MSc Thesis
International Development Studies
Graduate School of Social Sciences
University of Amsterdam
July 8, 2015
By
Bart Brouwer
10261737
bart.brouwer@student.uva.nl
Supervisor:
Drs. Courtney L. Vegelin
Second Reader:
Drs. Christine Richter
P
Case Study of the Social Mobilization
of Durban’s Shack Dwellers
Abstract
! !
More% than% one% billion% urban% residents% worldwide% lack% adequate% housing.% One% of% the% major% challenges% of% global% urbanization% therefore% is% to% improve% the% living% conditions% of% people% living%in%informal%settlements.%This%research%investigates%the%political%agency%of%the%poor%in% an% urban% context,% and% more% specifically% how% shack% dwellers% in% Durban,% South% Africa,% use% social%mobilization%as%a%means%to%enhance%their%political%agency.%Moreover,%it%analyzes%the% power%dynamics%between%the%urban%poor%and%the%state,%arguing%that%the%informal%settlement% is%essentially%a%place%of%politics,%an%arena%where%claims%to%citizenship%are%being%made.%This% research% mainly% contributes% to% the% knowledge% on% social% mobilization% by% exploring% the% meaning%of%urban%social%movements%in%the%South%African%context.%Special%focus%will%be%on%the% shack% dwellers% movement% Abahlali% baseMjondolo,% whose% local% influence% appears% to% be% greatly%overstated%in%both%academic%literature%and%the%media.%This%research%argues%that%the% movement% was% associated% with% a% moment% of% contestation% and% rebellion% against% the% state,% which%had%partly%driven%the%movement’s%status%beyond!a%level%that%it%could%impossibly%live%up% to.% The% informal% settlement% is% used% as% a% case% study% to% better% understand% shack% dwellers’% possession% of% political% agency% and% strategies% of% social% mobilization% by% empirically% showing% how%the%informal%settlement%looks%–%physically,%socially%and%politically.%The%research%mainly% relies% on% qualitative% research% methods,% including% inFdepth% interviews,% focus% groups% and% observations,% in% order% to% give% an% inFdepth,% bottomFup% account% of% the% lived% experiences% and% mobilization% strategies% of% the% people% who% live% in% the% settlement.% This% research% finds% that% a% troublesome% relationship% between% Durban’s% shack% dwellers% and% the% municipality% severely% affects%the%political%agency%of%the%former,%which%is%partly%caused%by%the%cumbersome%politicalF administrative% interface% that% involves% a% democratically% elected% ward% council% that% serves% to% represent%the%community’s%interests.%%
!
Keywords:! urban! poverty;! urban! informality;! political! agency;! social! mobilization;! citizenship;!participation;!South!Africa,!Durban;!urban!social!movement;!shack!settlement! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
Acknowledgements
! !
First,! I! would! like! to! thank! my! supervisor! Courtney! Vegelin! for! her! valuable! guidance!throughout!the!process!of!writing!this!thesis.!I!would!also!like!to!thank!the! second! reader,! Christine! Richter,! for! her! time! in! the! final! stage! of! the! research! process.! Furthermore,! I! would! like! to! express! special! thanks! to! Catherine! Sutherland,! who! served! as! my! local! supervisor! in! Durban,! as! well! as! Sibongile! Buthelezi,! Dudu! Khumalo! and! Tara! Saharan,! who! were! all! part! of! the! research! project!and!without!whom!I!could!not!have!done!this!research.!Most!of!all,!I!want!to! thank!the!residents!of!Quarry!Road!West!and!everyone!else!who!participated!in!this! research.!Although!not!necessarily!related!to!the!research,!I!would!also!like!to!thank! my!flatmates!in!Durban,!as!well!as!others!I!have!met!during!my!stay!in!South!Africa! whom!I!now!consider!my!friends.!My!stay!in!South!Africa!would!not!have!been!the! same! without! you.! Finally,! I! would! like! to! thank! my! mother,! who! has! always! supported!me!during!my!studies.!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
Table of Contents
! ABSTRACT/.../II!
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS/.../III!
TABLE/OF/CONTENTS/.../IV!
LIST/OF/FIGURES/.../VI!
LIST/OF/ABBREVIATIONS/.../VII!
1./INTRODUCTION/.../8!
1.1!RELEVANCE!AND!OBJECTIVES!...!11!
1.2!THESIS!OUTLINE!...!11!
2./THEORETICAL/FRAMEWORK/.../13!
2.1!URBAN!POVERTY!AND!INFORMALITY!...!13
!
2.1.1%Urban%Poverty%...%13
!
2.1.2%Urban%Informality%...%15!
2.2!POLITICAL!AGENCY!...!17!
2.2.1%Social%Mobilization%...%19!
2.2.2%The%Urban%Poor%and%the%State:%Claims%to%Citizenship%...%21!
2.3!CONCLUDING!REMARKS!...!23!
3./RESEARCH/QUESTIONS/.../25!
3.1!RESEARCH!QUESTION!...!25!
3.2!SUB\QUESTIONS!...!25!
4./RESEARCH/LOCATION/AND/CONTEXT/.../26!
4.1!DURBAN!...!27!
4.1.1%Informal%Settlements%...%28!
4.1.2%Quarry%Road%West%...%29!
5./METHODOLOGY/.../32!
5.1!UNIT!OF!ANALYSIS!...!32!
5.2!METHODS!...!33!
5.2.1%Interviews%...%33!
5.2.2%Focus%Groups%...%34!
5.2.3%Observations%...%35!
5.2.4%Surveys%...%36!
5.3!SAMPLING!...!36!
5.4!LIMITATIONS!...!37!
5.5!CHALLENGES!AND!DIFFICULTIES!...!38!
5.6!ETHICAL!CONSIDERATIONS!...!38!
5.7!CONCEPTUAL!SCHEME!...!40!
5.8!DATA!ANALYSIS!...!40!
6./THE/CASE/OF/QUARRY/ROAD/WEST/.../42!
6.1!THE!SHACK!SETTLEMENT!...!42
!
6.1.1%The%Shacks%...%43
!
6.1.2%Water%and%Sanitation%...%44
!
6.3!THE!POLITICS!OF!LIVING!IN!SHACKS!...!49
!
6.3.1%Relocation%...%49!
6.3.2%Social%Mobilization%in%Practice%...%50!
6.4!CONCLUDING!REMARKS!...!52!
7./SHACK/DWELLERS/AND/THE/STATE/.../54!
7.1!ETHEKWINI!AND!THE!COMMUNITY!...!54!
7.1.1%South%Africa’s%PoliticalFAdministrative%Interface%...%54!
7.1.2%The%Bureaucrats%...%55!
7.1.3 The Politicians%...%56!
7.1.4 The Citizens%...%57!
7.1.5%An%Inefficient%Triad%...%58!
7.2!CLAIMING!PARTICIPATION!AND!CITIZENSHIP!...!60
!
7.2.1%The%Ladder%of%Citizen%Participation%...%60
!
7.2.2%Spaces%of%Participation%...%62
!
7.2.3%Citizenship%...%63
!
7.3!CONCLUDING!REMARKS!...!64
!
8./EXPLAINING/URBAN/SOCIAL/MOVEMENTS/.../65
!
8.1!ABAHLALI!BASEMJONDOLO:!AMBITIONS,!STRATEGIES!AND!CHALLENGES!...!65
!
8.1.1%History%of%Social%Movements%in%South%Africa%...%65
!
8.1.2%Ambitions%and%Strategies%...%66
!
8.1.3%Challenges%...%68
!
8.2!ABAHLALI!BASEMJONDOLO!IN!CONTEXT!...!69
!
8.2.1%Interaction%with%the%State%...%70
!
8.2.2%Demand%for%Organized%Social%Movements%...%72!
8.2.3%The%Movement%as%an%Idea%...%73!
8.2.4%In%the%Slipstream%of%Global%Activism%...%74!
8.3!CONCLUDING!REMARKS!...!75!
9./CONCLUSION/AND/RECOMMENDATIONS/.../76!
9.1!MAIN!FINDINGS!...!76!
9.2!POLICY!RECOMMENDATIONS!...!80!
9.3!RECOMMENDATIONS!FOR!FURTHER!RESEARCH!...!81
!
REFERENCES/.../83
!
APPENDICES/.../89!
I.%List%of%Respondents%...%89!
II.%Survey%Questions%...%91!
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !List of Figures
! ! Figure%1.%Location%of%Durban%in%eThekwini%municipal%area%(Source:%Roberts%2008:%522)%..%26! Figure%2.%Quarry%Road%West%informal%settlement%(Source:%Bart%Brouwer)%...%31! Figure%3.%Residents%of%Quarry%Road%waiting%to%be%interviewed%(Source:%Bart%Brouwer)%...%32! Figure%4.%Conceptual%Scheme%(Source:%Author’s%elaboration)%...%40! Figure%5.%Map%of%Quarry%Road%West%(Source:%eThekwini%Municipality)%...%43! Figure%6.%Recently%burned%down%shacks%(Source:%Bart%Brouwer)%...%45! Figure%7.%The%Ladder%of%Citizen%Participation%(Source:%Arnstein%1969:%217)%...%61! % % ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !List of Abbreviations
! ! AbM/ ANC/ CSO/ DA/ IDP/ KZN/ NGO/ R/ SANCO/ SDI/ UKZN/ ! Abahlali!baseMjondolo! African!National!Congress!! Civil!Society!Organization! Democratic!Alliance!! Integrated!Development!Plan! KwaZulu[Natal! Non[Governmental!Organization! Rand!(South!Africa’s!currency)! South!African!National!Civics!Organization!! Slum!Dwellers!International! University!of!KwaZulu[Natal! ! ! / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /1. Introduction
/
More! than! half! of! the! world’s! population! now! lives! in! urban! areas! and! the! vast! majority!of!expected!global!population!growth!will!be!in!cities!in!the!global!South,!of! which! most! will! be! concentrated! in! informal! settlements! (Cohen! 2006:! 78;! Desai! 2010:! 2).! Currently,! more! than! one! billion! urban! residents! lack! adequate! housing,! which! is! why! the! improvement! of! living! conditions! of! people! living! in! informal! settlements!is!one!of!the!major!challenges!of!global!urbanization!(Rashid!2009:!574;! Halloran!2012).!!
