Rate My Professor Etienne Nel

Professor Nel's research specializations lie in economic and urban geography, focusing on local economic development, urban entrepreneurialism, community economic development, small towns, economic policy, marginality, regional development, and local government. Current research examines economic and urban history and development in South Africa, local development and urban agriculture in Zambia, and regional, local, and small town development in New Zealand, where he leads the National Science Challenge project 'Harnessing the Hinterland' investigating rural and small town inequalities. He has supervised over 20 PhD students and many Masters students on topics including urban agriculture, land reform, resilience, and governance across Africa, New Zealand, and beyond. Nel has authored or edited 11 books, such as Africa: Diversity and Development (2023, second edition), Planning for the Caring City (2024), COVID-19 and Marginalisation of People and Places (2022), and Responses to Geographical Marginality and Marginalization (2020); contributed over 50 book chapters; and published around 130 refereed journal articles, including 'Resilience to Economic Shocks: Reflections from Zambia's Copperbelt' (2017). He received the 2020 Distinguished New Zealand Geographer Award and Medal, served as Managing Editor of the New Zealand Geographer (2012-2018), advised organizations like the World Bank on poverty alleviation strategies, and delivered the Inaugural Professorial Lecture 'Dealing With Difference: Responses to uneven geographical development'.