperback, Cape Town, 2020.

Focuses on micro-enterprises, the business strategies of township entrepreneurs and the impact of autonomous informal economic activities on urban life. Based on research drawn from nine township sites in South Africa and one in Namibia.

"This powerful and insightful book is a must-read for policymakers, researchers and anyone else seeking to understand township economies in South Africa. The book provides a unique and nuanced analysis of the extraction of value from townships by powerful outsiders, including corporates, and explores the wider significance of these and other findings with admirable rigour." Ben Cousins, DST/NRF Chair in Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies and Senior Professor, School of Government, University of the Western Cape

"This timely and thought-provoking book brings into the purview of academics and policymakers a key part of the modern, capitalist economy. The authors show how different places, buildings and even objects shape opportunities for conducting business. Where much prior scholarship sees informal businesses in passive terms, accepting market conditions, the book reveals the importance of power relations and local business strategies." Imraan Valodia, Dean, Faculty of Commerce, Law & Management, University of the Witwatersrand

TOWNSHIP ECONOMY, people, places and practices

: Charman (A.), Petersen (L.) & Govender (T.)

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