Anticipating the Inevitable: an investigation of Johannesburg's housing crisis
ANTICIPATING THE INEVITABLE: ANTICIPATING THE INEVITABLE:
AN INVESTIGATION INTO WHETHER A MORE ORGANISED MANIFESTATION OF SQUATTING MIGHT BETTER EQUIP JOHANNESBURG’S HOMELESS IN THEIR STRUGGLE TO ACQUIRE HOUSING.
Anticipating the inevitable: an investigation into whether a more organised manifestation of squatting might better equip Johannesburg’s homeless in their struggle to aquire housing.
William Gibbs s1511512
MA (Hons) Architecture: Dissertation ESALA - 2018
Preface
Abstract
List of figures
Abbreviations
Introduction Process A Perfect Storm
State Strategy
The Housing Crisis The Financialisation of Housing Population Growth The Sub-Saharan African Context Johannesburg Defining ‘Homelessness’ 7.
A Note on Informality & its Surrounding Myths Top-down Strategic Intervention A World Class African City The Contestation of Space Power & Control
Everyday Tactics
13.
Torre David
Johannesburg’s ‘Bad’ Buildings
Place, Space and the Manifestation of the Self Active Citizenship The Right to the City Squatting The Socio-political Agenda The Environmental Commentary Justification In Terms of the Right to the City Cooperation & Solidarity 17. 21. ‘Bad’ Buildings
Inadequate Living Conditions Inner-city Development External Support
Discussion
Conclusion References
Image References
PREFACE ABSTRACT
Visiting family living in Johannesburg’s suburbs and inner-city, has exposed me to the city’s stark contrast between wealth and poverty for a while now. Upon spending my placement semester living and working there for an urbanism practice I witnessed the widespread effects of the housing crisis. The various everyday tactics used by the city’s homeless population, especially squatting in buildings found within the postindustrial city centre, were of particular interest. I, therefore, wanted to explore squatting and its potential within the urban context in greater depth throughout the following paper.
Before proceeding, I would like to give special thanks to: Dr Penny Travlou for helping me direct my research and without whom I would be very lost, to my Mother for her unwavering support, my Father for introducing me to the city’s complex history and dynamic present, my Sister for keeping me sane and to my friends for the laughs.
This paper discusses squatting, within the urban setting of the Global South and more specifically, Johannesburg, as an everyday tactic by the homeless in order to obtain housing. It focuses particularly on whether it might be possible for the act of squatting to be better used by these homeless communities in the inner-city in order to find spaces that offer them: shelter with permanence, the opportunity to engage with wider society and an empowering sense of identity.
The paper will, first of all, offer an understanding of the housing crisis on a global then more specific level, of Johannesburg. This will include key elements such as its causes, the political and social realities as well as a focused definition of what is actually meant by homelessness in the context of this paper and thus a grasp on the sorts of people affected by the crisis. Following on from this understanding, topdown and state-led strategies will be presented in order to better comprehend what is being done, and for what reasons, to tackle the the housing crisis. In addition to this, the right to the city will be unpicked to help develop a better idea of the importance of identity and sense of place for humans and how, through the act squatting, it has been used to improve the lives of the homeless in the Global South and Global North. The focus of this information provides the framework to then examine the situation of squatted buildings within Johannesburg’s inner city so as to provide a better grip on their successes and failures of the aforementioned homeless communities.
The analysis of this information will offer tangible evidence of the variety of reasons these squatter communities have not organised themselves but also as to why a more formal manifestation of squatting may not help them gain greater political mobility, to tackle their situation regarding adequate housing, either. The paper opens the discussion up to how as a result of their highlighted situation, dramatic change in the economic and political approach to urbanisation might be explored with a greater emphasis on other sectors of informality.
LIST OF FIGURES
Cover Image
Fig.1
Fig.2
Fig.3
Fig.4
Fig.5
Fig.6 Fig.7
Fig.8
Fig.9
View, looking north, of Joe Slovo Drive from Ponte City Apartments.
Alternative accommodation for squatters evicted from Johannesburg’s inner-city.
Guarded gateway with tall walls and electric fencing.
Greco-Roman inspired gatehouse and walls; an ostentatious demonstration of wealth.
“Belong Here”…but only if you can afford to.
Street in Parkhurst, Johannesburg with no pavements or activity in sight. All life takes place behind the security of walls.
Corner of Jeppe Street in Little Addis, Johannesburg. Commercial and social activity not only takes place within shops but also spills out onto the streets.