!! This!research!focuses!on!urban!poor!–!and!more!specifically!those!living!in! informal!settlements!–!in!the!South!African!context.!South!Africa!is!one!of!the!most! urbanized! countries! in! sub]Saharan! Africa,! with! nearly! two]thirds! of! its! total! population!living!in!urban!areas!(Turok!2012:!3).!Although!sub]Saharan!Africa!still! remains!the!least!urbanized!region!in!the!world,!over!the!next!couple!of!decades!the! continent! will! be! one! of! the! most! quickly! urbanizing! regions! (Mabogunje! 2005:! 5;! UN! 2012).! Poverty! in! most! African! countries! now! has! a! very! pervasive! urban! character! (Mabogunje! 2005:! 7).! Although! South! Africa! has! experienced! sustained! economic!growth!over!the!last!two!decades,!inequality!has!increased,!making!South! Africa! one! of! the! most! unequal! societies! in! the! world! (Bhorat! et! al.! 2009).! The! increasing! levels! of! inequality! have! kept! South! Africa’s! economic! growth! from! making!any!meaningful!contributions!to!poverty!reduction.!!
!! The!historical!legacy!of!colonial!and!apartheid!policies!of!racial!segregation! have!created!highly!fragmented!cities!in!South!Africa,!with!unequal!access!to!jobs,! amenities! and! public! services! (Turok! 2012:! 21;! Sutcliffe! 1996).! In! post]apartheid! South! Africa,! the! fragmented! urban! form! has! remained,! because! of! the! “[…]! durability! of! the! built! form,! the! power! of! vested! interests,! persistent! income! inequalities! between! races! and! lack! of! upward! mobility”! (Turok! 2012:! 21).! The! fragmented! form! of! South! Africa’s! cities! has! damaging! social,! economic! and! environmental! consequences! (ibid.:! 1).! The! physical! and! social! exclusion! of! many! city! residents! prevents! the! benefits! of! economic! growth! to! be! distributed! more! equally!(ibid.:!50).!Informal!settlements!are,!as!Huchzermeyer!and!Karam!(2006:!vii)! argue,!“[…]!a!shameful!feature!of!poverty!and!inherited!inequalities!in!South!Africa”.!
households!!(Turok!2012:!21).!!
Using! the! concepts! of! political! agency! and! social! mobilization! this! research! will!focus!on!shack!dwellers’!social!mobilization!in!the!City!of!Durban,!which,!even! though!being!one!of!South!Africa’s!major!cities,!often!gets!overlooked!by!academics! and!practitioners!in!the!field!of!urban!studies!(Robinson!2008).!In!the!South!African! context,! ‘informal! settlement’! is! the! official! term! as! mostly! used! by! the! state,! whereas! ‘shack! settlement’! is! the! popular! term! that! is! typically! used! by! shack! dwellers!themselves.!When!studying!the!social!mobilization!of!the!urban!poor!it!is! essential!to!be!attentive!to!society]state!dynamics.!This!research!therefore!uses!the! related! concepts! of! citizenship! and! participation! in! order! to! interpret! those! dynamics.! This! is! relevant! as! many! aspects! of! poverty! concern! the! exclusion! from! government!processes!(Satterthwaite!et!al.!2011:!5).!!
!! In!the!literature!it!is!suggested!that!in!Durban,!more!than!in!any!other!South! African! city,! there! is! a! strong! societal! mobilization! of! shack! dwellers.! In! 2005,! the! shack!dwellers!movement!Abahlali%baseMjondolo!(AbM)!was!established!to!promote! the!rights!of!shack!dwellers!in!Durban!and!its!surrounding!areas,!addressing!issues! of! inequality! and! injustice! (Hunter! and! Posel! 2012:! 286).! More! specifically,! the! movement! fights! against! the! state’s! attempts! to! remove! shack! settlements1!from!
central!parts!of!the!city!(ibid.).!As!Hunter!and!Posel!(2012:!285)!claim,!government! policy!regarding!informal!settlements!in!South!Africa!shows!a!tension!between!two! broad! possible! approaches:! either! legitimizing! or! violently! removing! informal! settlements.! Even! though! shack! dwellers! cannot! be! evicted! without! a! court! order,! every! year! numerous! shack! settlements! are! being! demolished! and! shack! dwellers! are!forcibly!evicted!from!their!homes!without!such!an!order!(Democracy in Africa 2013;! Turok! 2012:! 22). Peterson! (1981:! 25)! rightly! argued! that! “urban! politics! is! above! all! the! politics! of! land! use,! and! it! is! easy! to! see! why.! Land! is! the! factor! of! production! over! which! cities! exercise! the! greatest! control”.! It! is! exactly! this! established! control! against! which! Abahlali! baseMjondolo’s! mobilization! efforts! are! aimed.! In! 2009,! AbM! overturned! the! highly! controversial! 2007! Slums! Act,! by! successfully!challenging!the!laws’!legality!in!constitutional!court.!The!Act’s!purpose! was!to!eliminate!substandard!housing!conditions!by!'eradicating'!all!slums!by!2014! (Hunter!and!Posel!2012:!286).!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1
!
Throughout!this!thesis,!the!term!shack!settlement!is!used!to!refer!to!informal!settlements!in!the! South!African!context!in!correspondence!with!the!use!of!the!term!by!Abahlali!baseMjondolo.!
Gonzalez! (2009:! 243)! argues! that! local! governments! often! use! negative! stereotypes! about! the! urban! poor! to! justify! eviction! and! demolition! of! informal! settlements.! Moreover,! there! is! a! general! refusal! of! the! state! to! recognize! popular! political!agency!in!shack!settlements!(Pithouse!2014a).!As!Chatterjee!(2004)!points! out,! shack! dwellers,! living! beyond! regulation! of! the! law,! are! not! only! being! stigmatized!but!also!structurally!excluded!from!the!city.!The!state!does!not!regard! them!as!active!citizens,!but!rather!as!passive!recipients!of!state!‘control’!!(ibid.:!38).! From!the!start,!the!ANC,!South!Africa’s!ruling!party,!has!regarded!AbM’s!movement! as!illegitimate.!Completely!legal!modes!of!struggle!have!been!banned,!dismissed!as! criminal,!or!even!violently!oppressed!(Pithouse!2014b).! Although!political!action!organized!from!shack!settlements!is!often!regarded! as!being!outside!of!the!domain!of!the!political,!or!even!criminal,!the!shack!settlement! in!South!Africa!has!become!a!place!of!politics!in!recent!years!(Pithouse!2014a).!By! mobilizing,! Durban’s! shack! dwellers! have! become! notable! political! subjects.! As! Turok!(2012)!suggests,!the!urban!poor!may!have!to!organize!themselves!in!order!to! collectively!contest!the!obstacles!that!prevent!them!from!securing!better!living!and! working!conditions.!Similarly,!De!Wit!and!Berner!(2009:!927)!argue!that!it!is!only! through! the! power! of! organization! that! the! urban! poor! may! achieve! structural! improvement!of!their!living!conditions.!!
This!thesis,!conducted!as!part!of!the!MSc!International!Development!Studies,! seeks! to! gain! bottom]up,! in]depth! knowledge! about! the! ways! in! which! shack! dwellers!mobilize!in!their!fight!against!injustice!and!inequality.!Mitlin!and!Mogaladi! (2013:!4)!argue!that!relatively!few!efforts!have!been!made!to!understand!the!overall! importance! of! social! movements! to! the! urban! poor,! referring! specifically! to! the! South!African!socio]political!contest.!Desai!(2010)!also!stresses!the!need!for!a!better! understanding!of!the!socio]political!bases!of!urban!social!movements.!The!research! question!of!this!research!therefore!reads!as!follows:!How%do%the%urban%poor%exercise% their%political%agency%to%interact%withF%and%challenge%the%state%in%order%to%claim%spaces% of%participation%through%the%social%mobilization%of%Durban’s%shack%dwellers?!
1.1 Relevance and Objectives
face!extremely!poor!living!conditions.!This!research!is!therefore!aimed!at!giving!the! urban! poor! a! voice,! in! this! case! shack! dwellers! in! South! Africa’s! coastal! City! of! Durban.! This! research! shows! that! there! are! many! fundamental! difficulties! in! the! communication!between!the!community!–!those!living!in!informal!settlements!–!and! the!eThekwini!municipality.!Ultimately,!the!municipality!decides!on!housing!related! issues! and! consequently! about! people’s! lives.! Because! of! the! troublesome! communication! between! the! community! and! the! municipality,! there! are! major! discrepancies! between! the! municipal! decision]making! and! the! actual! needs! of! the! community.!!
