Victims, Villains and Fixers
The Urban Environment and Johannesburg's Poor
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4603774 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jo Beall (0000-0002-1898-3872, London School of Economics and Political Science), Owen Crankshaw (0000-0002-9006-5005), Susan Parnell (0000-0002-5702-1684) |
| Year | 2000 |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 833-855 |
| Publication date | 2000-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Southern African Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0305-7070 • E-ISSN: 1465-3893 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/713683609 |
| OpenAlex | W2083554226 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 20 |
| References cited | 2 |
Urban water supply, sanitation and electricity have been identified as basic needs by the post-apartheid government and the Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Council (GJMC).This article explores the relationship of Johannesburg's poor to the urban environment and in particular these three key urban services.On the basis of survey data, case studies, textual analysis and in-depth interviews with policy makers and planners, it reviews how poorer citizens were for a long time seen as victims under apartheid urban planning.During the rent boycotts that characterised urban struggle politics during the era of late apartheid in Johannesburg, they were often represented as villains.This perception persisted well into the post-apartheid period, where refusing to pay for services was seen as tantamount to a lack of patriotism.Today, Johannesburg's poorer citizens are increasingly being seen as fixers.The GJMC in its policy document, iGoli 2002, is committed to establishing the commercial viability of service delivery.Cost recovery is seen as important to solving the tension that exists between maintaining established service levels (in historically white areas) and extending services to new and historically under-serviced (mainly black) areas.We conclude that there are opportunities to address urban poverty, inequality and environmental management in an integrated way.However, these are predicated on the GJMC and its advisers understanding the ways in which pro-poor and social justice strategies interface with urban services and the urban environment.* This article draws in part on the first phase of a city study of Johannesburg, conducted as part of research on urban development conducted between 1998
Economic growth · Economics · Geography · Inequality · Metropolitan area · Political science · Politics · Poverty · Sanitation · Sociology · Urban planning · Law · Legal Issues in South Africa · Public Administration · South African History and Culture · Urban and Rural Development Challenges
Cities of Entanglements
The hybrid outcome of urban change
Everyday Experiences and Aspirations in Selected Lower Class Townships of Johannesburg
Globalization and social exclusion in cities
Decentralizing Government and Decentering Gender
Reflections on Identity in Four African Cities
Reflections on Identity in Four African Cities
Green to gold mile
Housing and health in an informal settlement upgrade in Cape Town, South Africa
Multiple disconnections
Health, hygiene and appropriate sanitation
Public support for participation in local development
Pro-poor sanitation technologies
From Socio-nature to Spectral Presence
Empty Signifiers of Transformation in Participatory Planning and the Marginalization of Black People in South Africa
Social Forces and the Effects of (Post)-Washington Consensus Policy in Africa
Augmented informality
Theorising approaches to social movement spatialities
The Parallel Claims of Gated Communities and Land Invasions in a Southern City
Sustainable Development and Environmental Justice in African Cities
| Unique citing works | 20 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,83 |
| Citation span | 2002 - 2024 (23) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 15 |