movie review

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Development & Inequality

Lesson WEEKS 6-7

Nicole Ashley School of People, Environment & Planning

Cadey Korson

School of People, Environment & Planning

2019

Acknowledgement

This course was originally written and taught by Regina Scheyvens, and much of the material in the modules is from her research. Since 2012 the course has been updated and revised by Sharon McLennan.

THIS MATERIAL IS PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT AND HAS BEEN COPIED BY AND SOLELY FOR THE EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES OF THE UNIVERSITY UNDER LICENCE. YOU MAY NOT SELL, ALTER OR FURTHER REPRODUCE OR DISTRIBUTE ANY PART OF THIS COURSE PACK/MATERIAL TO ANY OTHER PERSON. WHERE PROVIDED TO YOU IN ELECTRONIC FORMAT, YOU MAY ONLY PRINT FROM IT FOR YOUR OWN PRIVATE STUDY AND RESEARCH. FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE TERMS OF THIS WARNING MAY EXPOSE YOU TO LEGAL ACTION FOR COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT AND/OR DISCIPLINARY ACTION BY THE UNIVERSITY.

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Contents

Figures .......................................................................................................................... i Readings ...................................................................................................................... ii What do we mean by ‘class’? ...................................................................................... 3

Week 6: Squatter Settlements and the Urban Underclass .............................................. 3 Learning Outcomes / Objectives ................................................................................. 3 Why Are There So Many Squatters? .......................................................................... 3 The Difference Between Slums And Squatter Settlements ....................................... 10

Slums ................................................................................................................ 10 Squatter Settlements ......................................................................................... 10

Organised Action In Shanty Towns: Latin America ................................................. 11 Changes in Government Responses Over Time ........................................................ 12 Warm Up Exercise .................................................................................................... 12 Readings / Activities ................................................................................................. 18

Reading 13 ....................................................................................................... 18 Reading 14 ....................................................................................................... 19 Optional Videos ............................................................................................... 21

Summary ................................................................................................................... 22 References ................................................................................................................. 22

Week 7: Inequalities in the ‘New’ South Africa ............................................................ 25 Learning Outcomes / Objectives ............................................................................... 25 South Africa .............................................................................................................. 25

Regina’s Experiences ....................................................................................... 25 Inequality in South Africa ................................................................................ 26

Warm Up Exercise .................................................................................................... 27 Readings / Activities ................................................................................................. 28

Reading 15 ....................................................................................................... 28 Reading 16 ....................................................................................................... 30 Reading 17 ....................................................................................................... 30

Summary ................................................................................................................... 31 References ................................................................................................................. 31

Figures Figure 1: The rich and the rest ............................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.

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Figure 2: New Zealand inequality 1982-2012 .................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Figure 3: The largest cities in the world, 1950 and 2005 ..................................................... 4 Figure 4: Slum proportions in selected countries in Africa ................................................. 5 Figure 5: Slum proportions in selected countries in Asia .................................................... 6 Figure 6: Slum proportions in selected countries in Latin America .................................... 6 Figure 7: Urban population living in slums ......................................................................... 7

Readings WEEK 6 Gilbert, A. (2014). Housing the Urban Poor. In V. Desai and R. B. Potter (eds.) The Companion to Development Studies. Routledge, New York: 306-310. Chambers, B. (2005). The Barriadas of Lima: Slums of Hope or Despair? Problems or Solutions? Geography. 90(3): 200-224. WEEK 7 Roberts, M. (1994). The Ending of Apartheid: Shifting Inequalities in South Africa. Geography 79 (1): 53-64. New Internationalist (1995) The New South Africa. New Internationalist: March. Seekings, J. (2007). Poverty and Inequality after Apartheid. CSSR Working Paper No. 200. 1-13

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What do we mean by ‘class’?

