NWO grant for WEF project South Africa

Gaining more insight into the intertwined history of the water-energy-food-nexsus (WEF) in the former mining landscape in South Africa is necessary to stimulate future sustainable spatial developments. The NWO grant for a new project is intended to establish a learning environment which theory and methods are developed in order to analyse and understand spatial dynamics and long-term interactions between water, energy and food. The expected results will contribute to a sustainable vision on the redevelopment of extraction landscapes after mining in general and in South Africa more specific.

Fransje Hooimeijer of the research group Delta Urbanism, is awarded this NWO research grant for this project titeled ‘Longue Durée of WEF in post-extraction landscapes: Learning from Gauteng and Limpopo Regions to develop an interdisciplinary approach’.  She is awarded this grant together with the research group History of Architecture and Urban Planning, Geoscience, IHE, Studio Hartzema, Urbaniahoeve and partners in South Africa. This TU Delft project is led by Principal Investigators: Fransje Hooimeijer (Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment) and Associate Prof. H.K. le Roux (University of the Witwatersrand).

The South African National Research Foundation (NRF) and NWO have granted two joint research projects in the second call for proposals of the South Africa-Netherlands Cooperation research programme. The projects focus on solutions that balance trade-offs and enhance synergies between the food, water and energy sectors in urban areas, with a focus on low income townships and informal settlements.