Bio

My research interests include: urban governance, urban planning, housing and urban health. Although I am currently working on an eclectic range of topics, my work revolves around some common themes:

  • Urban planning and urban management in cities of the global South.
  • Urban policy discourses: how ideas emerge, compete, and are adopted and adapted, and used to construct problems and solutions, and then turned into policies and practices. An important strand of this work is how to create new policy-relevant knowledge around understanding and achieving more equitable and sustainable cities.
  • Urban governance: how decisions are made and who makes them, and the relation of this to institutional structures and policies.

I have a Masters in City and Regional Planning and a PhD in Urban Planning from the University of Cape Town. I have been a researcher on urban issues since 1993. I previously worked as a researcher at the Urban Problems Research Unit (UPRU) at the University of Cape Town, the Built Environment Support Group (BESG) at the University of Natal in Durban and the Development Action Group (DAG) in Cape Town. I have worked as a researcher at the African Centre for Cities (ACC) since 2008. From February 2010, I was the manager of the CityLab programme (ACC’s research programme on Cape Town), and since January 2016 I have been the Research Manager for ACC, responsible for overseeing ACC’s research activities. I also co-ordinate the Healthy Cities CityLab (established 2009), used to co-ordinate the Urban Flooding CityLab (established 2009, ended 2013) and was involved in the Mistra Urban Futures network from its inception in February 2010 (I was the Director of the Mistra Urban Futures Cape Town Local Interaction Platform from January 2016 until March 2021). I was the lead writer of the Urban Planning/ Design Working Group of the Global Research Network on Urban Health Equity, a member of the WHO Expert Group on Housing and Health, and contributed to the WHO/ UN-Habitat 2016 Global Report on Urban Health. My publications include two books, 23 articles in peer-reviewed academic journals and 19 chapters in scholarly books. My Google Scholar profile can be found here.

 

PUBLICATIONS

Journal Articles

  • Smit, W., Simon, D., Durakovic, E., Dymitrow, M., Haysom, G., Hemström, K., & Riise, J. (2021). The challenge of conflicting rationalities about urban development: Experiences from Mistra Urban Futures’ transdisciplinary urban research. Trialog, 137, 31-37. 
  • Simon, D., Vora, Y., Sharma, T., & Smit, W. (2021). Responding to climate change in small and intermediate cities: Comparative policy perspectives from India and South Africa. Sustainability, 13(4), article 2382. doi:10.3390/su13042382
  • Simon, D., Arano, A., Cammisa, M., Perry, B., Pettersson, S., Riise, J., Valencia, S., Oloko, M., Sharma, T., Vora, Y., & Smit, W. (2021). Cities coping with COVID-19. City, 25(1-2), 129-170. doi:10.1080/13604813.2021.1894012
  • Smit, W. (2020).The challenge of COVID-19 in African cities: An urgent call for informal settlement upgrading. Cities & Health. doi: 10.1080/23748834.2020.1816757
  • Weimann, A., Kabane, N., Jooste, T., Hawkridge, A., Smit, W., & Oni, T. (2020). Health through human settlements: Investigating policymakers’ perceptions of human settlement action for population health improvement in urban South Africa. Habitat International. doi: 10.1016/j.habitatint.2020.102203
  • Smit, W., & Tucker, A. (2019). Mapping the body: The use of the body mapping method to explore health and the built environment in Cape Town, South Africa. Technology | Architecture + Design, 3(1), 45-47.
  • Culwick, C., Washbourne, C., Anderson, P., Cartwright, A., Patel, Z., & Smit, W. (2019). CityLab reflections and evolutions: Nurturing knowledge and learning for urban sustainability through co-production experimentation. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 39, 9-16.
  • Swinburn, B., Kraak, V., Allender, S. Atkins, V., Baker, P., Bogard, J. … Smit, W., Tootee, A., Vandevijvere, S., Waterlander, W., Wolfenden, L., & Dietz, W. (2019). The global syndemic of obesity, undernutrition, and climate change: The paramount challenge for humans, the environment, and our planet. Report of the Lancet Commission on Obesity. The Lancet, 393(10173), 791-846.
