Restructuring Government: The Abandonment of Metropolitan Government

Rescaling municipal governance amidst political competition in Gauteng: Sedibeng’s proposed re-demarcation

“…Several studies have addressed political contestations and party politics as they relate to demarcation and metropolitanisation (see Bénit-Gbaffou et al, 2013;Low, Ballard and Maharaj, 2007;Narsiah, 2019). There is also a burgeoning literature on the dynamics and politics of merging and reconfiguring urban spaces internationally (see, e.g., Hamilton, 2013;Savitch and Vogel, 2009), including a significant literature on South Africa (cf. Cameron, 2003;Cameron and Alvarez, 2006;Magi and de Villiers, 2008;Slack and Bird, 2013).…”

“…A growing number of works also highlights the increasing need for metropolitanised governance arrangements for the national economy of states such as South Africa (Cole and Payre, 2016;Götz et al, 2010). Some literature touches on the increasing importance of metropolitan cities and re-demarcations for political parties to further their agendas 13 (see, e.g., Cole and Payre, 2016;Hamilton, 2013;Low et al, 2007;Mathebula, 2018;Narsiah, 2019;Savitch and Vogel, 2009;Sellers and Walks, 2013). Indeed, scholarship on demarcation, metropolitanisation and amalgamation argues that these 'rescaling' processes are deeply political, and portrays merged spaces as socio-political constructs resulting from socio-political struggle (see, e.g., Slack and Bird, 2013;Cameron, 2006;de Visser, 2009;Magi and de Villiers, 2008;Martin and Miller, 2003).…”