Profile of Torre David.
Aerial view of Caracas displaying the clear spatial separation of the formal city and the extensive informal settlements.
A basketball court offers the residents an opportunity to form and strengthen social relationships. Note the care taken to paint the columns.
Fig.10
Fig.11
Fig.12
Fig.13
Fig.14
Fig.15
Fig.16
Fig.17
A small church offers residents communal space to come together in a shared identity.
Self-made partitions were erected by residents to provide privacy and a sense of personal identity.
Proposed retrofit of Torre David.
Malawian migrants making shoes in an overcrowded bedroom.
A harsh reality for many squatters. Poor sanitation and non-existent utilities is common in many bad buildings throughout Johannesburg’s inner-city.
The dilapidated and abused entrance to Dark City.
Improvised wiring illegally takes electricity from the city grid. It is dangerous and often causes fires: many of which are deadly.
Facade of the renovated low-income Beverley Towers, formerly known as Dark City.
Central Business District
African National Congress (South Africa’s governing political party)
Reconstruction and Development Programme
Johannesburg Development Agency
Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Council
Statistics South Africa
The Centre for Applied Legal Studies
The Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa
Cooperativa de Vivienda Caciques de Venezuela
Sustainable Development Goals
Urban-Think Tank
Médecins Sans Frontières
INTRODUCTION PROCESS
In a continually urbanising world, the trend in urban population growth and physical expansion is not expected to stop. By 2050, the population in urban areas is predicted to swell towards 2.5 billion people, of which, 90% will be in Asia and Africa (King et al., 2017, p.7). However, with a rapidly increasing population comes a rapid increase in the demand and, thus, affordability of adequate housing. This is particularly pressing in the Global South (Florida and Schneider, 2018) where despite an overall decline in the proportion of urban dwellers living in informal housing since 1990, the number of people has continued to rise (King, 2017). However, rather than focusing on the informal settlements produced by housing crises, it is the squatters outside of even this sphere, and their methods of informality, that this paper focuses on.
With this in mind, the paper’s aim is to look at the current standing of squatting and whether it could be better used as a tactic by those on Johannesburg’s societal peripheries to find what one might consider a home. To do this, homeless squatters in the inner-city are used as a specific case study due to their distinct relationship with the City, which is characterised by inequality and globalisation.
Needless to say, the paper does not hope to solve the global housing crisis through its analysis or critique of capitalism and the society it has created. However, the paper hopes to provide a better understanding of the tactics used by Johannesburg’s homeless to gain both a more honest answer as to who they are and how they might inform solutions, thereby helping to reduce the impact of the housing crisis. This is achieved by analysing how they fit into a context of informality within the city’s distinct landscape that is all too dictated by neoliberal political ideology. It uses the notion of the right to the city and research undertaken on and by squatters in Venezuela and the European movements as a theoretical framework with which to penetrate the act of squatting by the homeless in Johannesburg.
By splitting the paper into the following parts, one will gain a contextualised understanding of the issues faced by the city’s homeless communities and how they might combatted them. It initially looks at the causes and consequences of the housing crisis generally, then with specific focus directed at South Africa and Johannesburg. Following on from this, existing research on the problem of the homeless for the State and
the elite will be presented so as to scrutinise the state-led strategies that attempt to solve the crisis. While contextualising the issue of homelessness, it is also accompanied by a discussion on the importance of identity and selfexpression explained through an understanding of the right to the city. Torre David (Tower of David) is proposed as a model example of the potential, squatter communities can have with adequate internal organisation, despite their segregation from mainstream society. Johannesburg’s inner-city squatted buildings are then offered as a case study that explores the reality of homelessness and the current state of squatting as an everyday tactic.
From this, the discussion focuses on how a political voice and notions such as the right to the city might be invoked through better cooperation and organisation of squatter communities in order to provide themselves with housing. It becomes apparent, however, that, when examined with the city’s current conditions, a more organised manifestation of squatting, although successful in other locations, does not provide an applicable system of informality in Johannesburg.