  • Okop, K. J., Lambert, E. V., Alaba, O., Levitt, N. S., Luke, A., Dugas, L., Dover, R. V. H., Kroff, J., Micklesfield, L. K., Kolbe-Alexander, T. L., Smit, W., Dugmore, H., Bobrow, K., Odunitan-Wayas, F. A., & Puoane, T. (2019). Sugar-sweetened beverage intake and relative weight gain among South African adults living in resource-poor communities: Longitudinal data from the STOP-SA study. International Journal of Obesity, 43(3), 603-614.
  • Smit, W. (2018). Urban governance in Africa: An overview. International Development Policy/ Revue internationale de politique de développement, 10, 55-77.
  • Simon, D., Palmer, H., Riise, J., Smit, W., & Valencia, S. (2018). The challenges of transdisciplinary knowledge production: From unilocal to comparative research. Environment and Urbanization, 30(2), 481-500.
  • Cirolia, L.R., & Smit, W. (2017). Fractured approaches to urban transformation: Analysing parallel perspectives in South Africa. Transformation, 95, 63-84.
  • Smit, W. (2016). Urban governance and urban food systems in Africa: Examining the linkages. Cities, 58, 80-86.
  • Smit, W., de Lannoy, A., Dover, R. V. H., Lambert, E. V., Levitt, N., & Watson, V. (2016). Making unhealthy places: The built environment and non-communicable diseases in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. Health & Place, 39, 196-203.
  • Oni, T., Smit, W., Matzopoulos, R., Hunter Adams, J., Pentecost, M., Rother, H.-A., Albertyn, Z., Behroozi, F., Alaba, O., Kaba, M., van der Westhuizen, C., Shung King, M., Levitt, N. S., Parnell, S., & Lambert, E. V. (2016). Urban health research in Africa: Themes and priority research questions. Journal of Urban Health, 93(4), 722-730.
  • Ziervogel, G., Waddell, J., Smit, W., & Taylor, A. (2016). Flooding in Cape Town’s informal settlements: Barriers to collaborative urban risk governance. South African Geographical Journal, 98(1), 1-20.
  • Smit, W. (2014). Discourses of alcohol: Reflections on key issues influencing the regulation of shebeens in Cape Town. South African Geographical Journal, 96(1), 60-80.
  • Anderson, P. M. L., Brown-Luthango, M., Cartwright, A., Farouk, I., & Smit, W. (2013). Brokering communities of knowledge and practice: Reflections on the African Centre for Cities’ CityLab programme. Cities, 32, 1-10.
  • Smit, W., & Parnell, S. (2012). Urban sustainability and human health: An African perspective. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 4(4), 443-450.
  • Lambert, E., Kolbe-Alexander, T., Draper, C., Levitt, N., Naidoo, S., Tshabangu, E., Smit, W. & Dover, R. (2012). The ‘choice transition’ in relation to physical activity behavior: Need for a new model from the Global South perspective. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 15(S1), S266-S267.
  • Smit, W., Hancock, T., Kumaresen, J., Santos-Burgoa, C., Sánchez-Kobashi Meneses, R., & Friel, S. (2011). Towards a research and action agenda on urban planning/ design and health equity in cities in low and middle-income countries. Journal of Urban Health, 88(5), 875-885.
  • Tipple, G., Smit, W., & Majale, M. (2010). Furthering the urban agenda in developing countries: Guidelines for preparing national “State of Cities” reports. International Development Planning Review, 32(1), 71-92.
  • Smit, W. (2004). The urban development imagination and realpolitik. Development Update, 5(1), 53-80.
  • Smit, W. (1998). The rural linkages of urban households in Durban, South Africa. Environment and Urbanization, 10(1), 77-88.