“Class is a group whose members share a common economic position, differentiated in terms of power and status, and the chances of bettering themselves in material terms” (Bradley, 1996)

In this module we examine how inequalities based on class, that is, people's access to economic resources and opportunities, influences our lives. The term ‘class’ has received somewhat less attention in the literature and in the general media than other causes of inequality (such as ethnicity and gender) however it remains a very important and useful concept. Indeed, observant social science students might have noticed a re-emergence of the concept in recent years – although not always labelled as such – with the Global Financial Crisis and the rise of the Occupy movement, and the recent literature on inequality (in particular books such as Wilkinson and Pickett’s The Spirit Level). As Duncan (2009) notes, the term class refers to structured inequalities in the distribution of wealth, status, and power, and these have existed in most, if not all, societies. Differences in the opportunities and power an individual has largely depend on the rank, order, caste, estate, or class into which they happen to be have been born. This is a good point at which to pause and think about your own position in relation to class. What was your family’s class group? What class would you consider yourself a part of now? Although we might like to think of New Zealand as a relatively egalitarian society, the Tom Scott cartoon below illustrates once aspect of class divisions in New Zealand society. Which queue do you identify with? Do you think there is much movement between these queues?

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In this module we examine three specific topics which provide examples of class inequalities. The first topic on global crisis takes a wide angled look at some of the drivers of class inequality, in particular the scale and impact of inequalities between nations related to neoliberalism and the recent global financial crisis. It explains the origin and impacts of the crisis, and the why it has become increasingly difficult for governments to invest in education, health and other important sectors. The second topic then looks specifically at the urban underclass, examining the lives of people living in shanty towns. This blows apart some of the myths that abound about the lack of productivity of the poor, and shows how cleverly they sometimes adapt to difficult circumstances. In the third topic, we shift to a country that is seen as one of the most 'developed' in the African continent, but which struggles with vast inequalities: South Africa. While the racially-based systematic discrimination that was in place under Apartheid was thankfully put to rest in 1994, there have been growing class inequalities that have continued to cause tensions in this fascinating country.

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Week 6: Squatter Settlements and the Urban Underclass

Learning Outcomes / Objectives At The End Of This Topic You Will:

• be able to see how many people living in squatter settlements are the product of

social injustice and of structures beyond their control.

• know the meaning of the term ‘struggle settlements’ and understand why they

evolved.

• be able to describe several innovative strategies used by squatters to encourage the

state to recognise them as citizens, treat them equally and provide them with

services.

• understand ways in which governments can utilise the initiative and drive of

squatters to develop housing within the city.

Why Are There So Many Squatters? At the beginning of the 20th century only one in eight people lived in urban areas. By 2008 the world’s population passed the 50/50 threshold for the first time, and 54% of the world’s population is now live in urban areas (U.N., 2014). The U.N. estimates that more than 60% of world’s population will live in urban areas by 2030. The majority of these are living in less-developed regions as most of the fastest growing and largest cities are in the developing world (see figure 3). Many in these new mega-cities are not living in formal housing (see figures 4, 5, 6, & 7). On average 43% of urban dwellers in the Third World live in slums or squatter settlements, rising to 78% in the least developed countries. It is estimated that 6% of the population of Western cities live in slum-like situations (New Internationalist, 2003:7). The slum and squatter problem has resulted from a number of factors:

• the failure of governments to invest in rural areas

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• development programmes (such as dams and forestry) which displace rural

peoples from their source of livelihood

• the effect of ‘green revolution’ style projects which force small farmers off the

land

• the failure of governments to invest in job creation in the cities

• inadequate state provision of housing

• population growth.

Figure 1: The largest cities in the world, 1950 and 2005

1950

2005

1

New York 12.3m 1

Tokyo 35.2m

2

London 10.4m 2

Mexico City 19.4m

3

Rhine-Ruhr 6.9m 3

New York 18.7m

4

Tokyo 6.7m 4

Sao Paulo 18.3m

5

Shanghai 5.8m 5

Mumbai 18.2m

6

Paris 5.5m 6

Delhi 15.1m

7

Buenos Aires 5.3m 7

Shanghai 14.5m

8

Chicago 4.9m 8

Kolkata 14.3m

9

Moscow 4.8m 9

Jakarta 13.2m

10

Calcutta 4.6m 10

Buenos Aires 12.4m

11

Los Angeles 4.0m 11

Dhaka 12.4m

12

Osaka 3.8m 12

Los Angeles 12.3m

13

Milan 3.6m 13

Karachi 11.6m

14

Bombay 3.0m 14

Rio de Janeiro 11.5m

15

Mexico City 3.0m 15

Osaka-Kobe 11.3m

Source: UN 1989, 2005b, in: Potter et al. 2008, p.386

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Figure 2: Slum proportions in selected countries in Africa

Source: UN-HABITAT, 2008: 34

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Figure 3: Slum proportions in selected countries in Asia