The majority of research forming the body of this paper revolves around that of prominent scholars and concentrates on qualitative and quantitative research. As secondary research it draws on their information in order to best provide this paper with evidenced conclusions from reputable sources. A few sources are taken from within the latter half of the 20th century and early 2000s. The reasons for doing so are two-fold. Firstly, much of the focus, surrounding informality and urbanisation of the Global South, took place initially in Latin America during the 1950s and 60s. Second, a lot of scholarship was undertaken to investigate democratic South Africa after the fall of apartheid in 1994. Yet, the text aims to use recent and contemporary sources so as to best present current ideas and information. Case studies are used in order to provide concrete evidence to support much of the theoretical framework offered earlier in the text. The case studies utilise qualitative data to provide a more organic understanding of their workings whilst also using interpreted quantitative data to accurately evidence assertions.
There is a degree of primary research included through the incorporation of one’s own photographs taken when living in Johannesburg. They present a first-hand experience of the city, which offers the reader an assurance of grounding and personal knowledge of activities presented within the document. However, due to the circumstances of not being able to write this in close proximity to its focus, the investigation was limited in the primary data (quantitative or qualitative) that could be used to evidence arguments. Primary research such as interviews and surveys would have been able to present a collection of information that was more direct and focused on this specific research question. However, the paper attempts to try and collate as much relevant information from previous studies to negate this issue. Indeed, video documentaries have also been utilised in order to provide data as close to primary interviews as possible.
It is critical to note that due to the high use of secondary research there is a risk of agendas effecting the information, especially in news articles. The process undertaken has tried to discern these biases from fact and the personal views of the actual participants being studied as best as possible so as not to invalidate the conclusions drawn towards the end of the paper.
A PERFECT STORM
The Housing Crisis
Access to good affordable housing is a very important factor in relation to human well-being (King et al., 2017, p.2) for a variety of reasons not least because it allows for the creation of healthy and prosperous communities. However, the term ‘affordable housing’ does not directly translate from country to country. Therefore, as suggested by Fishman it should be defined as the sustainable balance between household income and the housing cost (2018, p.29). With questions arising as to what the term good constitutes in relation to so many different peoples, for the purposes of this research, it will be defined within the urban context. It has been suggested that financial security must be provided as well as the physical security of shelter (King et al., 2017, p.2). Although true, this definition does not go far enough as it fails to incorporate crucial aspects that contribute to well-being such as services, the opportunity for civic interaction and social development.
In 2015, Perry reports that there were officially 863 million slum dwellers across the globe, which was likely to be closer to 1.3 billion people. In response to such high levels of sub-standard housing, the UN-Habitat’s SDG’s aim to enable the creation of good affordable housing to everyone by 2030. However, this target appears to be ever more unachievable given predicted figures placing numbers of people living in slums at over 2 billion by 2050 (2015) and with no signs of the housing crisis improving. Thus, as highlighted by Fields and Hopkinson, although the term crisis “evokes the sudden suspension of the normal functioning of a system”, in actual fact, the housing crisis has become the norm: entailing greater overcrowding that results in worsened living conditions, displacement of vast numbers of people and thus greater numbers of homeless people (2018, after Roitman, 2014, p.1). What has caused these conditions?
The Financialisation of Housing
Increased globalisation has enabled the “unprecedented dominance of financial markets and corporations in the housing sector” that has led to what is commonly named, the financialisation of housing (United Nations, 2017, p.3). As a result, it would appear that the housing crisis is not so much an abnormality anymore, but rather a core component of today’s
rapidly urbanising world (Florida and Schneider, 2018). The strain on housing provision is not surprising however, given around half of the world’s population live in cities (Perry, 2015). Yet, it is the Global South that is most effected by the housing crisis due to the disproportionate growth of land and property values in relation to wages that continues to affect the working and middle classes (Florida and Schneider, 2018). Indeed, as 90% of the world’s urban population growth is predicted to come from Asia and Africa (King et al., 2017, p.7), the Global South will continue to suffer the most.
The ongoing development of housing financialisation is very much in-line with economic policies of nations around the world as well as international organisations, such as the World Bank. Underpinning their policies is the mantra asserting that; if unregulated, the capitalist system will be able to provide housing in a more efficient manner than any government, just like any other commodity (Fishman, 2018, p.24). Despite the evidence clearly demonstrating otherwise, many countries in the Global South continue to ignore the needs of impoverished and indigenous communities by selling their land to developers who, in turn, displace these people through the clearance of their settlements (United Nations, 2017, pp.13-15). The direct effect of such unfettered commodification of housing is the disparity between the increase in housing and land value compared to incomes the world over (Fields and Hodkinson, 2018, p.1). The most extreme examples of this are seen in the developing cities of the Global South where rents can reach over 200% as a share of a person’s income (Florida and Schneider, 2018). The disconnect is exacerbated by the growth of postindustrial urbanity that is no longer able to support the working class (Florida and Schneider, 2018).