Books

  • Cirolia, L.R., Görgens, T, van Donk, M., Smit, W., & Drimie, S. (Eds.) (2016). Upgrading informal settlements in South Africa: A partnership-based approach. Cape Town, South Africa: University of Cape Town Press.
  • Smit, W., & Hennessy, K. (1995). Taking South African education out of the ghetto: An urban planning perspective. Cape Town, South Africa: University of Cape Town Press/ Buchu Books.

Book Chapters

  • Smit, W. (2021). Cities and regions in Sub-Saharan Africa. In A. Orum, J. Ruiz-Tagle, & S. Vicari Haddock (Eds.), Companion to urban and regional studies (pp. 64-84).New York, NY: Wiley-Blackwell.
  • Smit, W. (2021). Urbanization in the global South. In D. V. McQueen (Ed.), Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Global Public Health. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
  • Smit, W. (2020). The food environment and health in African cities: Analysing the linkages and exploring possibilities for improving health and wellbeing. In M. Keith, & A. A. de Souza Santos (Eds.), Urban transformations and public health in the emergent city (pp. 123-146).Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press.
  • Smit, W., Durakovic, E., Sitas, R., Johansson, M., Haysom, G., Dymitrow, M., Ingelhag, K., & Kotze, S. (2020). Replicating projects for comparative research: Mistra Urban Futures’ experiences with comparative work on knowledge exchange, food and transport. In D. Simon, H. Palmer, & J. Riise (Eds.), Comparative urban research from theory to practice: Co-production for sustainability (pp. 63-88).Bristol, UK: Policy Press.
  • Patel, Z., Marrengane, N., Smit, W., & Anderson, P.M.L. (2020). Knowledge co-production in sub-Saharan African cities: Building capacity for the urban age. In A. Gasparatos, N. Merle, A. Ahmed, A. Karanja, K. Fukushi, O. Saito, & K. Takeuchi (Eds.), Sustainability challenges in sub-Saharan Africa II: Insights from Eastern and Southern Africa (pp. 189-214) Singapore: Springer.
  • Smit, W., Durakovic, E., Sitas, R., Johansson, M., Haysom, G., Dymitrow, M., Ingelhag, K., & Kotze, S. (2020). Replicating projects for comparative research: Mistra Urban Futures’ experiences with comparative work on knowledge exchange, food and transport. In D. Simon, H. Palmer, & J. Riise (Eds.), Comparative urban research from theory to practice: Co-production for sustainability (pp. 63-88).Bristol, UK: Policy Press.
  • Smit, W. (2019). Current urban food governance and planning in Africa. In Battersby, J., & Watson, V. (Eds.), Urban food systems governance and poverty in African cities (pp. 94-103). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
  • Smit, W., Cirolia, L.R. Görgens, T, van Donk, M., & Drimie, S. (2016). Conclusion: Reflecting on informal settlement upgrading experiences in South Africa. In L.R. Cirolia, T. Görgens, M. van Donk, W. Smit, & S. Drimie (Eds.), Upgrading informal settlements in South Africa: A partnership-based approach (pp. 466-479). Cape Town, South Africa: University of Cape Town Press.
  • Smit, W. (2016). Informal settlement upgrading: International lessons and local challenges. In L.R. Cirolia, T. Görgens, M. van Donk, W. Smit, & S. Drimie (Eds.), Upgrading informal settlements in South Africa: A partnership-based approach (pp.26-48). Cape Town, South Africa: University of Cape Town Press.
  • Cirolia, L.R. Görgens, T, van Donk, M., Smit, W., & Drimie, S. (2016). Upgrading informal settlements in South Africa: An introduction. In L.R. Cirolia, T. Görgens, M. van Donk, W. Smit, & S. Drimie (Eds.), Upgrading informal settlements in South Africa: A partnership-based approach (pp. 3-25). Cape Town, South Africa: University of Cape Town Press.
