Alec Thornton is a Senior Lecturer in Geography at The University of New South Wales, Australia. Originally from Massachusetts, USA, he studied in the UK, conducted his PhD research in South Africa and a postdoctoral fellowship in New Zealand. He has since carried out further research on rural urban livelihoods and social change in Zambia, Sierra Leone, Fiji and Samoa. His research largely centers on community-based development, rural and urban livelihoods in developing and developed countries. He has published numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters on these issues. He is currently writing a book 'Space and food in the City' for Palgrave MacMillan, which will explore city-community partnerships and local food production for social equity and food justice in developed and developing countries.