Relatively!few!efforts!have!been!made!to!understand!the!overall!importance! of! social! movements! to! the! urban! poor,! specifically! in! the! South! African! socio] political! context.! This! research! mainly! contributes! to! the! knowledge! on! social! mobilization! by! exploring! the! meaning! of! urban! social! movements! in! the! South! African!context.!Special!focus!will!be!on!the!South!African!shack!dwellers!movement! Abahlali! baseMjondolo,! whose! local! influence! appears! to! be! greatly! overstated! in! both!academic!literature!and!the!media.!The!discrepancy!between!the!movement’s! international! coverage! and! the! observed! local! influence! demands! questioning! why! AbM’s!influence!is!overemphasized!in!the!literature,!as!well!as!our!understanding!of! urban!social!movements!in!more!general!terms.!This!research!aims!to!answer,!or!at! least!explores!these!questions!in!order!to!enhance!our!understanding!of!urban!social! movements.!!
1.2 Thesis Outline
First,!chapter!2!presents!the!concepts!and!theories!that!serve!as!framework!for!this! research.!Chapter!3!elaborates!on!the!research!question!and!sub]questions!that!are! central!in!this!research.!Chapter!4!elaborates!on!the!Durban!as!the!research!location,! as!well!as!Quarry!Road!West,!the!informal!settlement!that!serves!as!a!case!study!for! this! research.! Chapter! 5! presents! the! methodology! used! for! this! research,! elaborating! on! the! methods! that! were! used.! The! following! chapters! 6,7! and! 8! present! and! analyze! the! findings! of! the! research:! First,! chapter! 6! is! aimed! at! presenting!the!case!of!Quarry!Road!West!informal!settlement.!It!empirically!shows! how! the! informal! settlement! looks! –! physically,! socially! and! politically! in! order! to! better! understand! shack! dweller’s! possession! of! political! agency! and! strategies! of! social! mobilization.! Chapter! 7! explains! the! troublesome! relationship! between! the!community!–!those!who!live!in!informal!settlements!–!and!the!state,!in!this!case!the! eThekwini! Municipality.! Chapter! 8! contributes! to! the! knowledge! on! social! mobilization! by! contextualizing! the! meaning! of! urban! social! movements,! by! analyzing!the!ambitions,!strategies!and!challenges!of!Abahlali!baseMjondolo.!Finally,! chapter! 9! presents! a! conclusion,! aimed! at! answering! the! main! research! question,! giving!policy!recommendations!and!suggestions!for!further!research.!!!
2. Theoretical Framework
!
Since! Mike! Davis’! skepticism! regarding! the! urban! poor’s! possession! of! ‘historical! agency’,! there! has! been! much! debate! about! the! prospect! for! a! politics! of! the! poor! (Davis!2004;!Pithouse!2008a:!63).!This!thesis!aims!to!comprehend!the!potential!of! the! urban! poor! to! exercise! their! political! agency! through! social! mobilization.! In! order! to! better! understand! the! issues! discussed! in! the! introduction! and! to! lay! the! theoretical!foundation!for!this!research,!this!chapter!elaborates!on!urban!poverty!as! a! distinct! concept! within! international! development! studies,! as! well! as! the! closely! related!concept!of!urban!informality./Subsequently,!it!elaborates!on!the!concepts!of! political! agency! and! social! mobilization! as! a! manifestation! of! political! agency.! Finally,! this! chapter! clarifies! the! dynamics! between! the! urban! poor! and! the! state,! making!use!of!the!concepts!of!citizenship!and!participation.!!!
2.1 Urban Poverty and Informality
This!section!elaborates!on!two!central!concepts!in!this!research,!urban!poverty!and! urban!informality.!Urban!informality!has!been!associated!with!urban!poverty!since! the! 1970s,! and! still! is! a! much]debated! topic! in! the! field! of! urban! development! (Denissen!2014:!40).!Roy!(2011:!232)!–!arguably!the!most!prominent!commentator! on!urban!informality!–!however!argues!that!informality!is!incorrectly!perceived!as! synonymous!with!poverty.!!
2.1.1 Urban Poverty
As!already!mentioned!in!the!introduction,!more!people!now!live!in!urban!areas!than! in!rural!areas,!and!urbanization!is!happening!much!faster!in!countries!in!the!global! South!than!elsewhere!(Grant!2010:!2;!Cohen!2006:!78).!As!Cohen!(2006:!64)!argues,! cities! may! offer! substantial! opportunities! for! social! and! economic! development,! provided! that! they! are! well! managed.! However,! there! are! hundreds! of! millions! of! urban!residents!around!the!world!whose!unmet!needs!must!be!addressed.!Indeed,! as! Grant! (2010:! 2)! notes,! urbanization! may! also! lead! to! rising! urban! poverty! and! inequality.!A!considerable!amount!of!total!poverty!in!many!countries!in!Africa!and! Asia!is!now!urban,!and!is!expected!to!increase!(Grant!2010:!2).!!!! As! Owuor! (2006:! 3)! argues,! it! is! now! widely! recognized! that! poverty! is! a! multi]dimensional! phenomenon! rather! than! a! uni]dimensional! issue! of! a! lack! of!
income.! Satterthwaite! (2001:! 146)! distinguishes! eight! different! aspects! of! urban! poverty:! inadequate! income;! inadequate,! unstable! or! risky! asset! base;! inadequate! shelter;! inadequate! provision! of! “public”! infrastructure;! inadequate! provision! for! basic! services;! limited! or! no! safety! net;! inadequate! protection! of! poorer! groups’! rights! through! the! operation! of! the! law;! poorer! groups’! voicelessness! and! powerlessness.! These! aspects! thus! cover! several! dimensions! of! urban! poverty,! including!economic,!social,!political!and!socio]cultural!dimensions!(OECD!2001:!18).! !! Urban! poverty! can! be! explained! on! different! scale]levels,! ranging! from! the! macro]! to! the! micro]level! (Denissen! 2014:! 40).! Explanations! that! focus! on! the! macro]level! typically! involve! discussions! about! growth! and! the! distribution! of! growth,! whereas! micro]level! explanations! tend! to! emphasize! the! access! to! capabilities! or! resources,! which! are! embedded! in! social! processes! that! involve! power!and!conflicts!of!interest!(ibid.).!Social!in]!and!exclusion!are!argued!to!play!a! crucial!role!in!the!processes!that!create!inequality.!Ultimately,!social!exclusion!may! induce!poverty.!!!
The! focus! in! this! research! is! on! a! more! specific! part! of! the! urban! poor,! namely!those!living!in!informal!settlements,!often!referred!to!as!‘slums’.!To!this!end,! the! aspect! of! inadequate! shelter! as! distinguished! above! is! emphasized! in! this! research!as!an!important!aspect!of!urban!poverty.!Over!a!billion!urban!residents!live! in!poor!quality,!mostly!overcrowded!housing,!which!often!lacks!adequate!provision! of!services!such!as!water,!sanitation!and!drainage!(Satterthwaite!et!al.!2011:!4).!
However,!the!main!focus!of!this!research!is!on!the!aspect!of!a!lack!of!voice! and! power,! or! ‘voicelessness! and! powerlessness’! as! Satterthwaite! (2001:! 146)! words!it.!For!the!purpose!of!this!research,!urban!poverty!is!thus!conceptualized!in! socio]political!terms,!as!it!aims!to!explore!how!the!urban!poor!attempt!to!improve! their! living! conditions! by! enhancing! their! political! influence.! Mabogunje! (2005)! argues!that!being!poor!ultimately!means!that!a!person!is!marginalized!in!a!society’s! process!of!decision]making.!Halloran!(2012)!argues!that!the!lack!of!opportunity!for! collectively!voicing!opinion!leads!to!the!isolation!of!communities!of!the!urban!poor.! Additionally,! he! argues! that! one! of! the! major! challenges! faced! by! community! residents! is! the! lack! of! accountability! in! government! institutions.! Amechi! (2009:! 113)!argues!that!participation!in!governance!decision]making!processes!is!crucial!in!
(2011:! 5)! also! argue! that! many! aspects! of! poverty! concern! the! exclusion! from! government!processes.!!
! Desai! (2010:! 17)! argues! that! political! life! of! the! urban! poor! in! the! global! South! is! commonly! characterized! by! “[…]! constraints! on! the! ability! to! coordinate! action,! to! exercise! effective! influence! over! policy! decisions,! to! join! membership! organizations,! to! advocate! for! better! social! services,! and! to! resist! depredations! of! police!and!bureaucrats”.!The!urban!poor,!in!short,!lack!political!agency.!!
2.1.2 Urban Informality
The!21st!century!has!been!called!the!‘century!of!the!city’,!since!half!of!the!world’s! population! now! lives! in! urban! areas.! Almost! all! of! the! expected! global! population! growth! will! be! in! cities! in! the! global! South,! and! most! of! it! will! be! concentrated! in! informal! settlements! –! or! slums! (Cohen! 2006:! 78;! Desai! 2010:! 2;! Davis! 2004).! Because! urbanization! in! the! global! South! outpaces! the! processes! of! formal! urban! planning,! more! than! one! billion! urban! residents! currently! lack! adequate! housing! (Rashid! 2009:! 574;! Braathen! et! al.! 2015).! One! of! the! major! challenges! of! global! urbanization! therefore! is! the! improvement! of! living! conditions! op! people! living! in! informal!settlements!(Halloran!2012).!
!! In! the! 1970s,! urban! informality! was! generally! assumed! to! be! a! temporary! phenomenon.! However,! more! recent! research! shows! that! urban! informality! will! become! more! rather! than! less! pervasive! (Roy! and! Alsayyad! 2004).! Urban! poverty! has! long! been! associated! with! informality,! remaining! a! much]debated! topic! in! the! field!of!urban!development!(Denissen!2014:!40).!These!debates!initially!concerned! the! economic! sphere,! as! informality! was! primarily! associated! with! economic! activities! that! took! place! beyond! state! regulation.! In! the! late! 1970s! the! informal! sector!was!redefined!by!Moser!(1978)!as!“the!urban!poor,!or!as!the!people!living!in! slums! or! squatter! settlements”,! specifically! referring! to! unregulated! settlements,! therefore!moving!beyond!defining!informality!in!economic!terms.!!