The housing crisis’ greater impact on the poorest in society sees these people pushed to the periphery of neighborhoods or completely displaced from them (Florida and Schneider, 2018). Crucially, displacement is not only an issue for individuals, but also for cities as a whole, because intricate social networks and labor markets, dependent on those living within the urban environment, can no longer function (King, 2017).
Population Growth
Other than a lack of affordability, local population growth as well as migration to these urban areas fuel the growing housing crisis (King et al., 2017, p.9). To date, supply-driven, mass housing developments have failed to provide enough of both good and affordable housing to feed the influx and growth of the urban population (King et al., 2017, p.12). The commodification of housing causes much of the high-end housing in cities commonly to be left vacant (King et al., 2017, p.6): used as assets for the wealthy rather than the provision of shelter for the homeless.
Often in response to that assertion it is declared that cities must simply build more houses in order to satisfy their growing demand. However, it is more complex than this as the provision of housing must also take quality, location and surrounding infrastructure, like transport, into account as, without these attributes, the prevailing issues will not be resolved but simply moved to another area (Harding, 2018). As was rightly highlighted by King et al., in replying to statistics that suggest the proportion of the global population that live in slums is less than it was in 1990, they refer to the fact that the total number of slum inhabitants has, in fact, grown substantially (2017, p.2).
Even within informal communities such as slums or townships, there are complexities surrounding land rights and land ownership, which prevents state intervention and certain people gaining housing (Perry, 2015). These people are very often women, those of an ethnic minority or migrants, many of whom lack legal identification and an address (King et al., 2017, p.9). Thus, for some, informal settlements are not even an option and so alternative solutions must be created. It is particularly with these homeless groups in mind that this paper investigates squatting in Johannesburg’s inner-city.
The Sub-Saharan African Context
Focusing more specifically on Sub-Saharan Africa, one can see a dramatic increase in the extent of urban areas throughout the latter half of the 20th Century up until now, with a continued increase in migration of people from rural to urban areas: the defining aspect of what is predicted to be a continued growth of urban populations (Jenkins, 2013, p.13). This has
largely been brought about as a result of limited economic investment in rural areas. Despite the focus of capital investment in urban centres, distribution of wealth has not occurred and thus the social benefits such as employment to match the demand of the increasing population has not been seen either. Instead, the predominantly elite-run governments have tended to engage with the more politically engaged classes, which has resulted in a lack of investment in the needs of the urban poor (Jenkins, 2013, p.14). The reasons as to why the urban poor are viewed as politically disengaged are varied but may result from political and economic motivations trying to disempower them. In tandem, the aforementioned systems of neoliberalism advocated by the World Bank’s Structural Adjustment program have led to: heightened individualism, fewer welfare programs and deregulated property markets (Bayat, 2004, pp.79-80).
Johannesburg
Apartheid South Africa’s transition to democracy was heavily entwined with a neoliberal economic restructuring which initially entailed the movement away from industry and the subsequent loss of over 1 million formal sector jobs. Massive unemployment and a reliance on temporary, casual labor ensued (Clarno, 2008, pp.167-168). This transition also witnessed the northward movement of capital away from Johannesburg’s CBD. Critically, employment followed and increased the distance for large populations of people, dependent on that income, to travel (Clarno, 2008, p.178). Furthermore, property development has become far less regulated and more privatised (Beall et al., 2002, p.8) in an attempt to remain globally competitive (Murray, 2011, p.5). The movement has left housing construction near enough under the control of “unfettered market forces” (Murray, 2011, p.9): a system, as already seen, that is incapable of providing good affordable housing to those who need it most.
As mentioned earlier, waning rural investment has caused deepening rural poverty in South Africa and the resultant movement of people to Johannesburg (Clarno, 2008, p.179). Edward Popko, the eminent photojournalist, notes:
“the city has created the illusion of providing jobs and opportunities for all… the only initial
change for the migrant is an urbanisation of his poverty…, many of the urban poor resort to illegal means of finding housing. They become squatters.” (Roy, 2004, p.290)
Johannesburg likewise offers up an image of a better life but in actual fact for the majority such aspirations, even as basic as that of adequate shelter, are never realised. Therefore, thanks to the movement of businesses and capital from the CBD and-inner city, buildings left abandoned and in disrepair were moved into and commonly repurposed by the urban poor to provide accommodation (Emdon, 2003, p.227).
