Policing Development: Urban Renewal as Neo-liberal Security Strategy

Abstract

This paper examines the evolution of policing in the townships of Cape Town in the context of a neo-liberalising city. Policing is situated in relation to the shifting meaning of security, the city’s emphasis on economic growth and attempts to develop the townships through a law-enforcement-driven urban renewal process. Research conducted in the city suggests that current approaches to urban renewal risk exacerbating social instability by reproducing aggressive forms of policing associated with the apartheid era. Further, as crime is framed as a security threat because of the danger it is thought to pose to market-led growth, urban governance in the townships increasingly takes on the character of a containment strategy. Current security ideology and policing practice create an expanding law enforcement web in which millions of poor residents are caught annually and which appears to undermine the very developmental goals used to justify its expansion.

Locating and mitigating risks to children associated with major sporting events

“…For example:  for the South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup, 600 street children and youth were moved to an apartheid-style relocation or transit camp 30km from Cape Town, leading to an increase in social problems including sexual violence against children (Samara, 2010;van Blerk, 2011;Maharaj, 2011).…”

Gated-Communities in South Africa’s Urban Areas 20 Years into Democracy: Old Wine in Newly Designed Bottles?

“…These compulsory contributions allow wealthy residents to contribute to their own security and to upgrade other separate locally-based urban services, amenities and infrastructure thereby excluding the poor from the benefits associated with the logistical arrangements in gated-communities. Additionally, these gatedcommunities in urban areas contribute to growing inequalities in terms of provision of security (Samara, 2010;Paasche, 2013).…”

“…The rise of privatizing security has adverse effects on the state's capacity to perform its core functions in this regard (Bénit-Gbaffou, 2008). Thus, democracy is accompanied by new challenges which are informing the form of security provisions in the country (Bénit-Gbaffou, 2008;Borsdorf & Hidalgo, 2008;Rogers & Sukolratanametee, 2009;Kotus & Hlawka, 2010;Samara, 2010;Paasche, 2013). The current provision of security results in the participation of non-state actors which perpetuates highly unequal security systems that encourages socio-economic exclusions within South Africa's urban areas (Bénit-Gbaffou, 2008;Zimmerman, 2014).…”

New Street Geographies: The Impact of Urban Governance on the Mobilities of Cape Town’s Street Youth

“…In fact, the former has often been associated with the increasing polarisation and inequality (Samara, 2005(Samara, , 2010.…”

“…In July 1999, Cape Town implemented a strategy for establishing City Improvement Districts (CIDs): a policy that mirrored the urban revitalisation strategy popularised by Guilliani's approach to cleaning up New York (Samara, 2003(Samara, , 2010. CIDs are special zones within the city that are managed through public-private partnerships with property owners and receive additional privately funded public services.…”