Bridging Informal Divides: Urban Food Security and Sustainable Livelihoods in the Global South
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Health, Well-Being and Sustainability".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2026 | Viewed by 31
Special Issue Editors
Interests: South-South migration; informal economies; governance and urban food systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: migration; remittance; food security; climate change
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Urban food systems across the Global South are fundamentally shaped by informal economic practices, where marginalized communities drive street food vending, household-level production, small-scale trade, and mobile food distribution. These actors form the backbone of urban food security, enhancing dietary diversity, economic resilience, and cultural vibrancy. Yet their critical contributions remain under-recognized within formal governance frameworks, leaving them vulnerable to precarity and exclusion.
This Special Issue examines how informal food entrepreneurs navigate economic, spatial, and regulatory divides to sustain urban food systems. We explore how their practices influence food accessibility, nutritional outcomes, and ecological sustainability while fostering community resilience.
We welcome interdisciplinary, critical, and empirical contributions analyzing the intersections of urban informality, food security, and sustainability transitions across Global South contexts. Studies may address (but are not limited to) the following topics:
- Grassroots innovations in circular food economies;
- Governance of informal food spaces for sustainability;
- Equity dimensions of urban food access;
- Climate resilience in small-scale food distribution;
- Policy gaps in supporting informal food livelihoods.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Prof. Dr. Jonathan Crush
Prof. Dr. Mulugeta Dinbabo
Dr. Sean Sithole
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- food systems
- urban food security
- circular food economies
- sustainability transitions
- ecological sustainability
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