Enshrined in the South African constitution is “the right to have access to adequate housing” (Republic of South Africa, 1996). Despite this, it seems as though the right is superficial. Clarno, highlighted in 2008 that with the ANC only building around 12,000 housing units per year in the City of Johannesburg, demand has outstripped supply (2008, p.179 after Landsberg, 2005, p.35): increasing rents and displacing more individuals. The increased privatisation of housing and public space has not only forced groups of homeless people to fend for themselves but has also made it harder to do so (Murray, 2011, p.21). Unremarkably, the people forced to find shelter, by squatting in derelict buildings, then come into contact with the law. This is no small problem as in 1999 it was estimated that the number of homeless people in Johannesburg’s population was around 5,000 (Emdon, 2003, p.227 after Emdon et al., 1999). Due to a lack of available reliable data one can only presume, with the evidence given, that this number has substantially increased.
Defining ‘Homelessness’
Before carrying on any further it would be worth defining what this paper means by homeless because, as has been contended by various scholars, it shapes the way one interacts with them (Tipple and Speak, 2005, p.337). Johannesburg’s homeless are often negatively portrayed given the mutual exclusivity between poverty and the image of the world-class city (Cross et al., 2010, p.18) (something that will be discussed in more depth later on). As a result, no matter the definition, the homeless form part of the city’s population that is neither integrated in the social nor economic mainstream of society (Olufemi, 1998, p.226).
Although the GJMC does refer to homelessness, amongst other aspects, as lacking both shelter and security of tenure, it is predominantly
presented locationally, describing (Tipple and Speak, 2005, p.343) rather than offering, an actual understanding of the situations. Cooper rightly argues that such definitions are too simplistic or fail to appreciate the nuanced nature of homelessness (Cooper, 1995, p.3). Some scholars like Dupont deliberately avoid using the term ‘homeless’ because the additional social element not only complicates the issue but many people without shelter in urban areas do have economic and social assets elsewhere. In her research of Delhi, she found that these were typically rural locations (Dupont, 2000, p.111). However, one should appreciate the immediacy of social connections as being important. As suggested by Edgar et al. social exclusion should be seen as integral to the concept of homelessness (1999, p.2). This is not to say that more distant social connections are not important but rather to accept that strong social relationships or ties are needed close at hand to produce a home. Therefore, Johannesburg’s homeless appear to not only lack long-term shelter with security of tenure but also the associated social nature of having a home.
STATE STRATEGY
A Note on Informality and Its Surrounding Myths
Johannesburg’s homeless population fit into the wider context of informality that can be seen throughout much of South Africa and the Global South. Informality can be defined by “that which is not identified, measured, regulated, or legalised by the state” and, within the urban landscape, refers to the economic or social activities of these communities (Jenkins, 2013, p.18). Informality, in the urban context at least, is the direct result of globalisation and the liberalisation of economic markets (AlSayyad, 2004, p.26) caused by dominant neoliberal thought. This is certainly the case in South Africa, which witnessed the flourishing of informality in urban areas as a result of the economic transformation of the country as it transitioned from apartheid to democracy (Beall et al., 2002, p.8). There is substantial evidence suggesting that informality is simply a growing and, already, integral part of the modern world (Jenkins, 2013, p.18) and should, therefore, have its benefits incorporated into mainstream society (AlSayyad and Roy, 2004, p.2).
Much of what has been written on informality depicts a system completely separate to formal society used by “the impoverished masses” in a response to “the state’s incapacity to satisfy [their] basic needs” as explained by De Soto (Roy, 2005, p.148). This separation is criticised by Roy who views informality as simply another form of urbanisation (2005, p.148). This view helps inform the paper’s perspective of the importance of investigating Johannesburg’s homeless situation. Rather than approaching it as a problem to be fixed, it may be better to look at it in a way that helps improve an inevitable situation.
Furthermore, the concept of informality has often gone hand in hand with that of marginality and what has been termed a ‘culture of poverty’. Perlman argued that such myths are presented by, and directed at, specific groups of people in order to present informality as a system completely deviant to recognised social norms in an attempt to gain support for their own political, economic and social agendas. She extends her criticism by highlighting the lack of empirical evidence in support of these myths (1979, p.258). Similarly, Bayat contends that the myth of marginality should be seen as a method of disguising economic exploitation, social stigmatisation, cultural exclusion and political
repression of a vast group of people that are in fact integral components of society (AlSayyad, 2004, p.9). This can be witnessed by the informal recycling of rubbish that takes place throughout Johannesburg, for example.