Source: UN-HABITAT, 2008: 36

Figure 4: Slum proportions in selected countries in Latin America

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Source: UN-HABITAT, 2008: 35

Figure 5: Urban population living in slums

Read the information on the following pages, from a New Internationalist edition on squatter towns, gives an overview of urbanisation and squatter settlements at the beginning of the twenty-first century. New Internationalist (2006) Urban explosion: The facts. New Internationalist 386, Jan/Feb

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The Difference Between Slums And Squatter Settlements UN Habitat (n.d.) estimates that in order to provide housing and access to basic infrastructure and services such as water and sanitation systems would require building 96,150 housing units per day from now till 2030. As most cities are not building houses at anywhere near the rate required, people often have to find their own housing either in existing inner city urban areas and buildings (slums) or ‘new’ land on which they build their own dwellings (squatter settlements). Slums Inner city slums typically emerge in central city areas where the rich have moved out. As these properties deteriorate they are subdivided and provide a home for the poor, who welcome the close access to work and transport systems which their inner city location provides. Such slums, however, are characterised by poor public service provision, leading to poor health, hygiene and, often, crime. Squatter Settlements As opposed to slums, squatter settlements (also referred to as shanty towns) do not emerge in existing buildings. They usually occur when people illegally occupy land and build their own dwellings on it. Squatter settlements are a common solution to the problem of inadequate urban housing. Around 2/5ths of the population of Third World cities live in squatter settlements. Squatter settlements often reveal high levels of organisation. In the most organised cases, squatter families, together with lawyers, identify unoccupied, idle land that has owners who, they feel, will not contest a squatter invasion. Housing lots and public buildings are staked out at night, when hundreds of families may rush in and erect their crude dwellings. If the occupation is not contested, the squatters improve their dwellings over time, replacing cardboard with bricks, plastic with corrugated iron. In some cases, landowners and private developers have manipulated the squatters by obtaining some urban infrastructure for them, thus enhancing the land value, then opening the way for profitable housing construction. Squatters are then expelled from the land so that this can go ahead (Castells, 1988). Lucy Mair (1984) discusses the idea of slums of hope versus slums of despair (a theory first devised by Stokes in 1962). Chambers (2005) also draws upon this idea in one of the readings to follow. Stokes used the word ‘slum’ to refer to both slums and squatter settlements. Slums of despair were home to the dropouts from society who became

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apathetic about their situation, thus replicating a ‘culture of poverty’, rather than actively working to attain better things for themselves and their children. ‘Slums of hope’, by contrast, were said to be home to the upwardly mobile, those who have higher aspirations for themselves and their families, whether or not circumstances allow this to occur in practice. They usually manage to find some source of livelihood, whether in wage labour or the informal sector. ‘Slums of despair’ were said to be typically located in run-down buildings in the centre of a city. The so-called ‘slums of hope’ are the squatter settlements described above, located on the outskirts of the city where people can escape from the squalor of the inner city and can build their own homes according to their needs.

Trivia question: What do flamenco, hip hop, reggae, rock and roll, blues, jazz and breakdance forms of music and dance have in common? All arose in slum or squatter settlements where there was a mixing of diverse cultures.

Organised Action In Shanty Towns: Latin America From Van Garderen, 1989 Squatter settlements are very common in Latin American cities. However far from being a chaotic free-for-all these often take very organised forms. There is often a set organisation which a number of neighbourhoods form together and this has responsibility for:

• providing legal advice to people from the associated neighbourhoods.

• stimulating unity between the neighbourhoods.

• negotiating with government organisations on behalf of residents.

• organising demonstrations.

Demonstrations may include:

• peaceful protest marches through the central city, complaining about a lack of

services.

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• strikes.

• violent demonstrations (e.g. because of a 70% hike in bus fares in a Peruvian city

streets were blocked off and some buses were burnt).

Negotiating with government may include:

• letter writing and door knocking on the offices of politicians and government

ministries (e.g. Ministry of Housing, Ministry of Health) who could help them to

secure essential services.

• negotiating with the water supply and electricity company to provide their services

as cheaply as possible.

Changes in Government Responses Over Time Governments have reacted to squatter settlements in a variety of ways: 1960-70 : Slum or squatter settlement clearance 1970-80 : Relocation, public housing 1980/90s+ : Slum or squatter settlement upgrading (Boonyabancha 2005). Governments, often with the help of groups such as UN-Habitat or NGOs, are increasingly likely to focus on upgrading and improving squatter areas rather than demolishing them. Unfortunately this isn’t always the case (you may have heard news stories about favela clearances and demolitions prior to the FIFA World Cup and 2016 Olympics for example).

