‘Marginalised formalisation’: an analysis of the in/formal binary through shifting policy and everyday experiences of ‘poor’ housing in South Africa

Abstract

This paper contributes to global debates over the in/formal binary through an analysis of the South African state's provision of formal housing to residents previously living informally or insecurely. Focusing on cases within the cities of eThekwini and Msunduzi, it uses a mix of empirical data from housing beneficiaries and government officials alongside an analysis of documents to examine the processes and experiences of housing formalisation. The paper makes two key contributions. The first is to argue for a stronger focus on the processes of dichotomisation of the in/formal binary. It illustrates the significance of a processual analysis by examining shifts in South African housing policy and residents' expectations of housing gain, noting a situation of hyperbole, where informal housing is regarded as unacceptable, to one of waning, where policy statements acknowledge a greater role for informality. The second contribution is to direct analysis to the idea of formal housing and processes of formalisation, as these have arguably received less attention in wider debates. The paper proposes the concept of marginalised formalisation to articulate both the shortcomings experienced by residents living in formal housing and also the misrepresentation of housing policy and government rhetoric of the benefits of formalisation. Marginalised formalisation is contextualised within ongoing urban poverty which frames this reality.

Disassembling connections: A comparative analysis of the politics of slum upgrading in eThekwini and São Paulo

“…In addition, ‘rollover’ interventions and ‘greenfields’ developments are often welcomed by informal settlement dwellers who see participation in upgrading activities as a burden, especially when they have the option to obtain a ready-built and free house from the government. 5 There is also the lingering idea among dwellers that informal settlements are an expression of apartheid, which ended up being reinforced by the governmental discourse centred on the provision of new housing (Meth, 2020: 149, 151).…”

Ganz gewöhnliche Viertel

“…Nichtsdestotrotz entstanden in den vergangenen Jahren immer mehr, größtenteils privat finanzierte Massenwohnungsbauprogramme, die auf eine quantitative Reduktion von Slumbewohner*innen abzielen, ohne sich genauer mit den Ursachen von und Lebensbedingungen in Slums auseinanderzusetzen (Buckley/Kallergis/Wainer 2016; Croese/Cirolia/ Graham 2016; Turok 2016). Vielmehr stellen sie die Materialisierung eines politisch-planerischen Schwarz-weiß-Verständnisses ‚informeller' und ‚formeller' Stadträume dar (Meth 2020). Dieser Trend ist nicht allein den MDGs und der Renaissance des Slum-Begriffs zuzuschreiben.…”

“…Eine kritische postkoloniale Forschung sollte demnach an Vergleichen zwischen gewöhnlichen Wohnvierteln interessiert sein und somit die Annahme des vermeintlich besonderen ‚Slums' hinterfragen und intra-städtische Hierarchien überwinden. Verstärkt sollten dabei auch Viertel in Städten des Globalen Südens in den Blick genommen werden, die bislang weniger Aufmerksamkeit erhieltendas gilt insbesondere für prekäre Mietswohnungen (Huchzermeyer 2011b; Mayson/Charlton 2015), aber auch für neu entstehende Siedlungen am Stadt rand (Meth 2020;Gastrow 2020).…”

Revisiting Stokes’ Theory of Slums: Towards Decolonised Housing Concepts from the Global South

“…informal settlements, "slums", bidonvilles, barraka, etc. ), rather than what it is (Beier 2021;Meth 2020). However, if society confuses adequate housing with "material decency", a denigrating label of "otherness" is likely to persist even after upgrading initiatives and decades of incremental development (Beier 2022).…”