Fiona Anciano – The Conversation

Residents of Imizamo Yethu in Cape Town use community patrols to provide their own security. Peter Titmuss/UCG/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

October 6, 2025

South Africans are going off the service grid: what happens when citizens replace the state?

Christina Culwick Fatti, University of the Western Cape; Charlotte Lemanski, University of Cambridge; Fiona Anciano, University of the Western Cape, and Margot Rubin, Cardiff University

Failing water, power, sanitation and security services in South Africa are spurring households and communities to do it themselves.

Durban’s Bhambayi township was among the areas wrecked by heavy rains, mudslides and winds that have left more than 300 people dead. RAJESH JANTILAL/AFP via Getty Images

April 14, 2022

How cities can approach redesigning informal settlements after disasters

Fiona Anciano, University of the Western Cape and Laurence Piper, University of the Western Cape

Rebuilding informal settlements after a disaster must be done through learning from those who live in the settlements.

Millions of South Africans rely on taxis for their daily commute. Rich T Photo/Shutterstock

April 11, 2019

Cape Town’s taxi violence is rooted in attempts to govern competition

Fiona Anciano, University of the Western Cape and Laurence Piper, University of the Western Cape

Violence is very common on South Africa’s various taxi routes.

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