Warm Up Exercise

Before reading the essay by Gabriela Tôrres Barbosa on the following page on the following page, make a list of words you would use to describe people who live in squatter settlements/shanty towns:

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At the top of the hill Gabriela Tôrres Barbosa, translated from Portuguese by Hjalmar-Jorge Joffre-Eichhorn.

Gabriela Tôrres Barbosa lives in one of Rio de Janeiro’s many favelas that stretch up the steep hillsides to surround the

‘official’ city.

I am really not feeling too well these days. My brain doesn’t

stop thinking. It seems like I am going crazy. I live in several

Brazils at the same time.

I wake up, drink English tea and sit down to study for a degree

that I could never pay for if it weren’t for the scholarship.

Today I study English, Philosophy and Sociology: all these

beautifully strange subjects invading my simple home – a home

I love the way it is, but would like to see finished one day.

I feel different from other people

They do not seem to care any longer

It looks like they have accepted their fate.

I will not accept mine

I am a stranger in the nest.

I wish to advise everyone that I like living in the favela. The

only thing I would like to change is that its inhabitants one day

have more options to choose from and can walk around freely

without other people getting scared when they hear the magic

word: ‘favela’. Sometimes when I talk to people and tell them

where I am from they are stunned and say: ‘Wow. You speak

so eloquently. Write beautiful things and are nicely dressed.

How is it possible?’

The newspapers don’t even bother to show

The ‘other’ favela.

Hey, You! Yeah, You.

Don’t get too caught up about the news you read,

There is so much more to say.

I invite you to walk up the morro

To meet the real favela.

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When you are born up there on top of the morro (hill), in the Zona Sul of Rio de Janeiro, it seems like your destiny has

been decided like an arrow that hits its target and leaves its mark forever. But it is not impossible to change your fate. It is

necessary to resist: to transform your reality.

To live in the favela is só alegria, all joy. When I come back to the communidade it is like a tribe – everybody knows me,

and people talk to each other and kiss and hug and genuinely take care of one another. In the favela I feel safe and

recognized; I have the freedom to be who I am without having to meet other people’s prejudices of how people like me are

supposed to be. To live in a communidade means an extension of one’s home. No-one will ever go hungry because there

will always be an open door and a gesture of solidarity.

Let there still be hope and future,

Sincerity and resilience.

And let it be authentic and pure,

the life of her that has little.

And that what she has will be enough

To bring her happiness.

The other day in a middle-class apartment building I noticed that people do not greet one another in the elevator. Many do

not even know their neighbours. If one day they needed help, it would be quite difficult to find it next door.

Brazilian Woman.

Indigenous, Black and White.

Favela Woman,

Born from a belly in the Senzala.

Samba Woman,

Dancing to the rhythm of life.

Nobody ever comes up here to film our fashion shows, our dances, our young people playing Capoeira (a famous martial

arts/dance originally brought to Brazil by the African slaves). Nobody wants to see all our culture, so beautiful and intense.

Yet it’s up here in the morros where one sees the hard and sweet reality that is not shown in the newspapers. Of course

drug trafficking exists. And all the violence shown on TV is also real; but it is obvious that the news gets manipulated to

increase ratings. In fact, all this violence is perpetuated by the same people that denounce it in the first place.

When the bullet leaves the gun

It is news in the papers.

But she who lives in the favela

Always knows so much more:

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the pagode starts at ten;

Seu Jorge is sick;

A new life has been born.

When I go to work with the homeless, I am confronted with all the energy and depression of those that society has

forgotten. Even the little bit they ask for – some kind of social inclusion – may be impossible. They sit in the eternal

waiting room of the excluded. I open the door of the community library and find our new books soaking wet. The water

coming in through the roof destroyed the bookshelf and I – totally impotent – cannot do anything. This library has always

been like a second home for me. I helped build it and here I learned how to be a storyteller. And now everything is lost.

They forget how to love,

How to love their country.

Detached from the respect

That they will owe it forever.

They never see you,

Country of the black,

Country of the poor,

Excluded from everything.