Under the remit of informality, Johannesburg’s homeless are distinct from those living in settlements. In the inner-city the high demand for jobs has caused settlements to become extremely dense and relatively expensive, which has subsequently forced many to search for alternative forms of accommodation (Cross et al., 2010, p.16) in the form of abandoned buildings.
Top-down, Strategic Intervention
Due to the ANC’s adoption of a neoliberal economic system, it has been argued that autonomous and vibrant civil society in Johannesburg has been completely displaced and forced to the city’s periphery (Heller, 2003, pp.155-156), making it very hard for community engagement to help resolve issues such as homelessness. Instead, the South African Government initially engaged in the RDP, which includes housing provision (Wilkinson, 1998, p.224), but has evidently not been able to accommodate its supply with the demand.
The JDA have equally failed many of the innercity’s residents. It has embarked on a program of inner-city development focusing on commerce and industry rather than focusing on housing and the basic needs of many residents who moved into the city after the abandonment of racial segregation laws and apartheid (Clarno, 2008, p.178). Clarno has suggested that contemporary reclamation of the inner-city form the working class and unemployed is simply another form of gentrification (2008, p.178). It can be seen throughout Johannesburg. The formally abandoned buildings that were moved into and squatted by the homeless are now increasingly being evicted. The landmark case of Government of the Republic of South Africa and Others v Grootboom and Others essentially demonstrated the government’s requirement to undertake steps to provide alternative accommodation to a group of evicted squatters (2000). This is unfortunately rather vague as ‘taking steps’ to provide accommodation does not demand any immediacy and thus does not solve the problem. In the cases where ‘adequate accommodation’ is supposedly provided it is very often quite
the opposite. Tents on the City’s periphery are a far cry from what should be deemed as an acceptable alternative (Figure 1).
Although written in 1977, Ellis et al.’s comment on squatter settlements in the Western cape offers a highly relevant commentary on state strategy in response to Johannesburg’s homeless today.
“…past and present planning has been unable to deal with the squatter problem because it has taken insufficient account of the forces in operation…directed primarily towards the treatment of symptoms and not the eradication of causes…” (p.94)
What can be confirmed is that Johannesburg’s homeless are a product of the failure of state politics to move from that of anti-apartheid mobilisation to the development of sustainable societal infrastructure (Tonge, 2009).
A World-class African City
As has already been demonstrated, a large swathe of the Johannesburg’s population is classified as belonging to the urban poor. Equally, there are large numbers of the middle and upper classes who are actively engaged in globalisation and have substantial influence on the GJMC’s image of what the city must be (Beall et al., 2002, p.7). Influenced by the view that formal economic activity is what will best enable them to provide for the interests of the city1 (Cross et al. 2010, p.8) the homeless and urban poor are displaced to the city’s periphery where there is little access to employment and infrastructure (Emdon, 2003, p.229).
The Contestation of Space
The spaces inhabited by the homeless such as public areas or abandoned buildings can be understood using Foucault’s work on heterotopias. Although often vague, the framework he proposed successfully explains society’s unease towards them. Despite being real, heterotopias appear inherently other within the formal urban context (Foucault and Miskowiec, 1986, p.27). They mirror what surrounds them and in so doing, contest and upset it (Boyer, 2008, pp.54-55). Spaces inhabited by the homeless can be understood as ‘heterotopias of deviation’ given their aberration from societal norms (Foucault and Miskowiec, 1986, p.25). This idea of deviance can be adapted through an understanding of Michel Foucault’s concept of transgression that disputes established norms by crossing the boundaries of law and conduct (Mosley and Sara, 2013, p.15) and, as a consequence, becomes a clandestine act.
1 In this instance, ‘interests’ refers to Johannesburg’s ambition of becoming a world class city from the perspective of neoliberal globalisation
Furthermore, transgression has also been related to concepts of nomadism (Doron, n.d.), which provides another effective lens through which to understand the issue homelessness poses to the state and the elite. It offers a unique social and political standing that raises many issues related to power structures (Pinder, 2012, p.222). On the other hand, it is extremely important not to use this as a way of romanticising their situation as it is very often a result of force or necessity (Deleuze and Guattari, 1988, p.381). In rejecting “traditional categories” and “orders of scale” (Weissman, 2007) the nomad is associated with wandering and being stateless; it is often
Fig.1 Alternative accommodation for evicted squatter from Johannesburg’s inner-city.
utilised in understanding cities and the fears and insecurities within them (Pinder, 2012, p.221).