A! decade! later,! the! Peruvian! economist! Hernando! de! Soto! developed! a! drastically! different! perspective! on! informality.! He! perceived! the! emergence! of! informal! economic! activities! as! an! “invisible! revolution”! –! a! grassroots! uprising! of! the!poor!against!overregulation!by!the!state!–!a!state!that!mainly!serves!to!protect! elite!interests!(Denissen!2014:!40;!Roy!2012).!De!Soto!therefore!sees!informality!as! a! “survival! strategy”! of! the! informal! entrepreneur! who! manages! to! survive! and!
prosper! despite! the! state’s! continuous! controlling! measures! (Roy! and! Alsayyad! 2004:!13;!Roy!2011:!232).!De!Soto,!echoed!by!the!World!Bank,!advocated!giving!the! poor! legal! title! to! the! lands! they! informally! occupy,! in! an! effort! to! address! both! poverty! and! the! shortage! of! affordable! housing! in! cities! in! the! global! South! (Gonzalez!2009:!239).!The!legalist!approach!to!reforming!the!informal!economy!that! De!Soto!represents!sees!informal!activity!as!a!way!to!break!down!legal!barriers.!It! also!argues!that!–!although!it!is!not!officially!accounted!for!–!the!wealth!created!by! informal! labor! can! provide! a! meaningful! path! to! development! (Roy! and! Alsayyad! 2004:!13;!Roy!2012).!
!! In! sharp! contrast! to! this! view! on! informality! is! Mike! Davis'! apocalyptic! explanation!of!‘a!planet!of!slums’!–!a!planet!that!is!characterized!by!“hazardous!and! miserable! forms! of! urban! settlement”!(Crane! and! Weber! 2012:! 692).! Davis! (2004:! 10)!argues!that!informal!urbanization!is!an!indicator!of!‘overNurbanization’,!and!that! the!slum!is!becoming!the!blueprint!for!cities!of!the!future.!Moreover,!he!(ibid.:!24)! sees!‘informal!survivalism’!as!“the!new!primary!mode!of!livelihood!in!a!majority!of! Third! World! cities”.! Roy! (2011:! 232)! points! out! that! this! view! of! informality! resembles!the!initial!conceptualization!of!the!term!‘informal’!as!identified!by!Keith! Hart,!who!defined!informality!in!1973!as!“a!world!of!economic!activities!outside!the! organised!labor!force!carried!out!by!an!urban!sub]proletariat”.!!
!! Informality!is!not!synonymous!with!illegal!or!criminal.!Instead,!it!denotes!an! extralegal! situation! –! existence! beyond! the! authority! of! the! law! (Gonzalez! 2009:! 239).! Moreover,! informality! is! not! a! binary! categorization.! The! informal! sector! embodies! a! wide! range! of! activities! and! people! without! clearly! identifiable! characteristics! (Roy! and! Alsayyad! 2004:! 10).! As! Roy! (2011:! 233)! emphasizes,! informality! therefore! does! not! per! definition! refer! to! the! poor.! The! views! on! informality!as!outlined!above!all!perceive!informality!as!synonymous!with!poverty.! Roy! (ibid.)! argues! that! urban! informality! must! be! understood! as! “[…]! an! idiom! of! urbanization,! a! logic! through! which! differential! spatial! value! is! produced! and! managed”.!Urban!informality!is!thus!not!limited!to!the!slum!or!activities!of!the!urban! poor,! but! instead! is! “[…]! a! mode! of! the! production! of! space! that! connects! the! seemingly! separated! geographies! of! slum! and! suburb“! (Roy! 2011:! 233). Nevertheless,! urban! informality! is! often! associated! with! urban! poverty! since!
on!the!urban!poor,!while!acknowledging!that!urban!informality!is!not!synonymous! with! urban! poverty,! this! research! uses! a! conceptualization! of! the! informal! settlement! as! defined! by! Huchzermeyer! and! Karam! (2006:! 4):! “[...]! settlements! of! the!urban!poor!that!have!been!developed!through!unauthorised!occupation!of!land”.! As! Denissen! (2014:! 42)! argues,! in! cities! in! the! global! South! increasing! informality! exists! alongside! increasing! inequality.! The! term! ‘divided! cities’! has! been! used! to! refer! to! the! severe! inequality! in! cities! since! the! 1970s! (ibid.).! Although! inequality! has! characterized! Latin! American! societies! in! particular,! it! will! in! all! likelihood! become! particularly! pervasive! in! cities! in! Africa! and! Asia,! as! these! are! the! places! where!wealth!tends!to!concentrate,!but!at!the!same!time!attract!many!rural!migrants! who!are!looking!for!jobs!(Denissen!2014:!42).!!
2.2 Political Agency
This! research! uses! an! agency]centered! perspective,! acknowledging! the! inherent! capacity!of!self]conscious!subjects!to!enforce!change!by!acting!deliberately!to!alter! inherited! structures! (Fletcher! 2007:! XV).! This! stance! is! embedded! in! the! agency] structure! debate,! which! centers! around! the! question! of! social! change! (ibid.),! or! as! Clegg!and!Bailey!(2008:!47)!define!it:!“The!agency]structure!debate!involves!claims! about!the!status!of!social!entities,!the!degree!of!freedom/constraint!of!agency,!and! the!grounds!upon!which!knowledge!about!these!matters!is!established”.!Drawing!on! the! work! of! Sherry! Ortner,! Fletcher! (2007:! XV)! distinguishes! between! ‘simple! transformations’!and!‘real!change’!–!the!latter!implying!substantial!agency,!by!which! the! structure! itself! is! transformed,! whereas! the! former! remains! limited! to! change! within!a!given!structure.!!
! Emirbayer! and! Mische’s! (1998:! 970)! highly! influential! definition! of! agency! reads! as! follows:! “The! temporally! constructed! engagement! by! actors! of! different! structural! environments—the! temporal–relational! contexts! of! action—which,! through! the! interplay! of! habit,! imagination,! and! judgment,! both! reproduces! and! transforms! those! structures! in! interactive! response! to! the! problems! posed! by! changing! historical! situations”.! Agency! thus! refers! to! the! capacity! or! potential! to! influence! action! that! will! lead! to! a! noticeable! outcome,! politically! or! socio] economically.! This! may! either! be! on! an! individual! level,! through! collective! social! mobilization! or! through! indirect! agency,! by! appointing! representatives! to! create! change!(Thompson!2014:!40).!
!! Recognizing! the! political! agency! of! the! urban! poor! fits! within! the! Indian! subalternist! school! of! thought! (Braathen! et! al.! 2014:! 32).! Roy’s! (2011:! 223)! ‘subaltern! urbanism’! is! a! way! of! “[….]! writing! against! apocalyptic! and! dystopian! narratives! of! the! slum”! and! it! “[…]! provides! accounts! of! the! slum! as! a! terrain! of! habitation,! livelihood,! self]organization! and! politics”.! This! approach! fundamentally! challenges! the! dominant! –! respectively! celebrating! and! apocalyptic! –! narratives! of! urban!poverty!and!informality!as!articulated!by!the!likes!of!De!Soto!and!Davis,!and! therefore! goes! beyond! the! dualisms! of! such! narratives! of! the! subaltern.! More! importantly,!it!suggests!seeing!the!urban!poor!not!as!“[…]!mere!passive!recipients!–! or!victims!–!of!public!policies!and!external!interventions”!(Braathen!et!al.!2014:!32).! According! to! Roy! (2011:! 224)! subaltern! urbanism! is! an! important! approach! and! framework! for! inquiry! because! it! aims! to! find! ways! of! acknowledging! “spaces! of! poverty! and! forms! of! popular! agency”! that! tend! to! stay! unnoticed! and! ignored! in! dominant!theories!of!urban!studies.!!
!!! As! Davies! and! Msengana]Ndlela! (2014)! argue,! focusing! on! agency! of! the! urban!poor!poses!crucial!questions!about!the!potential!for!city!governments!to!enact! policies! that! are! progressive! and! enable! meaningful! citizen! participation.! It! therefore! also! poses! questions! about! the! extent! to! which! the! urban! poor! are! able! gain! access! and! representation! in! governance.! Desai! (2010:! 2)! uses! a! notion! of! political!agency!of!the!urban!poor!as!the!“capacity!of!the!poor!to!select,!reward!and! sanction! the! leaders,! institutions,! policies,! formal! rules! and! informal! norms! that! directly! affect! their! lives”.! Similarly,! this! research! uses! a! conceptualization! of! political!agency!as!the!degree!to!which!individuals!or!community!groups!are!able!to! influence!politically,!specifically!through!social!mobilization!(Thompson!2014:!41).! Desai!(2010:!2)!suggests!that!future!research!is!needed!to!understand!the!sources! and!determinants!of!political!agency!among!the!urban!poor.!!
!! In!this!light,!political!agency!is!a!highly!relevant!overarching!concept!for!this! research.! Mitlin! and! Mogaladi! (2013:! 4)! argue! that! academics! and! other! professionals! in! the! field! of! international! development! have! made! relatively! few! efforts!to!understand!the!overall!importance!of!social!movements!to!the!urban!poor! as!a!way!to!enhance!their!political!agency,!referring!specifically!to!the!South!African! socio]political!context.!They!(ibid.)!emphasize!the!need!to!understand!the!preferred!
urban!social!movements.!The!next!subsection!will!therefore!elaborate!specifically!on! the!concept!of!social!mobilization.!