I walk up the Favela Santa Marta and notice all the different faces invisible to society. The kindergarten kids are awaiting

me anxiously and I can only offer them my voice, love and attention, and a handful of old books that they already know but

never get tired of seeing. And every time they listen to the stories their little eyes brighten as if they were hearing

something totally new. It makes me feel even more impotent and sad, and angry. I feel like I could have done more and

better.

Hypothetically

Impeded to act,

Impatient to live,

Impotent to be.

Imploring for freedom.

I walk back home on the wealthy streets of Botafogo where the beautiful and expensive cars of local private school

students block half the street and cause the same huge traffic jam twice a day. They think the whole city is at their service

like the empregadas (poor, usually black, maids) serving them 24 hours a day. And I keep walking. Past 10-year-old drug

dealers with machine guns bigger than themselves. Past 12-year-old mothers selling their little bodies for drugs, money or

the latest cellular phone. Past the 73-year-old lady selling chewing gum at the local cinema where people pay more for a

ticket than she earns in 3 days’ work.

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I never stopped dreaming.

I know that the poor don’t study:

The rich and powerful have told me many times.

But I also know that

if I really want to do it,

they cannot stop me.

I leave home a bit earlier and walk to university in order not to spend money on public transport. For so many years I tried

to get into university and now that I am finally ‘allowed’ to study, long walks or lack of money will not discourage me. If

there is one thing the favela teaches you from early on, it’s to improvise; to re-invent yourself every day. I sit down

comfortably in the university’s modern computer lab and take advantage of the technology available to enter the digital

world. The digital world! It is amazing how we keep creating things that could benefit humanity but that actually just

widen the gap between haves and have-nots. Then I sit in the lecture theatre –

Everything is now illusion,

Nothing really exists.

We live in a big play

That never goes beyond the last act.

The other day my literature professor had the gall to say: ‘If the Government built apartment buildings for the inhabitants

of the Santa Marta Favela, they would destroy everything within a week since they would not even know how to use the

bathroom.’ Obviously I could not let his remark go unchallenged. We fought for a few minutes, destroying the ‘civilized’

atmosphere of the university. I feel nauseous and guilty when I go home after class and see the woman with her crying

child asking people for money, or the homeless man battling his army of ghosts. It upsets me, this surreal middle-class

world of mediocrity and isolation. Everything is about consuming.

Let them jump freely,

With neither limits nor pain,

Let them jump freely,

Without fear or shame,

Let them fly freely,

Absorbing the essence of the air.

At the same time, I have made many friends from the middle class. I have the support of many people that encourage me

constantly and help me to keep going. They are people who see the world very clearly even though they were born into a

world of illusion. I feel much stronger after exchanging with them all the anguishes and limitations that plague our lives.

Perhaps my existence in these multiple Brazils may allow me to empower myself and attempt to change a few things with

more firmness and self-confidence.

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Once you have read the essay go back to your original list and see if you would change any of the original words you used, or add any others.

To live is to allow for change,

Is being vulnerable at every moment,

Is to move towards the unknown,

Is everything and nothing.

And I would like to stress that I am not complaining about my condition. I even feel privileged to live with something

where others have nothing. How many 26-year-olds reach their age without having children? How many people are

allowed to study at university – to read and write; to live another language; to have their voices heard; to get a job they

like? How many?

I defy the statistics. But I do not want to do this on my own. I want to be joined by all the other excluded. All those so

conveniently forgotten. It may seem a bit idealistic to want everyone to be able to do such things. But if I cannot dream at

least a little, I won’t have the strength to continue.

My brain is my weapon. By constructing my ideals and dreams – transforming them into poetry – I can use my capacities

in favour of the excluded. Equipped with pencil and paper and lots of ideas, I will keep fighting: always searching for a

new reality for and with those that have never lost their hope.

I have to keep smiling in order to be able to survive in this jungle. And I will keep smiling even though I am sad, and I will

treat everyone with love and patience although they may not deserve it. The day I lose my smile, my life will end. I will not

let this happen.

The poor cannot allow that others rule their lives.

We have to fight from the moment we are born

till our last breath.

Cry out! Cry out if the cause is noble!

http://newint.org/features/2006/01/01/brazil/

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Readings / Activities Reading 13

Gilbert, A. (2014). Housing the Urban Poor. In V. Desai and R. B. Potter (eds.) The Companion to Development Studies. Routledge, New York, 257-262.