Much of informality’s perceived political threat (Bayat, 2004, p.82) can arguably be associated with the notions of heterotopias, transgression and nomadism. Scholarly thought had frequently connected the “frustrated and disillusioned” migrant with “political violence and extremism” despite there being almost no supporting evidence (Nelson, 1970, p.386). With regards to Johannesburg, a similar analogy between the homeless and criminality is often espoused. It is all too often unappreciated that:
“economic poverty is not a poverty of values but a fact of birth… it’s the luck of the draw that you don’t end up poor. You learn poor people are like you and me. You get to know them and respect them.” (Dean, 2002, p.3).
Power & Control
Johannesburg’s social divisions can be clearly seen manifested as spatial representations of the distribution of wealth and, thus, power. This culminates in the social exclusion of the urban poor. As a term, social exclusion has been argued to be a mere renaming of poverty as a method of drawing one’s attention away from the effects of neoliberal economic processes (Beall, 2002, p.44). Now, although this point of view accurately assigns poverty and inequality as direct effects of economic forces around the globe, the disregard of social exclusion as a term is premature, at least in the context of Johannesburg.
For Foucault, exclusion is cyclical and a seemingly inevitable part of society. He states, “The game of exclusion would be played again…” (Foucault, 2006, p.6) in his referral to the role of the vagrant that was once played by the ostracised leper (Peters and Besley, 2014, pp.99-100). His work is concerned with the ways in which power is exerted onto populations in order to either subjugate those who are seen as other or to normalise them (Boyer, 2008, p.63). Carried out through social constructs normalisation separates society into normal and abnormal, human or less than human (Peters and Besley, 2014, p.101). He asks:
“Through what system of exclusion, by eliminating whom, by creating what division, through what game of negation and rejection can society begin to function?” (Simon, 1991, p.28).
Despite being reinforced by institutional discourse, he held the belief that exclusion is spatial (Peters and Besley, 2014, p.103) and contended that individuals in society are “subjugated by disguised networks of power” (Boyer, 2008 after Seigel, 1990). Figures 2, 3 and 4 depict the insular housing compounds of Johannesburg’s suburbs. The walls, built to protect residents from perceived external threats convey a dialogue of us and them, of exclusivity and of social segregation. They can be seen to be the physical embodiment of the social and political realities of inequality as suggested by Walter Benjamin (Murray, 2011, p.207). The vibrancy of Johannesburg’s street life is something that has been all but lost in the city suburbs (Figures 5 and 6). With increased privatisation, public space will become no more than a passageway for movement, losing its role as a facilitator of disorder and interaction (Lefebvre, 2003, pp.18-20). As Richard Rogers stated:
“The physical and intellectual accessibility of the public domain is a litmus test of society’s values: inclusive and thriving public spaces foster tolerance and radical thought.” (1997, p.152).
Fig.2 Guarded gateway with tall walls and electric fencing.
Fig.3 Greco-Roman inspired gatehouse and walls; an ostentatious demonstration of wealth.
Fig.6 Corner of Jeppe Street in Little Addis, Johannesburg. Commercial and social activity not only takes place within shops but also spills out onto the streets.
Fig.4 “Belong Here”…but only if you can afford to.
Fig.5 Street in Parkhurst, Johannesburg with no pavements of activity in sight. All life takes place behind the security of walls.
EVERYDAY TACTICS
Place, Space and the Manifestation of the Self
As a result of these top-down governmental interventions, the urban poor remain unseen and unheard as they are not trusted with any autonomy or investment to improve their own situation (Perry, 2015). Consequently, citizens must somehow become engaged with the very city they live and develop means of resistance to social injustices.
In order to do so, one’s identity is crucial in the resistance of power structures within the urban realm. One way this can be expressed is through the house as expression of the self, which as suggested by Cooper is what makes each individual unique. Exploring this further, she argues that in rationalising the world, humans express one’s self in physical form through the appropriation of existing objects (1974, p.168). Through its physical interior and exterior, the house enables the human to express their own inner identity and that which is presented to the outside world (Cooper, 1974, p.169). By permitting this expression, citizens gain an assured identity and want to belong within the wider urban context (Chermayeff and Alexander, 1966, p.55). It is from this logic that the concept of the house and identity being a necessity to everyone, including Johannesburg’s homeless, can be seen. Indeed, in places of extreme hostility, perceived or real, this necessity of privacy and protection is emphasised even more (Cooper, 1974, p.170). This can certainly be seen, with Johannesburg’s wealthy but insular suburbs. How are the City’s homeless able to achieve this assurance of identity?