2.2.1 Social Mobilization
Castells’!The%City%and%the%Grassroots%possibly!is!the!most!influential!work!in!defining! research! on! urban! social! movement! (Castells! 1983;! Mayer! 2006:! 202).! Castells! (1983:!305)!defines!the!concept!of!urban!social!movement!as!“a!collective!conscious! action! aimed! at! the! transformation! of! the! institutionalized! urban! meaning! against! the! logic,! interest,! and! values! of! the! dominant! class”.! This! definition! suggests! that,! while! urban! social! movements! are! unable! to! transform! society,! they! are! able! to! transform! ‘urban! meaning’.! Urban! social! movements! thus! have! the! potential! to! undermine! the! societal! hierarchies! that! structure! urban! life! (Mayer! 2006:! 202).! Castells!recognizes!the!essential!role!of!popular!politics!in!the!transformation!of!the! capitalist!city,!but!also!considers!the!limits!of!such!politics!(Roy!2012).!He!(Castells! 1983:!331)!argues!that!“[…]!urban!social!movements!do!address!the!real!issues!of! our!time,!although!neither!on!the!scale!nor!terms!that!are!adequate!to!the!task”.!!
Abers! (2000:! 136)! defines! mobilization! as! “[…]! the! process! of! joining! up,! where! people! who! are! not! previously! engaged! in! public! life! or! political! activity! decide! to! become! members! of! civic! groups,! join! protests,! or! attend! public! assemblies”.!Abers!(ibid.)!stresses!that!mobilization!is!a!multilevel!process,!as!some! members! become! “active”! participants! whereas! others! become! mere! “token”! participants.!Khan!and!Pieterse!(2004:!2)!argue!that!social!mobilization!is!based!on! the! proposition! that! the! state! is! unlikely! to! create! opportunities! for! individuals! to! access! and! exercise! substantive! citizenship.! Steel! (2012:! 1016)! indeed! states! that! social!mobilization!is!an!often]used!strategy!in!response!to!oppressive!policies!and!a! way!to!gain!alternative!sources!of!power.!
A! clear! distinction! must! me! made! between! social! mobilization! and! social! movements.! In! this! research,! the! latter! refers! to! organized! efforts! as! displayed! by! social! movements! such! as! AbM,! which! typically! transcend! and! interconnect! the! social!mobilization!of!individual!communities!or!settlements.!Social!mobilization,!on! the! other! hand,! refers! in! this! research! to! more! small]scale,! often! spontaneous! and! non]organized!strategies!of!social!mobilization.!!
Braathen! et! al.! (2015)! distinguish! six! main! modes! of! social! mobilization! in! which! the! urban! poor! may! engage:! 1)! Everyday! forms! of! resilience;! 2)! Protest! or!
confrontational!mobilization;!3)!The!judicialisation!of!struggle;!4)!Engagement!and! partnership;!5)!Division!and!demobilization;!and!6)!Weak!mobilization.!Desai!(2010:! 9)!argues,!however,!that!there!is!a!relative!absence!of!social!mobilization!in!cities,! which! is! remarkable! considering! the! dreadful! conditions! in! which! many! urban! residents! live.! The! many! barriers! that! the! urban! poor! face! may! explain! why! collective! action! in! cities! is! relatively! scarce.! Inequality! within! cities,! for! example,! marginalizes! the! poor! and! increases! the! costs! of! collective! action! (ibid.).! But! also! social!and!political!fragmentation!within!poor!communities!may!keep!the!poor!from! engaging!in!collective!action.!As!a!result,!the!poorest!are!less!likely!to!participate!in! community!organizations,!civil!society!or!local!governments!(Desai!2010:!9;!De!Wit! and!Berner!2009:!943).!
On! the! other! hand,! mobilization! may! become! crucial! as! it! can! reduce! the! costs!of!political!participation!for!the!urban!poor.!Abers!(2000:!136)!suggests!that! the! decision! of! the! poor! to! engage! in! collective! action! is! based! on! individuals’! calculation!of!the!“costs”!and!“benefits”!of!such!engagement.!If!the!costs!of!collective! action!diminish!or!the!likelihood!that!collective!action!will!bring!significant!benefits! increases,! people! are! more! likely! to! mobilize! (ibid.).! She! emphasizes! that! this! calculation!extents!way!beyond!costs!and!benefits!in!material!terms.!She!argues!that! the! poor! do! not! necessarily! engage! in! social! mobilization! when! their! material! circumstances! are! deteriorating.! ! Instead,! it! is! much! more! determined! by! political! conditions!and!the!ability!of!organizations!to!attract!members.!!
!! Denissen!(2014:!52)!points!out!that!the!opportunities!–!the!combination!of! incentives!and!constraints!–!that!arise!for!social!movements!are!determined!by!the! “configuration!of!regimes”.!Similarly,!the!“political!opportunity!structures”!approach! –! of! which! Tilly! and! Tarrow! (2007:! 49)! are! notable! supporters! –! dictates! that! the! collective! action! of! a! political! actor! is! facilitated! or! inhibited! by! the! features! of! regimes!and!institutions.!In!structures!where!many!changes!occur!–!so!called!‘open! political! opportunity! structures’! –! it! is! thus! more! likely! for! mobilization! to! occur! than!in!‘closed!political!opportunity!structures’!(ibid.).!Moreover,!Tilly!and!Tarrow! (ibid.:!55)!claim!that!the!kinds!of!claim]making!vary!according!to!a!regime’s!degree! of!governmental!capacity!and!democracy,!arguing!that!social!movements!are!most! likely!to!succeed!in!high]capacity!democracies!than!in!more!undemocratic!regimes.!
been! in! the! past.! He! questions! whether! the! ethnically! diverse! slum! dwellers! could! even! represent! a! meaningful,! possibly! activist,! ‘class! in! itself’.! Moreover,! Davis! argues! that! social! movements! of! the! urban! poor! have! tended! to! be! episodic! and! discontinuous.!Similarly,!De!Wit!and!Berner!(2009:!928)!argue!that!the!urban!poor! are!not!naturally!inclined!to!engage!in!horizontal!organization!or!collective!action.! Instead,! they! often! prefer! to! rely! on! clientelist! relations! to! secure! livelihoods! and! living!conditions.!Evidence!shows!that!clientelist!practices!are!an!important!means! of! survival! for! a! considerable! part! of! the! urban! poor! in! the! global! South! (Ortega! Nieto!2014:!55).!The!prevailing!understanding!of!the!urban!poor!in!the!global!South! has! long! emphasized! their! reluctance! to! organize! in! social! movements! as! well! as! their! self]exclusion! from! political! life! in! general! (Desai! 2010:! 10).! Although! some! current!studies!confirm!this!characterization,!other!recent!studies!suggest!that!the! political! approaches! and! behavior! of! the! urban! poor! are! more! sophisticated! than! previously!assumed!(ibid.).!!
This! research! explores! both! small]scale,! localized! social! mobilization! and! more!organized!social!mobilization!that!is!part!of!a!larger!urban!social!movement,! such!as!AbM.!Both!forms!are!closely!related,!yet!often!differ!in!crucial!ways.!Chapter! 6! serves! as! an! illustration! of! how! small]scale! social! mobilization! manifests! itself;! often! spontaneously,! generally! non]organized! and! occurring! largely! within! the! confined! boundaries! of! one! informal! settlement! or! community.! Chapter! 8! aims! to! explain! the! role! of! organized! urban! social! movements,! specifically! focusing! on! Abahlali!baseMjondolo’s!struggle!for!a!fundamentally!different!kind!of!politics.!!
2.2.2 The Urban Poor and the State: Claims to Citizenship
An!essential!aspect!of!social!mobilization!is!the!way!in!which!popular!actors,!in!this! case! the! urban! poor,! engage! with! formal! authorities! for! the! purpose! of! realizing! their!demands!(Braathen!et!al.!2015).!Studies!on!state]society!dynamics!consistently! show!that!society!provides!the!necessary!elements!of!support!in!order!for!a!state!to! be!effective,!and!that!a!state!is!essential!in!creating!the!crucial!conditions!needed!for! collective!action!in!society!(Bevir!2010:!124).!Hasan!et!al.!(2005:!3)!argue!that!the! needs!of!the!urban!poor!will!not!be!met!without!changes!in!local!governments!and!in! other! local! organizations.! Academics! increasingly! seem! to! agree! that! local! institutions,!especially!municipal!governments,!play!a!crucial!role!in!the!reduction!of! urban!poverty.!Moreover,!the!relationship!between!communities!of!the!urban!poor!
and!municipal!authorities!is!crucial!for!the!efficiency!of!those!institutions!as!well!as! for! the! quality! of! citizenship! (Halloran! 2012;! Denissen! 2014:! 44).! This! section! therefore! examines! the! power! dynamics! between! the! state! and! the! urban! poor! –! dynamics! that! partly! determine! the! urban! poor’s! ability! to! exercise! substantive! citizenship! (Denissen! 2014:! 237).! Lazar! and! Nuijten! (2013:! 5)! argue! that! the! citizenship!is!a!useful!concept!for!analyzing!political!action!–!how!individuals!relate! to!the!state,!especially!in!terms!of!collective!political!action.!Inherent!to!the!concept! of!citizenship!is!the!ability!of!citizens!to!affect!politics,!and!to!ultimately!participate! in!the!decisions!that!affect!their!lives!(ibid.:!3).!!
