Lochner Marais is Professor of Development Studies at the Centre for Development Support (University of the Free State). Marais’s research interests lie in three different though related themes: housing policy, small urban areas (including secondary cities, mining towns and their economies) and public health. In addition to concentrating on each of these themes separately, he primarily focuses on integrating them. He has authored, co-authored and compiled more than 200 research reports, including more than 130 refereed articles in peer-reviewed journals or books (100 journal articles, 29 chapters in books and three inclusions in conference proceedings). He has also co-edited six books. In the past six years, he has been the PI or Co-PI of research grants to the value R20m.