  • Smit, W., Lawhon, M., & Patel, Z. (2015). Co-producing knowledge for whom, and to what end? Reflections from the African Centre for Cities in Cape Town. In M. Polk (Ed.), Co-producing knowledge for sustainable cities: Joining forces for change (pp. 47-69). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
  • Cirolia, L., Smit, W., & Duminy, J. (2015). Grappling with housing issues at the city scale: Mobilizing the right to the city in South Africa. In P. Herrle, A. Ley, & J. Fokdal (Eds.), From local action to global networks: Housing the urban poor (pp. 159-174). Farnham, UK: Ashgate.
  • Smit, W., & Pieterse, E. (2014). Decentralisation and institutional reconfiguration in urban Africa. In S. Parnell & E. Pieterse, E. (Eds.), Africa’s urban revolution: Policy pressures (pp. 148-166). London, UK: Zed Books.
  • Smit, W., de Lannoy, A., Dover, R.V.H., Lambert, E.V., Levitt, N., & Watson, V. (2014). “Good houses make good people”: Making knowledge about health & environment in Cape Town. In B. Cooper & R. Morrell (Eds.), Africa-centred knowledges: Crossing fields and worlds (pp. 142-162). London, UK: James Currey.
  • Pieterse, E., & Smit, W. (2014). Institutions, decentralisation and urban development. In S. Kayizzi-Mugerwa, A. Shimeles, & N.D. Yameogo (Eds.), Urbanization and socio-economic development in Africa: Challenges and opportunities (pp. 42-80).New York, NY: Routledge.
  • Gotz, G., Pieterse, E., & Smit, W. (2010). Desenho, limites e perspectivas da governança metropolitana na África do Sul [Design, limitations and prospects of metropolitan governance in South Africa]. In J. Klink (Ed.), Governança das metrópoles: Conceitos, experiências e perspectivas [Governance of metropoles: Concepts, experiences and prospects] (pp. 127-156). São Paulo, Brazil: Annablume.
  • Smit, W. (2008). Le grand project N2 Gateway: Une exclusion des pauvres  [The N2 Gateway mega-project: The exclusion of the poor]. In A. Dubresson & S. Jaglin (Eds), Le Cap après l’apartheid [Cape Town after apartheid] (pp. 23-44).Paris, France: Karthala.
  • Smit, W. (2006). Understanding the complexities of informal settlements: Insights from Cape Town. In M. Huchzermeyer & A. Karam (Eds.), Informal settlements: A perpetual challenge? (pp. 103-125). Cape Town, South Africa: Juta.
  • Smit, W. (2003). Housing finance policy in South Africa. In F. Khan & P. Thring (Eds.), Housing policy and practice in post-apartheid South Africa (pp. 166-191). Johannesburg, South Africa: Heinemann.
  • Smit, W. (2001). The changing role of community based organizations in South Africa in the 1990s, with emphasis on their role in development projects. In A. Tostensen, I. Tvedten, & M. Vaa (Eds.), Associational life in African cities: Popular responses to the urban crisis (pp. 234-249). Uppsala, Sweden: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet.

Other Outputs

  • Seddon, J., Smit, W., Kheirbek, I., & Gu, B. (2021). The urban nitrogen challenge. One Earth, 4(1), 8-9.
  • Smit, W. (2021). The CityLab programme in Cape Town. In K. Hemström, D. Simon, H. Palmer, B. Perry, & M. Polk (Eds.), Transdisciplinary knowledge co-production: A guide for sustainable cities. Rugby, UK: Practical Action.
  • Smit, W., & Sitas, R. (2021). Building transdisciplinary capacities through the Knowledge Transfer Programme. In K. Hemström, D. Simon, H. Palmer, B. Perry, & M. Polk (Eds.), Transdisciplinary knowledge co-production: A guide for sustainable cities. Rugby, UK: Practical Action.
  • Najaar, I., & Smit, W. (2021). Flexible financing for transdisciplinary co-production. In K. Hemström, D. Simon, H. Palmer, B. Perry, & M. Polk (Eds.), Transdisciplinary knowledge co-production: A guide for sustainable cities. Rugby, UK: Practical Action.