Pithouse! (2014a:! 17)! argues! that! in! order! to! adequately! recognize! the! political!agency!of!the!urban!poor!one!must!pay!attention!to!the!understanding,!as! developed! by! Jacques! Rancière,! that! people! constantly! move! between! their! ‘allocated!spaces’!and!that!instances!of!political!disobedience!are!often!characterized! by! a! disregard! for! those! allocated! places.! This! is! closely! related! to! the! idea! that! people! have! access! to! various! ‘spaces! of! participation’! (Braathen! et! al.! 2014:! 33).! Building! on! Cornwall’s! work! on! spaces! of! participation,! Miraftab! (2004:! 1)! distinguishes! between! ‘invited’! and! ‘invented’! spaces! of! participation! and! citizenship:! “[…]! ‘invited’! spaces! are! defined! as! the! ones! occupied! by! those! grassroots!and!their!allied!non]governmental!organizations!that!are!legitimized!by! donors!and!government!interventions.!‘Invented’!spaces!are!those,!also!occupied!by! the! grassroots! and! claimed! by! their! collective! action,! but! directly! confronting! the! authorities!and!the!status!quo”.!These!‘invented’!and!‘invited’!spaces!of!participation! –! or! citizenship! –! should! not! be! seen! as! opposing! but! rather! as! complementary! modes! of! participation,! as! people! constantly! move! between! invited! and! invented! spaces!of!citizenship!(Miraftab!2004).!!!
‘Invented! spaces! of! citizenship’! has! also! been! termed! by! Holston! (2008)! as! ‘spaces! of! insurgent! citizenship’,! in! particular! referring! to! the! Brazilian! context.! Holston! (ibid.:! 4)! argues! that! even! the! most! deep]rooted! regimes! of! “inegalitarian! citizenship”!can!be!uprooted!by!insurgent!citizen!movements,!in!a!context!where!the! “[…]! majority! of! marginalized! people! take! in! their! own! hands! the! challenges! of! housing,! neighborhood! and! urban! development,! establishing! shelter! and! earning! livelihoods! outside! formal! decision! structures! and! ‘professionalized! planning’”!
democratic!or!just,!socialist!or!populist”.!!
Das! (2011:! 320)! points! out! –! similarly! to! Holston’s! notion! of! insurgent! citizenship! and! in! line! with! an! agency]centered! perspective! –! that! citizenship! is! a! claim!rather!than!a!status,!in!order!to!show!“[…]!the!precariousness!as!well!as!the! promise! for! the! poor! of! ‘belonging’! to! a! polity”.
/
Tilly! (2004:! 128)! argues! that! the! quality! of! citizenship! is! determined! by! the! institutionalized! quality! of! a! subject’s! relation! to! the! government! and! its! authority.! The! quality! of! citizenship! decreases! when! the! inequalities! that! influence! the! relation! between! governments! and! their! subjects!increase!(Denissen!2014:!44).!Moreover,!Chatterjee!(2006)!highlights!that! many!urban!residents!have!difficulties!in!claiming!their!rights!to!citizenship,!despite! the! fact! that! many! of! them! do! have! ‘entitlements’! of! some! sort.! Some! distinguish! between!formal!and!substantive!citizenship!in!order!to!explain!the!tensions!between! the! different! dimensions! of! citizenship! (Denissen! 2014:! 44).! Formal! citizenship! refers!simply!to!the!membership!of!a!political!community!with!all!the!formal!rights! that!belong!to!it.!Substantive!citizenship,!on!the!other!hand,!refers!to!the!civic!and! social!rights!that!support!the!exercise!of!political!rights!in!a!more!meaningful!way! (ibid.).! Denissen! (ibid.)! argues! that! in! many! cities! in! the! global! South,! citizenship! remains!limited!to!formal!citizenship.!!
2.3 Concluding Remarks
Although! citizenship! in! the! urban! context! is! thus! argued! to! be! significantly! compromised,!urban!theorists!such!as!Castells!(1983)!have!suggested!that!cities!are! essentially! the! places! where! new! forms! of! political! mobilization! can! emerge.! Nonetheless,! the! lack! of! accountability! in! government! institutions! remains! one! of! the!major!challenges!faced!by!the!urban!poor.!As!Satterthwaite!et!al.!(2011:!5)!and! Mabogunje! (2005)! argue,! many! aspects! of! poverty! concern! the! exclusion! from! government! processes.! The! relationship! between! communities! of! the! urban! poor! and! municipal! authorities! is! crucial! for! the! quality! of! citizenship! (Halloran! 2012;! Denissen!2014:!44).!And!visa!versa;!the!quality!of!citizenship!determines!the!extent! to!which!the!urban!poor!are!able!gain!access!and!representation!in!governance.!As! mentioned! before,! being! attentive! to! the! political! agency! of! the! urban! poor! poses! fundamental! questions! about! the! potential! for! city! governments! to! enact! policies! that! are! progressive! and! enable! meaningful! citizen! participation! (Davies! and! Msengana]Ndlela! 2014).! Because! governments! generally! do! not! provide! basic!
services!in!areas!that!are!defined!as!informal,!urban!poverty!is!often!–!incorrectly,! according!to!Roy!(2011:!233)!–!associated!with!urban!informality!(Denissen!2014:! 41).! Informality! does! not! only! potentially! lead! to! more! inequality,! as! was! pointed! out!before,!it!may!also!negatively!affect!the!quality!of!citizenship!(ibid.:!43).!As!Roy! (2009:!826;!828)!argues,!studying!informality!in!cities!in!the!global!South!can!reveal! a!lot!about!its!political!regimes!and!politics,!as!informality!“[…]!lies!within!the!scope! of!the!state!rather!than!outside!it”.!It!can!also!provide!valuable!insights!into!the!role! of!mobilization!and!agency!within!“spatial!production”!(ibid.:!826).!!
This! research! explores! the! degree! to! which! local! governments,! in! this! case! the! eThekwini! Municipality,! enable! citizen! participation! in! housing! policy]making.! At! the! same! time,! it! investigates! how! the! urban! poor,! in! this! case! Durban’s! shack! dwellers,!use!insurgent!practices!of!citizenship!to!claim!spaces!of!participation.!By! using!social!mobilization,!either!through!organized!social!movements!or!more!small] scale!spontaneous!forms!of!protest!and!confrontational!mobilization,!they!ultimately! attempt! to! enhance! their! political! agency! –! the! degree! to! which! they! are! able! to! influence! politically.! The! concepts! that! are! outlined! in! this! chapter! are! therefore! used! as! a! guiding! lens! for! the! rest! of! the! research.! Based! on! the! theory,! the! next! chapter! presents! the! research! questions! that! serve! to! understand! the! issues! discussed!above.!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
3. Research Questions
3.1 Research Question
How%do%the%urban%poor%exercise%their%political%agency%to%interact%withF%and%challenge% the%state%in%order%to%claim%spaces%of%participation%through%the%social%mobilization%of% Durban’s%shack%dwellers?%3.2 Sub-Questions
! 1) In%what%kind%of%political%activity%do%Durban’s%shack%dwellers%participate?% # 2) What%role%does%state%politics%play%in%the%shack%dwellers%movement’s%‘politics%of% the%poor’?% % 3) What%challenges%do%Durban’s%shack%dwellers%face%when%attempting%to%mobilize% in%order%to%fight%for%their%cause?%% %4) How% does% the% interplay% between% shack% dwellers% and% the% state% affect% shack%
dwellers’%political%agency?! %
5) What% is% the% role% of% organized% urban% social% movements% in% Durban’s% shack%
settlements?% % ! ! ! ! !
4. Research Location and Context
! ! ! ! Figure#1.%Location%of%Durban%in%eThekwini%municipal%area%(Source:%Roberts%2008:%522)%Data! on! the! social! mobilization! of! shack! dwellers! has! been! collected! through! fieldwork!conducted!in!Durban,!South!Africa’s!third]largest!city.!As!mentioned!in!the! introduction,! academics! and! practitioners! in! the! field! of! urban! studies! often! overlook!this!city,!as!it!tends!to!be!overshadowed!by!its!more!popular!sisters!Cape! Town!and!Johannesburg!(Robinson!2008).!Because!the!city!is!the!birthplace!of!–!as! some! call! it! –! one! of! South! Africa’s! strongest! and! most! vocal! social! movements! (Vartak! 2009),! it! provides! a! very! interesting! and! relevant! research! location! for! research!on!social!mobilization!of!the!urban!poor.!This!chapter!first!presents!a!brief! overall!account!of!Durban’s!socio]political!and!economic!context,!followed!by!a!more! specific! account! of! informal! settlements! in! Durban,! after! which! the! informal! settlement! that! serves! as! a! case! study! –! Quarry! Road! West! –! for! this! research! is! introduced.!!
4.1 Durban
Durban! is! located! on! South! Africa’s! East! coast! (Figure% 1),! with! the! eThekwini! municipality! –! which! governs! the! City! of! Durban! and! its! surrounding! areas! –! covering!an!area!of!approximately!2,300km²!and!a!population!of!3.4!million!(Marx! and! Charlton! 2003;! Hunter! and! Posel! 2012:! 300).! The! city! faces! a! number! of! development! challenges,! such! as! high! levels! of! unemployment! (43%),! a! huge! shortage!of!housing!and!high!levels!of!HIV/Aids!infection!(Roberts!2008:!523).!!
The! city! has! a! rich! tradition! of! activism,! with! the! ‘new’! social! movements! following!the!footsteps!of!the!anti]apartheid!movement!of!the!1980s!(Mottiar!2013:! 603;!609).!Mottiar!(ibid.:!609)!points!out!that!the!rise!of!these!new!post]apartheid! social!movements!started!with!the!Concerned!Citizens!Group!in!the!Indian!township! of! Chatsworth! in! 1998! and! the! birth! of! the! shack! dwellers’! movement! Abahlali! baseMjondolo! in! the! shack! settlement! of! Kennedy! Road! in! 2005.! She! (ibid.:! 611)! argues! that! activism! in! Durban! remains! widespread,! with! participants! of! social! movements! displaying! various! forms! of! resistance.! The! city! has! therefore! been! described!as!a!forerunner!in!terms!of!protest!(ibid.).!!