Why does Gilbert argue that ‘…the housing problem is not something that can be solved by architects and planners’ (2014:306)?

‘…the third world housing problem is about politics and economics’ (Gilbert 2014:309). Explain this using examples.

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Reading 14

Chambers, B. (2005). The Barriadas of Lima: Slums of Hope or Despair Problems or Solutions? Geography. 90(3): 200-224.

Describe the processes that have led to rapid growth of barriadas in and around Lima.

Chambers argues that ‘the informal economics of barriadas may be a catalyst for growth…’ (2005:200). How could this be so?

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The virtues of squatter settlements which governments can build on Rents are either non-existent or very low, meaning families can provide for themselves more effectively because they have more money to spend on food. People can build to a standard they can afford and can improve their homes (e.g. adding another storey, or replacing cardboard walls with bricks) as they can afford. People can settle where it suits them best – e.g. rural migrants often settle near relatives or people from their home area and this provides a crucial social support network and safety net for those living below the poverty line. For example, they can still hold ceremonies according to their customs, which helps to cushion people against the alienation of city life. Squatter settlements don’t impose inappropriate western planning restrictions, therefore they can be places of small business employment as well as of residence.

Drawing on the two readings, discuss the difference between good and bad public housing schemes for Third World cities:

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Drawing on the two readings, provide examples of effective strategies for development devised in ‘slums of hope’.

Optional Videos

City of God Based on a true story, this film portrays the harsh reality of growing up in a Brazilian housing project, the City of God. Poverty, drugs, crime and violence characterize the settlement. The story is narrated by Buscape, a poor black youth who manages to escape the cycle of poverty and violence by following his passion for photography and shooting pictures, not bullets.

Slumdog Millionaire

If you didn’t watch this earlier in the course, this would also be a good movie to watch at this point. While not without its critics, it does give the viewer insights into the lives of those living in shantytowns, their hope as well as their often desperate circumstances.

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Summary Squatter settlements house over half the population of some Third World cities and squatters, those people who live in the settlements, are an integral part of the life of the city. Their numbers are continuing to grow rapidly (see pp. 82-83 New Internationalist article). They contribute to the city in many ways: by working there (some in professional occupations), by educating their children and by improving the small pieces of land on which they live. To see them as a scar on the landscape, something abhorrent to be hidden away or bulldozed over and shunted out of town, is to deny the reasons behind their basic existence. Most would not have left the rural areas if their chances of making a livelihood there were better. That rural areas are finding it increasingly difficult to sustain people’s lives is a result of the lack of government investment in these areas, the vagaries of the global economic system, and high population growth rates. This topic area has shown the courage and strength of squatters. Rather than being powerless, desperate groups of people, they have shown themselves to be dynamic, innovative and capable of high levels of organisation. It has also provided examples of different strategies of dealing with squatters, finding that there are very constructive ways in which governments can improve their cities by building upon the initiative that squatters demonstrate.

References Auty, R.M. (1995). Patterns of Development: Resources, Policy and Economic Growth. E. Arnold, London, 140-147. Boonyabancha, S. (2005). Baan Mankong: going to scale with slum and squatter upgrading in Thailand. Environment and Urbanization. 17(1):21-46. Castells, M. (1988). Squatters and the State in Latin America. J. Gugler (ed). The Urbanisation of the Third World. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 338-350. Dixon, C. and Drakakis-Smith, D. (1997). Uneven Development in South East Asia. Aldershot, Hants.