  • Smit, W. (2021). The necessity of clarifying assumptions: mapping rationalities of key stakeholders in the Urban Flooding CityLab. In K. Hemström, D. Simon, H. Palmer, B. Perry, & M. Polk (Eds.), Transdisciplinary knowledge co-production: A guide for sustainable cities. Rugby, UK: Practical Action.
  • Smit, W. (2020). Tackling COVID-19 in informal settlements in Cape Town. Blog post. Thomson Reuters Foundation News.https://news.trust.org/item/20200708104926-3gwm4/
  • Smit, W. (2020). Challenges with regards to the SDG indicators. Networking Event on “Innovative SDG/NUA localisation practices through cross-sector co-production of knowledge”, World Urban Forum 10, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 8-13 February 2020.
  • Smit, W., Simon, D., Riise, J., Hemström, K., Dymitrow, M., & Haysom. G. (2019). The challenge of conflicting rationalities about urban development: Experiences from Mistra Urban Futures’ transdisciplinary urban research. Trialog Conference on “Whose knowledge counts? The meaning of co-productive processes for urban development and urban research”, Stuttgart, Germany, 7-9 November.
  • Smit, W., Brown-Luthango, M., Cirolia, L. R., & Sitas. R. (2019). Co-producing knowledge for societal change: Reflections on ten years of the CityLab programme in Cape Town. International Transdisciplinarity Conference 2019: “Joining forces for change”, Gothenburg, Sweden, 10-13 September.
  • Smit, W. (2018). Realising just cities: A comparative project. Resilient Cities 2018: The 9th Global Forum on Urban Resilience and Adaptation, Bonn, Germany, 26-28 April 2018.
  • Smit, W., & Sitas, R. (2018). Realising just cities in different global contexts. African Centre for Cities International Urban Conference, Cape Town, South Africa, 1-3 February.
  • Weimann, A., Smit, W., Kabane, N., Jooste, T., Hawkridge, A., & Oni, T. (2018). Health in housing policies in the Western Cape Province of South Africa: An investigation of housing policies to address infectious and non-communicable disease epidemic. African Centre for Cities International Urban Conference, Cape Town, South Africa, 1-3 February.
  • Simon, D., Palmer, H., Riise, J., Valencia, S., & Smit, W. (2018). The challenges of transdisciplinary co-production: From unilocal to comparative research. African Centre for Cities International Urban Conference, Cape Town, South Africa, 1-3 February.
  • Smit, W. (2017). Reflections on urban governance. Blog post. https://www.mistraurbanfutures.org/en/blog/reflections-urban-governance-0
  • Smit, W. (2017). The food environment and health in African cities: Analysing the linkages and exploring possibilities for improving health and wellbeing. Urban Transformations Workshop on “Research and metropolitan health in unequal cities”, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 22-24 November. [invited speaker]
  • Smit, W. (2017). Urban governance in Africa: An overview. Workshop on “Secondary cities: The urban middle ground”, Basel, Switzerland, 5-6 May. [invited speaker]  
  • Smit, W. (2017). Urban health and the built environment. Urban Health Dialogue on “Urban health in Africa: Advancing multi-disciplinary approaches, Cape Town, South Africa, 6-7 February. [invited speaker]
  • Sitas, R., & Smit, W. (2016). Reframing sustainability: Realising just cities. In H. Palmer & H. Walasek (Eds.), Co-production in action: Towards realising just cities (pp. 60-73). Gothenburg, Sweden: Mistra Urban Futures.
