Investigating Young Men’s Experiences of Walking to the ‘Bus’ in Low Income Neighbourhoods of Cape Town and London: A Comparative Study Built Round a Community Peer Research Methodology

The VREF ‘Walking to the Bus’ project seeks to understand how young men navigate their walking journeys in urban areas with high rates of crime and poverty.

Over the past decade knowledge has been gradually accumulating regarding the challenges faced by young women as they travel around urban areas of Africa specifically but also the global South.  However, young men’s mobility experiences—including walking experiences—have been largely ignored. This represents a major research gap. There is an unwritten assumption that men are invulnerable—free to walk wherever and whenever they choose—but urban scholarship lacks specific knowledge of realities on the ground. Building on previous peer research by project partners with young women from low-income communities, including in Cape Town, the project team hypothesises that many young men residents in low income areas walk the streets with trepidation: while their perceptions of potential danger do not necessarily stop them walking, they may engage with a diversity of tactics to try to ensure a safe journey.  Employing a peer research methodology, this study is novel both in its methodological approach as well as its focus on the underexplored experiences of young men who represent the next generation of African urban residents.