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Drakakis-Smith, D. (1988). Housing. In M Pacione (ed). The Geography of the Third World. Routledge, London, 148-197. Higgins, B. (1990). The place of housing programs and class relations in Latin American cities: The case of Managua before 1980. Economic Geography 66: 378-388. Neuhouser, K. (1995). “Worse than men”: Gendered mobilization in an urban Brazilian Squatter settlement, 1971-91. Gender and Society 9(1): 38-59. New Internationalist (2006) Squatter Town: The South’s Urban Explosion. New Internationalist 386, Jan/Feb Potter, R.B., Binns, T., Elliott, J.A. and Smith, D. (2008) ‘Urban spaces’ in Geographies of Development. Prentice Hall: Pearson, pp. 381-441. Staples, J. (2007). Livelihoods at the Margins: Surviving the City. Life Coast Press, Walnut Creek. United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2014). World Urbanization Prospects: The 2014 Revision, Highlights (ST/ESA/SER.A/352). Retrieved from http://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/Highlights/WUP2014-Highlights.pdf UN-Habitat (2003). The Challenge of Slums: Global Report on Human Settlements. Earthscan, London. UN-Habitat (2006). The state of the World’s Cities Report 2006/2007: The Millennium Development Goals and Urban Sustainability. Earthscan, London. UN-Habitat (2008). The state of the World’s Cities Report 2010/2011 Bridging the Urban Divide. Earthscan, London. Retrieved from http://issuu.com/design23/docs/state_of_world_cities_-_bridging_the_urban_divide_ UN-Habitat. (n.d.) Housing and Slum Upgrading. Retrieved from http://unhabitat.org/urban-themes/housing-slum-upgrading Van Garderen, T. (1989). Collective action in squatter settlements in Arequipa, Peru. In F. Schuurman and T. van Naerssen (eds). Urban Social Movements in the Third World. Routledge, London, 27-44.

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Week 7: Inequalities in the ‘New’ South Africa

Learning Outcomes / Objectives At The End Of This Topic You Will:

• be able to provide examples of how class inequalities are intensifying in the new

South Africa.

• understand how space was manipulated by the ruling elite under the apartheid

regime in order to disadvantage black Africans.

• explain how the apartheid system engineered group divisions among the oppressed

in order to support a ‘divide and rule’ strategy.

South Africa The ‘new’ South Africa may at first seem better positioned under the ethnicity module, but the readings referred to will soon show you why class inequalities have become increasingly significant in South Africa. The readings also reveal the complex ways in which class and ethnic inequalities may overlap. In the former South Africa the privileges of white people were enshrined in the law and, correspondingly, they were economically much better off than most coloureds and blacks. South Africa provides an excellent example of how inequalities can be stressed through the conscious manipulation of space. By looking at homelands and townships in South Africa, human geographers can come to understand how the manipulation of space can disadvantage certain groups within a society, and even turn members of certain ethnic groups against one another (see Taylor, 1991). Regina’s Experiences From May - July 1998 I was in Southern Africa as part of a period of sabbatical leave which was granted so that I could conduct research on community involvement in eco- tourism.

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A newspaper article which appeared during my time in South Africa seemed to epitomize the problems that the country is having in overcoming the apartheid legacy. The article discussed the case of a black man who had been beaten badly by a white farmer while driving his cart down a rural road. The white man was apparently incensed by what the black man’s vehicle represented: his cart was pulled by two donkeys, one white and one black. On a plaque on the back of the cart he had written ‘the new South Africa’. While discrimination based on colour is still the most evident form of inequality to the visitor in South Africa, the phenomenon of class is also gaining increasing weight as a social division. This increases conflict particularly within impoverished black communities where so many people are competing with each other to try and receive the economic rewards of their newly democratic country. The government has struggled to provide sufficient housing, services and the all-important employment opportunities to keep the underclass satisfied. For example, competition between an emerging class of entrepreneurs was manifested in the ‘taxi wars’ which were responsible for 90% of murders during my time in Johannesburg. ‘Taxis’ in South Africa are minibuses that serve as communal buses and are well utilised by the black community. The industry is not regulated, however, and owners of minibuses will often compete for lucrative routes, paying hitmen to shoot rival taxi drivers and burn out their minibuses. We witnessed one such incident in Soweto. Years of inequality enshrined in legislation have made for a very difficult situation in this otherwise rich and beautiful country. The ‘solutions’ required to overcome inequality will necessarily be complex, and must be sensitive to ethnicity, gender and class. Inequality in South Africa It is now over 20 years since the first free multi-racial elections in South Africa in 1994, but this has not been matched by a movement from poverty to prosperity for most of the country’s citizens. South Africa has one of the highest Gini coefficients in the world. It reached a peak of about 0.72 in the late 2000s, one of the highest ever recorded (van der Berg, 2014). The ‘Black Economic Empowerment Policy’, initiated by the post-Apartheid government to address black economic inequality has, in reality, enabled a minority of blacks to accrue large amounts of wealth thanks to preferential access to employment and management positions. As such, while while inequality between ethnic groups has decreased, intra-group inequality has increased (Leibbrandt et al, 2012).