  • Smit, W. (2016). Contextualising the just city. Mistra Urban Futures Conference on “Realising just cities: Co-production in action”, Gothenburg, Sweden, 19-20 September. [invited speaker]
  • Smit, W. (2016). “Checking the blind desire to flow into cities”: A comparative study of migration controls in South Africa and China. Workshop on “Governing the future city”, London, United Kingdom, 21-23 April. [invited speaker]
  • Smit, W. (2015). Understanding health in urban environments in African cities: The case of Khayelitsha, Cape Town. Conference on “Migration, urbanisation and health: Interdisciplinary conversations”, Johannesburg, South Africa, 27-29 July. [invited keynote speaker]
  • Smit, W. (2015). The challenges of urban governance for health in Cape Town, South Africa. United Nations University-International Institute for Global Health (UNU-IIGH) Workshop on “Urban governance for health”, Nairobi, Kenya, 19-20 May. [invited speaker]
  • Smit, W. (2015). Influx control and South African cities: Understanding the impacts and addressing the challenges. China-Africa Urban Studies Workshop: Starting from the South, Cape Town, South Africa, 25-27 March. [invited speaker]
  • Smit, W. (2014). Flooding in Cape Town under Climate Risk (FliCCR): Reducing flood risk in informal settlements. SALGA workshop on “Capacity building and knowledge sharing on biodiversity and flood management”, Cape Town, South Africa, 4 November 2014. [invited speaker]
  • Machiridza, R., & Smit, W. (2014). The impact of flooding of informal settlements on child health: A case study from Cape Town. Colloquium on “Healthy cities for children: Urbanisation, urban planning and children’s wellbeing”, Cape Town, South Africa, 20-21 January.
  • De Lannoy, A., & Smit, W. (2014). Sanitation in Khayelitsha: Exploring a complex social issue. Colloquium on “Healthy cities for children: Urbanisation, urban planning and children’s wellbeing”, Cape Town, South Africa, 20-21 January.
  • Waddell, J., Smit, W., Ziervogel, G., & Drivdal, L. (2013). The trickle-down effect, Cape Times, 24 June, p. 11.
  • Smit, W., & Watson, V. (2012). Creating healthier urban environments, Cape Times, 22 June, p. 11.
  • Smit, W. (2012). The physical urban environment & health/well-being – understanding the links from a South African perspective. 3rd People’s Housing Assembly, Cape Town, South Africa, 6-11 July. [invited speaker]
  • Smit, W. (2012). Liquor regulations and zoning schemes: Attempts by the state to control shebeens in Cape Town. 9th Biennial Conference of the Society of South African Geographers (SSAG), Cape Town, South Africa, 21-22 June.
  • Ziervogel, G., & Smit, W. (2012). Confronting urban flooding risk: Collaborative approaches to reduce and manage flood risk in Cape Town. Urban & Housing Development Conference, Cape Town, South Africa, 15-17 February. [invited speakers]
  • Smit, W. (2011). Cities and health in the global South. Consortium for Comparative Research on Regional integration and Social Cohesion Conference on “Social cohesion: The missing link in regional integration?”, Rustenburg, South Africa, 30 November – 3 December.
  • Smit, W. (2011). Investigating health and well-being in Cape Town. Urban Age Conference on “Urban density, health and well-being”, Hong Kong, China, 16-17 November 2011. [Invited speaker]
  • Smit, W., & Watson, V. (2011). The African Centre for Cities’ Healthy Cities CityLab: Understanding urban health in the global South. In: Cities, health and well-being: Conference compendium (pp. 17–18). London, UK: London School of Economics and Political Science & Alfred Herrhausen Society.
  • Smit, W. (2010). Achieving a healthy city for all the people? An analysis of discourses of human health and wellbeing in the City of Cape Town’s Integrated Development Plans 2001-2010. 9th International Conference on Urban Health, New York, USA, 27-29 October.
  • Smit, W. (2010). Infrastructure and service implications of reducing climate change-related urban health risks. International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Expert Meeting on Human Settlements and Infrastructure, Kolkata, India, 20 April. [invited speaker]
  • Brown-Luthango, M., & Smit, W. (2010). The African Centre for Cities’ CityLab Programme.Mistra Urban Futures Networking Event, World Urban Forum, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 25 March. [invited speakers]
  • Smit, W. (2009). Isidima: Creating dignified communities. In S. Rosa, A. Groenewald, & S. Khoza (Eds.), State of the Province Western Cape 2008: An integrated approach for service delivery (pp. 73-85). Cape Town, South Africa: Provincial Government of the Western Cape.
