Governing informality through representation: Examples from slum policies in Brazil and South Africa

Kovacic, Zora

doi:10.1016/j.cities.2018.07.009

Cited by 14 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Townships and informal settlements in SA are a result of rapid urbanisation as well as a legacy of the apartheid policies of the past, often represented by notions of informality focusing on uncertainty and uncontrollability, and the lack of capacity to lift oneself out of poverty, disregarding the relational character of poverty [14]. Despite those settlements being frequently studied at the level of individual households, they are complex social structures with varied levels of self-organisation and community cohesion.…”

Section: Low-income and Informal Settlementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Urban Farming in South African Low-Income Settlements: A Case Study in Durban

2019

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Growing urban centres have been attracting ever higher numbers of rural migrants, including small-scale farmers, looking for better opportunities due to the rise of large-scale farming, loss of land and climate change. Consequently, there has been an increase in the number of spontaneous and informal settlements being constructed as cities do not keep up with the planning and infrastructure development for new arrivals. Urban dwellers in informal, unplanned settlements where issues of land tenure and access to services are prevalent have, consequently, been exposed to precarious living conditions with limited access to food and water scarcity. Urban agriculture (UA) strategies have been adopted by those residents to alleviate poverty and food insecurity, and have been seen to perform other functions, such as environmental, social, cultural and developmental. This study explores challenges and opportunities for sustainable urban farming as an integrated environmental management strategy for the upgrading of informal settlements in three case studies in Durban. This paper demonstrates the need for municipalities to support community driven processes to ensure sustainability of UA initiatives and sustained investment for maintenance. Policy makers need to create an enabling environment for academics, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector to co-develop water efficient solutions to manage the food-water nexus and capitalise on localised community structures and groups, such as co-operatives and women groups.

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Section: Low-income and Informal Settlementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Urban Farming in South African Low-Income Settlements: A Case Study in Durban

2019

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“…This calls for 'learning to unlearn' -whereby the 'situatedness' of policy ideas should acknowledge the limitations of universalised metropolitan policy assumptions (Lawhon et al 2016). In policy research, it similarly leads to thinking about alternative conceptualisations that consider difference of new policy epistemologies to better understand the diversity of metropolitan contexts (Galland and Elinbaum 2018, Kovacic 2019, Watson 2016.…”

Section: Policies and Ideasmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Is Metropolitan Planning and Governance for?

Galland

Harrison

Tewdwr‐Jones

2019

Metropolitan Regions, Planning and Governance

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This concluding chapter argues for a new role of planning in shaping metropolitan futures and reflects on the value of the book's thematic-temporalphronetic (TTP) framework -a meso-level approach to better understand the dynamics of contemporary metropolitan change. We begin by revealing the extent to which institutions, policies, spatial imaginaries and planning are influencing metropolitan development through a synthesis of the key outcomes emanating from the totality of the book contributions. The chapter then returns to the TTP framework to reflect on its tripartite rationale as well as its significance to international comparative research. Set against this context, the chapter then identifies four sets of issues that seem highly relevant to both shape future styles of governance and planning, and provide metropolitan regions with modes of working that could make a difference. We finally conclude with three open propositions relating to thematic, temporal and phronetic priorities for future research targeting the planning and governance of metropolitan regions.

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“…It is important to acknowledge that comparing American cities with cities in the Global South does not suggest that American cities are more advanced in poverty policies [15]. In American cities slum policy has been replaced with urban revitalization often resulting in gentrification, which more often than not, does not benefit the people originally living in the neighborhood [45]. Slum policies in the Global South have been dominated by the rhetoric layout in "Cities without slums" [8], which can be understood as the new war on poverty.…”

Section: The Framework Applied To a North American Citymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Slum policies in the Global South have been dominated by the rhetoric layout in "Cities without slums" [8], which can be understood as the new war on poverty. [45] Newburgh, NY Newburgh is a relatively small city (population: 28,406) that is 60 miles north of New York city on the west bank of the Hudson River. During the 19 th Century Newburgh was a prosperous shipping, transportation, and industrial hub.…”

Section: The Framework Applied To a North American Citymentioning

confidence: 99%

Using a Socio-Cultural Framework to Understand Leadership Structures Amongst the Urban Poor

Richmond¹,

Wolfel²,

Walsh³

2019

URP

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Informal settlements have been the most pervasive form of new urban development over the past half century and the gap between the rich and poor has never been wider. In this paper we determine the characteristics that are critical to understanding leadership structures in deprived regions within dense urban areas. In doing so we establish the key characteristics that contribute to urban poverty and introduce a conceptual model that can be applied to any city and contributes to an understanding of the socio-cultural characteristics of leadership structures in a slum. The framework we use in this paper to understand slum leadership structures is initially applied to Accra and Delhi. Urban poverty is frequently discussed either in terms of the developing or developed world, therefore we also apply the same framework to a disadvantaged community in the United States. This highlights that although the approaches to studying urban poor are often separate and distinct between the Global South and Global North, we believe using a similar framework can emphasize similarities and differences that might contribute to policy that is more effective in both locations. All of our discussed case studies highlight the importance of effective informal local leadership structures that communicate well with a transparent formal city government. Partnerships between all levels of leadership are paramount to successful city planning that focuses simultaneously on economic development and social equity. We expect this research will contribute to a more holistic perspective of how leadership structures within informal regions are related to the city as a whole.

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Governing informality through representation: Examples from slum policies in Brazil and South Africa

Cited by 14 publications

References 25 publications

Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Urban Farming in South African Low-Income Settlements: A Case Study in Durban

Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Urban Farming in South African Low-Income Settlements: A Case Study in Durban

What Is Metropolitan Planning and Governance for?

Using a Socio-Cultural Framework to Understand Leadership Structures Amongst the Urban Poor

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