145.218 Study Guide Module 2 Class 27

In 2000, a poverty and inequality report published by the South African government revealed that:

• 61% of black families lived below the poverty line

• only 2.7% of whites lived below the poverty line, but this had increased from only

1% in 1994

• unemployment of whites doubled from 3.3% in 1994 to 6.8% in 1999 (Harman,

2001:1).

Warm Up Exercise

Do you watch Super 14 rugby, or did you follow the 2010 FIFA world cup in South Africa? Perhaps you have seen news reports or documentaries on South Africa? Think about images of South Africa presented to different viewers. New Zealand has also seen considerable in-migration from mainly white South Africans, who may be your friends, neighbours or colleagues. If you’re a more ‘mature’ student, you may recall protests over the Springboks tour in 1981. Drawing on the eclectic range of background information you may have on this fascinating country, jot down your ideas on opportunities available to black Africans and to whites in the ‘new South Africa’:

Black Africans Whites Do you think all people have the same opportunities and rights under the post-apartheid regime?

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Readings / Activities Reading 15

Roberts, M. (1994). The Ending of Apartheid: Shifting Inequalities in South Africa. Geography 79 (1): 53-64.

List the central features of the apartheid ideology

Discuss inequalities associated with the creation of homelands

145.218 Study Guide Module 2 Class 29

Note inequalities associated with the creation of townships

Discuss perceptions of changes in the new South Africa for the following groups

Whites Middle class blacks and Asians The majority of blacks

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Reading 16

New Internationalist (1995) The New South Africa. New Internationalist: March.

What examples do a) the New Internationalist, and b) Roberts provide of how inequalities are shifting within the new South Africa?

Reading 17

Seekings, J. (2007). Poverty and Inequality after Apartheid. CSSR Working Paper No. 200. 1-13

What disadvantages do lower classes face in South Africa?

145.218 Study Guide Module 2 Class 31

Provide evidence of increases in income poverty, despite economic growth, in the new South Africa.

Summary In South Africa the separation according to racial classification has disappeared in a legal sense but another inequality is growing stronger: separation by income. Inequalities between rich and poor are greater than ever. Seekings (2007: 1) concludes that “economic growth alone will not reduce poverty or inequality”. How can these divisions be countered? Only by addressing material inequalities and reordering the structures of society. The BEE (Black Economic Empowerment) programme and social support mechanisms have sought to do this. However they have also faced problems as the country pursued neoliberal growth strategies under which plans to overcome structural inequalities were often scaled back.

References van der Berg (2014) South Africa will remain a hugely unequal society for a long time. The Conversation. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/south-africa-will-remain-a-hugely-unequal-society-for-a- long-time-25949

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Binns, T. (1998). ‘Geography and development in the ‘new’ South Africa’. Geography 358: 3. Harman, D. (2001). In South Africa: Poverty Tinged with a New Colour Christian Science Monitor 93(159):1. Kotzé, H., du Toit, P., Khunou, G., Steenekamp, C.L., Burger, R., van der Berg, S., Zock, A. & Krige, D. (n.d.) The Emergent South African Middle Class. University of Stellenbosch Research Division. Retrieved from http://resep.sun.ac.za/index.php/projects/emergent-middle-class-in-south-africa/ Lawuyi, O.B. (1998). ‘Local/Global Encounters - Democracy and Resistance in South Africa’. Development 4: 49. Leibbrandt, M., Finn, A. & Woolard, I (2012) Describing and decomposing post-apartheid income inequality in South Africa, Development Southern Africa, 29:1, 19-34 Lemon, A. and Battersby-Lennard, J. (2009). Emerging geographies of school provision in Cape Town, South Africa. Geography 94 (2): 79-87. Lester, A. (1998). ‘Impressions of a new South Africa”. Focus 45(2):1. Mayekiso, M. and Sessions, A. (1997). ‘Township politics: Civic struggles for a new South Africa’. Critical Sociology 23(2): 117. Peet, R. (2002). Ideology, discourse, and the geography of hegemony: from socialst to neoliberal development in Postapartheid south Africa. Antipode 34(1): 54-84. Rogerson, C. (2000). The economic and social geography of South Africa: Progress beyond apartheid. Tijdschrift voor Economische en Socale Geografie. 91(4): 335-346. Seekings, J and Nattrass, N. (2005). Class, Race and Inequality in South Africa. Yale University Press. Taylor, R. (1991). The Myth of Ethnic Division: Township Conflict on the Reef. Race and Class 33 (2): 1-14.