  • Adams, J., Bender, C., Avila Estrada, O., Ferro, J.C., Hendricks, M., Houston, A., Manie, S., Matthews, Y., Smit, W., Soeker, A., Tayob, H., & West, C. (2009). A place to be free: A case study of the Freedom Park informal settlement upgrade. Cape Town. South Africa: Development Action Group.
  • Ziervogel, G., & Smit, W. (2009). Learning to swim: Strengthening flooding governance in the City of Cape Town. Conference on the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change: “Earth system governance: People, places and the planet’, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2-4 December.
  • Smit, W., Hancock, T., Kumaresen, J., Santos Burgoa, C., Sánchez-Kobashi Meneses, R., & Friel, S. (2009). Urban planning/ design and health equity. Workshop on “Addressing the social determinants of health inequity”, 8th International Conference on Urban Health, Nairobi, Kenya, 19-23 October.
  • Smit, W. (2009). The role of community-based organisations in land management in informal settlements. 8th Biennial Conference of the Society of South African Geographers (SSAG), Centurion, South Africa, 30 August-3 September.
  • Smit, W. (2008). Are urban land markets working well for the poor? Exploring a practical method of assessment. Urban LandMark Conference: “From land rights to property markets”, Midrand, South Africa, 27-28 August.
  • Smit, W., Tipple, G., & Majale. M. (2008). State of cities reporting: Good practice guide and toolkit. Johannesburg, South Africa: South African Cities Network.
  • Smit, W. (2008). Analysis of qualitative survey on accessing, holding and trading land: Synthesis report. Pretoria, South Africa: Urban LandMark.
  • Smit, W. (2008). Planning and transformation: Learning from the post-apartheid experience. Book review. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 51(3), 473-474.
  • Smit, W. (2007). Tackling the urban land question, Ndivhuwo: Journal for Intellectual Engagement, 1, 14-16.
  • Smit, W. (2007). Toward 2010 – a new strategy for the housing crisis. Cape Argus, 20 August. http://allafrica.com/stories/200708201013.html
  • Smit, W., Carey, S., Mayekiso, M., & Zondi, P. (2007). Voices of the poor: Synthesis and recommendations. Pretoria, South Africa: Urban LandMark.
  • Kingwill, R., Cousins, B., Cousins, T., Hornby, D., Royston, L., & Smit, W. (2006). Mysteries and myths: De Soto, property and poverty in South Africa. Gatekeeper Series 124. London, UK: International Institute for Environment and Development. Reprinted in 2007 in Are Hernando de Soto’s views appropriate to South Africa? (Graduate School of Public and Development Management, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg).
  • Smit, W. (2005). 10 things to remember about informal settlement upgrading. Cape Town, South Africa: Development Action Group.
  • Cousins, B., Cousins, T., Hornby, D., Kingwill, R., Royston, L., & Smit, W. (2005). Will formalising property rights reduce poverty in South Africa’s “second economy”? Questioning the mythologies of Hernando de Soto. PLAAS Policy Brief 18. Cape Town, South Africa: Programme on Land and Agrarian Studies, University of the Western Cape.
  • Smit, W. (2004). International trends and good practices in housing: Lessons for South African housing policy. Institute for Housing in South Africa International Conference on “Housing in the next decade: Quo vadis?”,Cape Town, 3-6 October.
  • Smit, W. (2004). The problem of inadequate subsidized housing in South Africa. Habitat International Coalition Conference on “The housing problem of ‘those with a roof’: 25 years of lessons of neo-liberal social housing policies in Chile”, Santiago, Chile, 9-12 June. [invited speaker]
  • Smit, W. (2003). Design options and delivery models for hostel redevelopment. Johannesburg, South Africa: Urban Sector Network.
