Geographer
I am a geographer working at the intersection of agriculture, food, and health in the global south. I completed my bachelors in Geography at Aberdeen University, Scotland which included courses in both physical and human geography. I hold a Masters degree in Rural Resources and Environmental Management from Imperial College London; and a Masters in Spatial Planning and Development from Umeå University, Sweden. After this I worked 10 years in international development for NGOs and private consulting companies in the UK, USA and Ghana before returning to academia.
My doctoral research, completed in 2019, investigated in what ways transitions at the nexus of urbanisation, food environments, and lifestyles were occurring in secondary cities of Uganda. In addition, I have worked on urban agriculture and urban food systems, as well as with topics related to smallholder agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa, small-scale mining, resilience, migration and gendered roles and power dimensions. I work with mixed qualitative, quantitative and spatial methods including running complex in-field survey teams, and working with remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS), as well as in-depth interviewing and focus group discussions. I very much enjoy investigating what arises when we mix multiple kinds of data.
I have taught methods courses, development geography and urban planning-related courses, and courses on global environmental change, global health, migration, and tourism geography.
My current research has two dimensions: one focused around smallholder agriculture through my role as Assistant Challenge Leader of Challeng 4 of the AgriFoSe2030 Programme where we have funded projects in Uganda, Kenya and Vietnam; the other around urban livelihoods and inclusive urban development in small towns of Uganda and Tanzania.
Publications
Displaying of publications. Sorted by year, then title.
Analysing Diet Composition and Food Insecurity by Socio-Economic Status in Secondary African Cities
Heather Mackay, Samuel Onyango Omondi, Magnus Jirström, Beatrix Alsanius
(2023) Transforming Urban Food Systems in Secondary Cities in Africa , p.191-230
Book chapterSimilar, yet different! Comparing Ugandan secondary cities' food system and nutritional transformations to findings from African primary cities
Heather Mackay, Richard Tusabe, Frank Mugagga
(2022) Urban Transformations, 4 p.16-16
Journal articleWill there be lunch? Wry reflections on research-feedback challenges in Uganda, from a newly-minted academic
Heather Mackay
(2020) Cities and Health, 6 p.81-86
Journal articleA feminist geographic analysis of perceptions of food and health in Ugandan cities
Heather Mackay
(2019) Gender, Place and Culture, 26 p.1519-1543
Journal articleFood sources and access strategies in Ugandan secondary cities : an intersectional analysis
Heather Mackay
(2019) Environment and Urbanization, 31 p.375-396
Journal articleMapping and characterising the urban agricultural landscape of two intermediate-sized Ghanaian cities
Heather Mackay
(2018) Land Use Policy, 70 p.182-197
Journal articleGetting invasive species on the political agenda : agenda setting and policy formulation in the case of ash dieback in the UK
Heather Mackay, E. Carina H. Keskitalo, Maria Pettersson
(2017) Biological Invasions, 19 p.1953-1970
Journal articleSpecial issue introduction : geographical perspectives on food and nutrition insecurity in the global South
Bill Pritchard, Heather Mackay, Christopher Turner
(2017) Geographical Research, 55 p.127-130
Journal article (comment)Doing things their way? Food, farming and health in two Ugandan cities
H. Mackay, F. Mugagga, L. Kakooza, Linley Chiwona Karltun
(2017) Cities and Health, 1 p.147-170
Journal articleResearch for City Practice
Marcus Grant, Caroline Brown, Hannah Badland, Linley Chiwona-Karltun, Melanie Davern, et al.
(2017) Cities and Health, 1 p.108-119
Journal article (comment)Sweden - Evaluation of, and Feedback from, Sweden’s SKC Recognition System
Heather Mackay, Ida-Maja Lindström, Olof Stjernström
(2015) The Diversity Value : How to reinvent the European Approach to Immigration , p.277-288
Book chapterPlanned Adaptation Measures in Industrialised Countries : A Comparison of Select Countries Within and Outside the EU
Lisa Westerhoff, E. Carina H. Keskitalo, Heather Mackay, Johanna Wolf, David Ellison, et al.
(2010) Developing Adaptation Policy and Practice in Europe: Multi-level Governance of Climate Change , p.271-338
Book chapterGhana : Empty Pockets
Ernest Kunfaa, Tony Dogbe, Heather Mackay, Celia Marshall
(2002) Voices of the Poor : From Many Lands , p.17-42
Book chapter
Agriculture for Food Security (AgriFoSe2030) Programme - Translating Science for Policy and Practice
Read more about this Sida-funded research translation for impact capacity-building programme run jointly with SLU, Lund University and Linköping Univerity.
Other Projects
Explaining inclusive lower-level urbanization in Tanzania and Uganda