As!one!of!South!Africa’s!largest!cities,!Durban!is!historically!dependent!on!its! large! port! and! manufacturing! sector! (Hunter! and! Posel! 2012:! 300).! The! city! is! closely!linked!to!Zulu!history,!as!well!as!to!class!formation!and!segregation!(Freund! 2001:! 528).! The! current! urban! form! is,! as! mentioned! before,! the! result! of! colonial! and!apartheid!policies!of!racial!segregation!(Turok!2012:!21;!Sutcliffe!1996).!These!
attempts!at!racial!segregation!created!racially!homogenous!residential!areas!located! in!the!city’s!periphery.!!
4.1.1 Informal Settlements
This! urban! form! has! been! achieved! through! the,! sometimes,! forced! removal! of! African!and!Indian!residents!from!well]located!areas.!These!central,!well!connected! areas! are! inhabited! by! the! wealthy,! while! the! poorest! parts! of! the! population! are! located! furthest! from! amenities! and! economic! opportunities! (Marx! &! Charlton! 2003).! It! is! important! to! clearly! distinguish! between! informal! settlements! and! formal! townships.! Townships! are! those! urban! areas! –! located! in! the! periphery! of! cities!–!which!were!built!mainly!in!the!1950s!and!1960s!to!segregate!black!Africans,! Coloreds!and!Indians!from!the!‘whites!only’!city!center.!Townships!are!thus!formed! through! formal! urban! planning,! whereas! informal! settlements! are! entirely! unplanned! urban! structures! (Hunter! and! Posel! 2012:! 289]290).! Informal! settlements!may!be!situated!on!government!land,!private!property!or!on!land!that!is! under! traditional! authority.! People! who! move! to! informal! settlements! generally! come!from!different!places.!Many!travel!from!rural!areas!to!informal!settlements!in! urban!areas!at!a!young!age.!Others!grew!up!in!urban!townships,!and!are!forced!to! move!to!informal!settlements!because!they!could!not!access!formal!housing!in!the! city!(ibid.:!290).!!
!! Informal!settlements!have!increased!in!size!and!number!as!a!result!of!a!lack! of! housing! alternatives! because! the! state! had! mostly! stopped! building! housing! for! Africans! in! the! 1970s.! Additionally,! severe! droughts! in! the! late! 1970s! and! 1980s! forced!people!to!move!to!urban!areas!to!secure!their!livelihoods!(Marx!&!Charlton! 2003:!6).!Newer!settlements,!which!emerged!in!the!late!1980s!and!early!1990s,!have! generally!been!smaller,!more!clandestine!invasions!of!land!closer!to!the!city!center.! These! settlements! are! often! situated! in! former! Asian! suburbs! or! on! marginal! land! that!is!vulnerable!to!natural!disasters!(ibid.:!6). It!is!estimated!that!approximately!55! of! informal! settlements! in! Durban! are! located! on! the! periphery! of! formal! settlements,! 10! percent! are! peri]urban! in! location! and! 35! percent! of! informal! settlements! are! surrounded! by! formal! neighborhoods! in! relatively! close! proximity! to!the!city!center!(Marx!&!Charlton!2003:!6).!
Box/1:/Slum,/Informal/Settlement/or/Shack/Settlement?//
In!Durban,!‘slum’!is!a!politically!contentious!term!(Democracy!in!Africa!2013),! as! it! historically! has! been! used! to! denote! the! places! where! the! poor! live! as! problematic;! as! places! that! must! be! cleared.! The! word! is! therefore! negatively! associated!with!the!term!‘slums!clearance’,!which!has!been!misused!–!e.g.!in!the! 2007! Slums! Act! –! to! condone! mass! evictions! without! providing! alternative! accommodation.!
!!!!!!!!!!‘Informal!settlement’!is!now!the!official!term!of!choice!as!used!by!the!state,! whereas! ‘shack! settlement’! is! the! popular! term! that! is! typically! used! by! shack! dwellers!themselves.!Abahlali!baseMjondolo!–!which!is!Zulu!for!shack!dwellers!–! purposely!uses!this!term!for!their!movement,!and!not!an!euphemistic!term!such! as! informal! settlement.! In! this! research,! both! terms! are! used! interchangeably! and!refer!to!the!same,!acknowledging!that!informal!settlement!is!a!broader!term! that!can!also!be!used!to!refer!to!settlements!other!than!shack!settlements.!
According!to!the!eThekwini!Municipality,!there!are!an!estimated!945,910!dwellings! in! eThekwini,! of! which! 265,542! (28%)! are! informal! structures! –! or! shacks! –! in! informal!settlements!(eThekwini!Municipality!2015).!The!municipality!is!battling!a! housing!backlog!of!approximately!400,000!units,!which!is!unlikely!to!be!reduced!as! eThekwini! is! experiencing! a! “[…]! rapid! influx! of! people! from! rural! areas,! few! of! whom! have! the! means! to! build! or! buy! formal! houses! in! the! city”! (ibid.).! The! city! prioritizes!in]situ!upgrading!of!informal!settlements,!but!argues!that!in!certain!cases! relocation!is!necessary,!when!settlements!are!located!in!areas!that!are!unsuitable!for! development,! such! as! floodplains! or! “areas! of! geological! instability”! (ibid.).! According!to!eThekwini,!informal!settlements!that!are!unlikely!to!be!upgraded!in!the! short!term!are!provided!with!temporary!services!such!as!ablution!blocks!for!water! and!sanitation!services,!taps!for!drinking!water,!and!electricity!connections.!!
4.1.2 Quarry Road West
For! several! reasons,! the! focus! of! the! study! is! confined! to! the! type! of! informal! settlement!that!is!surrounded!by!formal!neighborhoods!in!relatively!close!proximity! to! the! city! center.! The! settlement! where! AbM! started! in! 2005! is! located! in! Clare! Estate,! which! is! a! predominantly! middle]! and! upper]middle! class! residential! area! (Gibson!2007:!61).!This!former!Indian!suburb!is!–!like!in!many!South!African!cities!– experiencing!rapidly!increasing!real!estate!prices.!The!AbM!movement!emerged!in!
2005!when!residents!from!one!of!the!shack!settlements!in!this!area,!Kennedy!Road,! barricaded! roads! in! Durban! to! protest! the!sale!of!a!piece!of!nearby!land!to!a!local! developer!that!was!promised!to!shack!dwellers!for!housing.!!
The!shack!settlements!in!this!area!are!generally!restricted!by!physical!space,! size,! and! geography.! They! are! mostly! located! on! marginal! land! such! as! along! riverbanks,! next! to! a! steep! hillside! or! next! to! a! municipal! dumpsite! (Gibson! 2007:! 61;!Ngcamu!2011:!6).!These!realities!make!for!an!interesting!and!relevant!research! location,! considering! the! close! proximity! to! the! city! center! and! thus! formal! residential! areas.! In! contrast! to! many! other! shack! settlements! that! are! more! peripheral,! these! settlements! are! highly! visible! and! inevitably! create! tensions! between! poor! and! rich,! ultimately! generating! even! more! acute! political! concerns.! Because!it!enables!the!very!poor!to!live!in!a!wealthy!suburb!in!close!proximity!to!the! city! center,! these! settlements! are,! as! Pithouse! and! Badiou! (2005:! 2)! phrase! it,! a! space! of! hope! and! suffering.! They! argue! that! it! means! “access! to! all! kinds! of! opportunities! for! livelihoods,! as! well! as! education,! health! care,! and! the! sporting,! cultural,!and!religious!life!of!the!city”!(ibid.).!!
! This!type!of!informal!settlement!is!also!most!convenient!for!this!research!for! practical! reasons.! The! relative! close! proximity! to! the! city! center! makes! it! more! accessible!in!terms!of!transport,!which!is!quite!essential!considering!the!virtual!non] existence!of!public!transport!in!the!City!of!Durban.!!!
!! The!residential!area!where!Quarry!Road!West!informal!settlement!is!located,! Reservoir!Hills,!is!situated!at!the!other!side!of!the!highway!from!the!residential!area! where!AbM!was!founded!ten
!
years!ago.!This!informal!settlement!was!used!as!a!case! study! to! research! the! political! agency! of! the! urban! poor,! and! more! specifically! the! way! in! which! shack! dwellers! use! social! mobilization! to! improve! their! living! conditions!and!gain!more!political!influence.!!!Figure#2.%Quarry%Road%West%informal%settlement%(Source:%Bart%Brouwer)%
!
Quarry!Road!West!is!a!relatively!small!shack!settlement!settled!on!the!muddy!banks! of! the! Umgeni! River! in! the! elite! suburb! of! Reservoir! Hills.! The! settlement! was! conveniently!named!after!one!of!the!highways!it!borders;!Quarry!Road,!the!name!of! which!was!derived!from!a!nearby!stone!and!sand!quarry.!It!is!a!particularly!dense! settlement,!consisting!of!four!parts,!squeezed!in!between!two!highways!and!divided! by! a! small! river.! Services! such! as! electricity! or! waste! removal! are! not! provided.! Electricity!is!tapped!illegally!from!neighboring!formal!residential!areas,!and!waste!is! generally!dumped!in!the!river.!Shack!fires,!which!may!burn!to!the!ground!dozens!of! shacks,! are! fairly! common,! often! as! a! indirect! result! of! the! inadequate! electricity! provision.! In! Quarry! Road! West,! there! are! three! taps! and! four! ablution! blocks! provided!by!the!municipality,!to!be!shared!with!more!than!1800!households.!!