  • Smit, W. (2003). Tenure options and management models for hostel redevelopment. Johannesburg, South Africa: Urban Sector Network.
  • Geerdts, P., Smit, W., Smith, T., Stanford, P. Poswa, S., & Govender, R. 2003. Evaluation of the National Housing Subsidy Scheme. Johannesburg, South Africa: Urban Sector Network.
  • Karam, A.H., Smit, W., & Boaden, B. (2000). Analysis and evaluation of the City of Cape Town’s housing initiatives 1996–2000. Cape Town, South Africa: Housing and Community Development Unit, University of Cape Town.
  • Smit, W., Smith, H., & Samaai, S. (2000). Investigation of the various types of tenure applicable to affordable housing in the Cape Metropolitan Area. Report prepared by the Development Action Group and Legal Resources Centre. Cape Town, South Africa: Cape Metropolitan Council.
  • Smit, W. (2000). Adequate housing for all, Rights Now, 8, 1-5.
  • Smit, W. (2000). Housing finance policy in South Africa. Isandla Institute/ University of the Witwatersrand Postgraduate School of Public and Development Management Housing Round Table Discussion, Johannesburg, 24-25 August. [invited speaker]
  • Smit, W. (2000). The impact of the transition from informal housing to formalized housing in low-income housing projects in South Africa. Nordic Africa Institute Conference on “The formal and the informal city: What happens at the interface?”, Copenhagen, 15-18 June.
  • Smit, W. (1999). Towards the right to adequate housing. Durban, South Africa: Built Environment Support Group.
  • Smit, W. (1999). Upkeep of local areas: Jobs for the community – models for local area maintenance, In Focus Forum 6(4), May 1999, pp. 34-37.
  • Smit, W. (1998). Evaluation of the housing consolidation project in Luganda and Zilweleni, Southern Pinetown 1996-1998. Durban, South Africa: Built Environment Support Group.
  • Smit, W. (1998). No place like home, Democracy Watch, 3, 8-9.
  • Smit, W. (1998). Assisted mutual help housing delivery in South Africa. Johannesburg, South Africa: Urban Sector Network.
  • Smit, W. (1998). The changing role of community based organizations in South Africa in the 1990s, with emphasis on their role in development projects. Paper presented at the Nordic Africa Institute/Christian Michelsen Institute Conference on Associational Life in African Cities: “Urban governance in an era of change”, Bergen, Norway, 28-30 August.
  • Smit, W., & Walker, N. (1997).Community involvement in local area maintenance. In Pickford, J. (Ed.), Water and sanitation for all – Partnerships and innovations: Proceedings of the 23rd WEDC Conference, Durban, South Africa 1-5 September 1997. Loughborough, UK: Water, Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC), Loughborough University.
  • Clark, C., Walker, N., & Smit, W. (1997). Low-Income households’ perceptions, understanding and preferences with respect to tenure in metropolitan Durban. iKusasa Conference on Land Tenure, Durban, August.
  • Smit, W. (1997). Community involvement in infrastructure maintenance and environmental management. Human Sciences Research Council’s Human Needs, Resources and the Environment Programme Report No. 67. Pretoria, South Africa: Human Sciences Research Council.
  • Smit, W., & Mbona, D. (1996). Low-income housing consolidation processes in metropolitan Durban. Supporting People’s Habitat Initiatives Series No. 1. Durban, South Africa: Built Environment Support Group.
  • Watson, V, Behrens, R, Hennessy, K., & Smit, W. (1994). Subletting: Towards an appropriate policy response. Working Paper No. 52 (Occasional Paper No. 39). Cape Town: Urban Problems Research Unit, University of Cape Town.
  • Smit, W. (1994). Towards a housing strategy for metropolitan Cape Town. Working Paper No. 51 (Occasional Paper No. 38). Cape Town, South Africa: Urban Problems Research Unit, University of Cape Town.