ICOLMA research in Cape Town

Findings and reflections

Authors

  • Roger Behrens University of Cape Town
  • Mojalefa Patrick Makitle University of the Western Cape
  • Kgomotso Mosikare University of Cape Town
  • Bradley Rink University of the Western Cape
  • Mark Zuidgeest University of Cape Town

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36942/dialogossocioambientais.v8i24.1455

Abstract

This conjecture explores the impacts of the COVID pandemic on the long-term travel behaviour of marginalised households in Cape Town. Mobility and activity patterns were explored before, during and after the COVID pandemic lockdown. Using (n=101) household mobility biography data, ‘activity domains’ were observed to shrink and only partially recover over these three time periods. The findings illustrate that the travel behaviour impact of, and recovery from, the disruption to mobility and activity patterns was uneven across marginalised households.

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Author Biographies

Roger Behrens, University of Cape Town

Roger Behrens is a Professor in the University of Cape Town’s Department of Civil Engineering. He is Director of the Centre for Transport Studies. He graduated with a Master Degree in City and Regional Planning from UCT in 1991, and with a PhD degree in 2002. His current research activities relate to: the regulation and improvement of unscheduled and informal public transport services; analysis of the dynamics of changing travel behaviour; and the identification of urban form preconditions for effective and viable public transport networks.

Mojalefa Patrick Makitle, University of the Western Cape

Mojalefa Makitle is a Master's candidate in Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa, where he also serves as a Graduate Lecturing Assistant. He holds a BA Honours degree in Geography and a BA General degree from UWC. His research interests include urban studies, spatial analysis, and social mobility amongst marginalised communities.

Kgomotso Mosikare, University of Cape Town

Kgomotso Mosikare is a masters candidate in Transport Studies at the University of Cape Town and a junior transport engineer. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Cape Town in 2020. Her research investigates the long-term impacts of COVID-19 on mobility and accessibility among marginalised groups in South Africa. Her academic interests lie in sustainable and inclusive transport planning, with a particular focus on improving the accessibility and equity of public transport systems in South Africa.

Bradley Rink, University of the Western Cape

Bradley Rink is a human geographer, focusing research and teaching on mobilities, place-making, and identities in the context of African cities. He is an NRF-rated (C2) researcher, foregrounding student voices, and highlighting mundane and subaltern mobilities in the everyday movements and circulations of urban life. Through his research, teaching and community engagement, he aims to better understand mobilities and the relationships they articulate between urban dwellers and the cities in which they live.

Mark Zuidgeest, University of Cape Town

Mark Zuidgeest is the SANRAL Chair in Transport Planning and Engineering in the University of Cape Town’s Department of Civil Engineering. He is Head of Department. He graduated with a MScEng Civil Engineering from University of Twente in 1997, and with a PhD degree in 2005. His current research activities relate to: transport-related social exclusion; transport geography; choice modelling; walkability assessment; and the relationship between city transport systems and climate change.

References

MATIKLE, M. Intra-neighbourhood typologies matter: Revisiting the meso-level impact of the COVID-19 lockdown in post-pandemic Cape Town. 2025 (forthcoming). Dissertation (Master of Arts in Geography and Environmental Studies) – University of the Western Cape, 2025.

MOSIKARE, M. The long-term impacts of COVID-19 on the mobility and accessibility of marginalised groups in Cape Town. 2025 (forthcoming). Dissertation (Master of Science in Engineering) – University of Cape Town, 2025.

RINK, B.; MATIKLE, M.; MOSIKARE, M.; BEHRENS, R.; ZUIDGEEST, M.; SCHRAMM, S.; NYAMAI, D.; GREIVING, S.; SCHNITTFINKE, T.; SCHOLZ, W.; MOMM, S.; TRAVASSOS, L. Long-term travel behaviour impacts of COVID-19 on marginalised households in Cape Town. Transportation Research Procedia, v. 89, p. 499–510, 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trpro.2025.05.077.

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Published

2025-12-23

How to Cite

BEHRENS, Roger; MAKITLE, Mojalefa Patrick; MOSIKARE, Kgomotso; RINK, Bradley; ZUIDGEEST, Mark. ICOLMA research in Cape Town: Findings and reflections. Diálogos Socioambientais, [S. l.], v. 8, n. 24, p. 36–47, 2025. DOI: 10.36942/dialogossocioambientais.v8i24.1455. Disponível em: https://periodicos.ufabc.edu.br/index.php/dialogossocioambientais/article/view/1455. Acesso em: 19 mar. 2026.

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 24 (2025): Before and beyond the pandemic

Section

Conjuntura

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Diálogos Socioambientais

Creative Commons License

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