| Taking to the streets: Has developmental local government failed in South Africa D Atkinson State of the nation: South Africa 2007, 53-77, 2007 | 366 | 2007 |
| Going for broke: The fate of farm workers in arid South Africa D Atkinson HSRC Press, 2007 | 162 | 2007 |
| Multi-functional landscapes in semi arid environments: implications for biodiversity and ecosystem services PJ O’Farrell, B Reyers, DC Le Maitre, SJ Milton, B Egoh, A Maherry, ... Landscape Ecology 25, 1231-1246, 2010 | 134 | 2010 |
| The small miracle: South Africa's negotiated settlement S Friedman, D Atkinson (No Title), 1994 | 128 | 1994 |
| Urbanisation and the future urban agenda in South Africa D Atkinson, L Marais Democracy and delivery: Urban policy in South Africa, 22-49, 2006 | 65 | 2006 |
| Government by the People C Heymans, G Tötemeyer Juta, 1988 | 65 | 1988 |
| Local government, local governance and sustainable development: getting the parameters right D Atkinson HSRC Press, 2002 | 58 | 2002 |
| The possibilities and pitfalls presented by a pragmatic approach to ecosystem service valuation in an arid biodiversity hotspot PJ O’Farrell, WJ De Lange, DC Le Maitre, B Reyers, JN Blignaut, ... Journal of Arid Environments 75 (6), 612-623, 2011 | 56 | 2011 |
| Demographic and economic changes in small towns in South Africa’s Karoo: Looking from the inside out E Nel, B Taylor, T Hill, D Atkinson Urban Forum 22, 395-410, 2011 | 43 | 2011 |
| Brokering a miracle? The multiparty negotiating forum D Atkinson South African Review 7, 13-43, 1994 | 42 | 1994 |
| Is South Africa's Great Karoo region becoming a tourism destination? D Atkinson Journal of Arid Environments 127, 199-210, 2016 | 40 | 2016 |
| A passion to govern: third-generation issues facing local government in South Africa D Atkinson, A McIntosh, K Smith, J De Visser | 36 | 2003 |
| The malaria vectors of the lower Shire Valley, Malawi AA Spiers, T Mzilahowa, D Atkinson, PJ McCall Malawi Medical Journal 14 (1), 4-7, 2002 | 35 | 2002 |
| Civil society after the transition D Atkinson Reconstruction, development and people, 287-310, 1996 | 33 | 1996 |
| People-centred environmental management and municipal commonage in the Nama Karoo D Atkinson∗ Development Southern Africa 24 (5), 707-724, 2007 | 29 | 2007 |
| From a tier to a sphere: Local government in the new South African constitutional order D Atkinson, M Reitzes Heinemann, 1998 | 28 | 1998 |
| The Small Miracle: South Africa’s Negotiated Settlement. South African Review 7 S Friedman, D Atkinson Johannesburg: Ravan Press, 1994 | 28 | 1994 |
| Politics: introduction S Buhlungu, D Atkinson State of the nation: South Africa, 27-34, 2007 | 27 | 2007 |
| Municipal commonage and implications for land reform: A profile of commonage users in Philippolis, Free State, South Africa D Atkinson, B Büscher Agrekon 45 (4), 437-466, 2006 | 27 | 2006 |
| Fracking in a fractured environment: Shale gas mining and institutional dynamics in South Africa’s young democracy D Atkinson The Extractive Industries and Society 5 (4), 441-452, 2018 | 26 | 2018 |