!! Quarry!Road!West!was!prioritized!by!the!municipality!for!relocation!in!2004,! because!of!health!and!safety!issues.!A!part!of!the!residents!moved!after!they!were! offered!housing!in!the!city.!Most!people,!however,!resisted!relocation.!Most!people! still!resist!to!be!relocated.!They!want!to!stay!because!of!the!perks!of!the!settlement’s! proximity! to! the! city! center,! such! as! job! opportunities! and! cheap! transport! to! the! city.!!
5. Methodology
! This!chapter!elaborates!on!the!data!collecting!methods!and!other!methodological! considerations!of!this!research!that!were!applied!during!a!fieldwork!period!of!ten! weeks!in!Durban,!South!Africa.!! ! ! Figure/3.!Residents%of%Quarry%Road%waiting%to%be%interviewed%(Source:%Bart%Brouwer)% %5.1 Unit of Analysis
This! research! uses! two! units! of! analysis.! In! an! attempt! to! understand! social! mobilization!as!a!manifestation!of!the!political!agency!of!the!urban!poor,!the!main! focus!is!on!Durban’s!shack!dwellers’!movement,!or!the!shack!dwellers!community!in! a!broader!sense.!This!research!does!not!only!aim!to!understand!the!strategies!of!the! urban! poor! who! engage! in! organized! social! movements! such! as! AbM,! but! also! the! everyday,! small! scale! strategies! of! social! mobilization! and! other! forms! of! political! action.! A! second! unit! of! analysis! concerns! the! state]society! dynamics,! and! more! specifically!the!power!dynamics!between!the!eThekwini!municipality!and!Durban’s! shack! dwellers.! Since! this! research! understands! political! agency! as! the! degree! to!
through!social!mobilization,!it!is!essential!to!analyze!the!power!dynamics!between! the!urban!poor!and!the!state.!
5.2 Methods
The! research! aims! to! gain! a! fuller! understanding! of! how! Durban’s! shack! dwellers! perceive!themselves!as!political!actors,!their!movement,!its!goals!and!strategies,!and! its!relationship!to!the!state.!Initially,!in]depth!interviews!with!shack!dwellers!were! supposed! to! provide! the! main! body! of! data! for! this! research.! However,! issues! of! accessibility!as!well!as!other!challenges!made!it!very!difficult!to!achieve!this,!as!will! be! further! elaborated! on! in! the! ‘challenges! and! difficulties’! section.! Therefore,! the! research!is!now!based!on!a!combination!of!methods!that!are!outlined!below.!It!was! made! sure! that! the! chosen! methods! were! still! aimed! at! having! the! voice! of! “ordinary”! people! heard! –! to! listen! to! the! lived! experiences! of! the! people! who! actually!live!in!shack!settlements.!This!was!complemented!with!“expert”!knowledge! in! order! to! put! the! data! in! context.! Apart! from! primary! data! obtained! from! interviews,! this! research! analyses! secondary! data! sources,! including! the! official! website! of! the! eThekwini! municipality,! eThekwini! policy! documents! that! concern! housing!issues,!and!press!releases!of!AbM.!
!! Accordingly,! this! research! has! a! strong! emphasis! on! qualitative! methods,! with!quantitative!data,!consisting!of!30!surveys,!complementing!the!qualitative!data.!! The! variety! of! data! collecting! methods! is! aimed! at! getting! a! more! nuanced! understanding!of!the!issues!that!are!being!researched!by!looking!at!it!from!different! perspectives,!including!the!perspectives!of!state!officials,!community!members!and! academics.!Triangulation!of!data!can,!as!Olsen!(2004)!argues,!improve!the!validation! of!any!research!findings,!as!well!as!deepen!the!researcher’s!understanding.!!
5.2.1 Interviews
The!emphasis,!in!terms!of!collecting!data!for!this!research,!is!on!individual!in]depth! interviews!conducted!in!one!of!Durban’s!shack!settlements.!It!is!believed!important! to! base! the! research! on! the! lived! experiences! of! shack! dwellers! to! gain! in]depth,! bottom]up!insights!into!the!mobilizing!strategies!of!the!urban!poor!to!enhance!their! political! agency! and! ultimately! enhance! their! living! conditions.! This! is! important! because! social! mobilization! is! inherently! related! to! and! inspired! by! the! lived! experiences! of! the! shack! dwellers! and! the! living! conditions! in! the! settlement.!Therefore,! in! order! to! analyze! shack! dweller’s! possession! of! political! agency! and! mobilizing!strategies,!their!lived!experiences!and!conditions!in!which!they!live!need! to!be!understood.!!
!! The!World!Banks’!comprehensive!‘Moving!out!of!Poverty’!study!(Narayan!et! al.!2009)!stresses!the!fact!that!we!have!been!over]obsessed!with!averages.!The!study! therefore! employs! a! micro]level! approach! in! order! to! get! insights! in! underlying! phenomena!of!poverty.!As!Narayan!et!al.!!(2009:!9)!stress,!“[…]!each!individual!is!the! expert!on!her!or!his!own!life.!Poor!people!are!no!different”.!Likewise,!the!emphasis! in! this! research! is! on! the! voice! of! the! people! who! are! the! actual! subjects! of! this! research.!!
! In!addition!to!the!interviews!with!shack!dwellers,!in]depth!interviews!were! conducted! with! “[…]! representatives! of,! or! experts! on,! relevant! organizations,! institutions,!or!policies”!(Verrest!2013:!61).!Such!key!informants!include!community! representatives,! academics,! local! government! officials,! representatives! of! organizations,! councilors,! etc.! ! These! key! informant! interviews! were! conducted! as! much! as! possible! at! the! earlier! stages! of! the! fieldwork! in! order! to! gain! more! background!information!that!might!be!relevant!interviewing!shack!dwellers.!!
!! Interviews!with!key!informants!typically!lasted!for!approximately!one!hour! and!a!half,!and!were!recorded!in!almost!all!instances.!All!individual!interviews!were! conducted! in! English.! In]depth! interviews! with! shack! dwellers! in! Quarry! road! are! confined! to! informal! conversations! with! residents! who! did! speak! English,! rather! than!formal!interviews,!because!of!the!difficulties!that!were!mentioned!earlier.!!
5.2.2 Focus Groups
The! topic! of! this! research,! social! mobilization,! naturally! makes! focus! groups! a! relevant!and!worthwhile!exercise.!Social!mobilization!inherently!involves!a!plurality! of! people;! it! is! a! shared! experience.! Focus! group! discussions,! which! generally! involve!a!group!of!people!from!the!same!community,!are!therefore!believed!to!have! the! potential! to! contribute! to! a! better! understanding! of! social! mobilization! in! a! community.!
The method is based on the idea that group processes encourage people
to explore and explain their points of view.
It! allows! people! to! respond! to! each! other’s! answers,! potentially! providing! data! that! may! be! missed! otherwise.! As!method! is,! according! to! Kitzinger! (2005),! an! ideal! approach! for! exploring! the! perception,!experiences,!understandings!and!concerns!of!individuals.!!!
! I! took! part! in! two! focus! group! discussions! with! residents! of! Quarry! Road! West! informal! settlement.! The! focus! groups! were! arranged! by! my! gatekeeper! –! Catherine! Sutherland! –! for! her! research! in! the! same! settlement.! Because! of! the! physical!layout!of!the!settlement!–!a!very!high!density!and!the!lack!of!public!space!–! it!was!decided!to!have!the!focus!groups!take!place!at!the!university!campus!of!the! University! of! KwaZulu]Natal! rather! than! in! the! settlement! itself.! The! researchers! arranged!the!transport!from!the!settlement!to!the!university.!!
!!! Before!the!focus!groups!had!started,!we!introduced!our!research,!explained! both!the!purpose!of!the!focus!groups!and!how!the!resulting!data!would!be!used.!We! also!explained!that!we!are!not!necessarily!able!to!help!the!people!directly,!but!that! the! information! gathered! from! the! focus! groups! would! be! used! to! communicate! peoples’!concerns!to!the!municipality.!This!introduction!also!allowed!participants!to! ask! questions! they! had! concerning! the! research! or! broader! policy! processes! that! may!impact!their!lives.!This!introduction,!which!lasted!for!approximately!two!hours,! also! served! as! an! icebreaker! to! build! trust! between! the! researchers! and! the! participants.!!
Both!focus!group!discussions!took!place!at!the!same!time!in!different!rooms! and! were! moderated! by! two! Zulu! speaking! research! assistants.! The! focus! group! discussions!were!conducted!in!Zulu!and!were!afterwards!transcribed!and!translated! by! the! research! assistants.! The! groups! each! consisted! of! 7! people,! both! male! and! female,! covering! a! fairly! broad! age! range.! The! focus! group! interviews! both! had! a! duration!of!two!hours.!!
5.2.3 Observations
In! addition! to! in]depth! interviews! and! focus! groups! with! shack! dwellers,! unstructured,! non]participant! observations! were! conducted! in! Quarry! Road! West! informal! settlement! in! order! to! “[…]! record! in! as! much! detail! as! possible! the! behavior! of! participants! with! the! aim! of! developing! a! narrative! account! of! that! behavior”!(Bryman!2008:!257).!Additionally,!observations!helped!towards!recording! the! physical! layout! of! the! settlement! and! its! surroundings,! which! is! essential! in! terms!of!complementing!and!contextualizing!the!data!obtained!form!interviews.!!
