My Expertise
Food security; rural agriculture; urban agriculture; small scale farming; poverty; community-based development; sustainable development; Sub-Saharan Africa; South Pacific
Fields of Research (FoR)
Sustainable Development, Human Geography, Economic Development Policy, Architecture and Urban Environment not elsewhere cSEO tags
Biography
Dr Alec Thornton is a freelance international development expert. He has a MA in Rural Development and PhD in Development Studies from the University of Sussex, UK. Since 2021, Alec is an Honorary Senior Lecturer in Geography in the School of Science at UNSW Canberra.
Alec is a Research to Practice Associate, with the Institute for Global Development (IGD) at UNSW Sydney. He is also a Senior Research Associate held jointly between the School...view more
Dr Alec Thornton is a freelance international development expert. He has a MA in Rural Development and PhD in Development Studies from the University of Sussex, UK. Since 2021, Alec is an Honorary Senior Lecturer in Geography in the School of Science at UNSW Canberra.
Alec is a Research to Practice Associate, with the Institute for Global Development (IGD) at UNSW Sydney. He is also a Senior Research Associate held jointly between the School of Anthropology and Development Studies, as well as the School of Tourism at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa.
Alec specialises in Participatory and Sustainable Livelihoods approaches to monitoring and evaluations of food security, rural and urban agriculture and has widely published these topics in empirical case studies located in Uganda, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Zambia, as well as in Australia, Germany and the USA. He is Honorary Senior Lecturer in Geography at UNSW Canberra and Research and Practice Associate at the Institute for Global Development (IGD) at UNSW Sydney. He is also Senior Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg, in the School of Humanities and the School of Tourism & Hospitality.
Alec is located in Berlin, Germany.
Specialties: participatory research, sustainable livelihoods, food security, food systems governance, urban and rural agriculture.
Editorial boards: Sustainability (2019-present); Australasian Review of African Studies (2015-2017); Urban Forum (2010-2016); Journal of Applied Geography (2010-2015).
My Grants
Australia Africa Universities Network (AAUN) 2019 Partnership and Research Development Fund Award
Project: Integrating Urban Green Infrastructure and Food Security for Economic Development in African Cities
University of Western Australia FABLE Research Collaboration Awards (2019-2020)
Project: Creating Smarter Cities in East Africa
Australian Government DFAT New Colombo Mobility Grant (2016-2019)
Project: Samoa Field School for Geography Research Methods
My Qualifications
PhD Development Studies (2006) University of Sussex (UK)
MA Rural Development (2002) University of Sussex (UK)
BA Political Science/International Relations (2000) University of Massachusetts, Boston (USA)
My Research Supervision
Supervision keywords
Areas of supervision
I am interested in supervising PhD students on topics related to: Alternative food economies, urban food governance and urban agriculture in North and South cities.
Currently supervising
Supervisor (2018-present): Toiaba Binta Taher,PhD Candidate, School of Physical, Environmental and Mathematical Sciences, UNSW Canberra. Thesis topic: Ecosystem-based Adaptation for Valuing Forest Ecosystem Services in the World’s Largest Mangrove Forest
Supervisor (2017-present): Israel Dela Cruz,PhD Candidate, School of Physical, Environmental and Mathematical Sciences, UNSW Canberra. Thesis topic: A Critical Analysis of Urban Agriculture and Urban Food Policy in Australia
Supervisor (2016-present): Sothun Nop, PhD Candidate, School of Physical, Environmental and Mathematical Sciences, UNSW Canberra. Thesis topic: Planning for Urban Resilience: A Case of Phnom Penh City, Cambodia
Co-Supervisor (2016-present): Nishat Falgunee, PhD Candidate, School of Physical, Environmental and Mathematical Sciences, UNSW Canberra. Thesis topic: Urban agriculture as a strategy for women empowerment
My Engagement
Institute for Global Development (UNSW Sydney) Academic Co-Lead for Africa
Member: African Studies Association of Australasia and the Pacific (Vice President 2011-2017)
Member: Agri-Food Research Network
Member: Urban Agriculture Europe / European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST)
Editorial board: Applied Geography (past)
Editorial board: Urban Forum (past)
Editorial board: Australasian Review of African Studies (past)
Editorial board: Sustainability (current)
My Teaching
ZPEM3208 Geographic Research Methods
ZPEM2209/ZPEM8209 Development Geography
ZPEM1202 Contemporary Global Change