Identity is also expressed through one’s place within society. As with its older meaning, the word ‘place’ carried more political emphasis and was used in relation to ones location within the social context (Hayden, 1995, p.82). Thus, as Hayden highlights, space or rather the enforced limitations on space have been a sure way to control all aspects of society, whether it be economic, political or social (1995, p.83). With this, one can comprehend how one’s place, dictated by space creates a specific identity of the self
Active Citizenship
The strategic interventions and continued urbanisation of Johannesburg presented above
demonstrate that:
“In reality, the bourgeoisie has only one method of solving the housing question after its fashionthat is to say, of solving it in such a way that the solution perpetually renews the question anew…” (Harvey, 2013, p. 23 after Engels, 1872)
Therefore, in response to such failure, it would seem as though the only option left to the urban poor is for them to take matters into their own hands. South Africa’s complete transformation to a democratic nation state supposedly saw the attainment of all three aspects of citizenship: civil, political and social participation for all (Emdon, 2003, p.215). Emdon proposed that in actual fact the social aspect, in the form of welfare and social services for example, has not been realised. Instead, the increasing privatisation of economic power and space have limited the access to this component of citizenship for many (Emdon, 2003, p.215). It could even be suggested that in a similar manner some South African citizens are passively restricted in terms of their access to political participation, although not formally deprived of the right. This is achieved again through strategic policies that have had drastic effects on individual and community identities including what has been described as a “deficit in belonging” by Gotz and Simone, where citizens no longer have traditional spaces in which to feel at home with strong social networks (2003, p.145). This ensures that there is minimal political engagement from certain groups.
Desired forms of citizenship and participation can be engaged through prompts from those in power such as the state or the elite (Beall et al., 2002, p.22 after Levi, 1996). However, in order to actively engage in citizenship, independent from institutional frameworks, Putnam argues that social capital must be in abundance (Beall et al., 2002, p.22 after Putnam, 1993). Social capital attempts to evoke a notion of community engrained with a philosophy of trust and symbiotic systems of social interactions that are developed over time (Beall et al., 2002, p.22). Beall et al. criticise Putnam’s idea that social capital could force the Government to engage in spite of Johannesburg’s “rich and varied civil society” (2002, p.22). In so doing, they fail to acknowledge the inherent importance of this diversity in generating horizontal ties2 for the urban poor (Heller, 2003, pp.155-156 after Cheery et al., 2000). In support of this is the work on informality by Bayat, which demonstrates
that communities may not actively participate in a state’s political system but are still highly engaged citizens who take part or organise religious organisations, squatter support groups and child care to name a few (Bayat, 2004, p.84). Notwithstanding the fact that these communities are perhaps politically restricted, directly or indirectly, Bayat contends that resistance to power structures can be found on the micro-level through the everyday actions of communities (2004, p.86).
The Right to the City
With respect to the ideas of citizenship, participation and identity one must incorporate the right to the city, a seminal concept of Henri Lefebvre, into the discussion because it offers insight into why Johannesburg’s homeless should take their own situations into their own hands. Even though Lefebvre’s conceptualisation of the right to the city provides one with a good foundation surrounded by a complex understanding of the city, it does not delve deep enough. Nonetheless, when read alongside the texts of David Harvey, the supplementary developments help to unpack its true meaning and importance.
Given that the city is produced through the individual and collective actions of its residents and that in return it shapes one’s own identity, the right to the city is much more than just access. It is the right to alter the city in the image of one’s own needs and wants (Harvey, 2003, p.939). Recounting Marx, Harvey notes, “Between equal rights…force decides”. Everyone is entitled to the right to the city, but it is those with power however, who decide how to alter the urban environment. Accordingly, as can be seen with the ongoing process of urbanisation, the capitalist elite have appropriated its premise in order to, rather ironically, champion the rights to private property instead (Harvey, 2003, p.940). In this way, Harvey argues that the right to the city is falling further into the control of the elite, which is allowing these groups to express their own desires by determining the distribution of surplus capital in the form of urbanisation (2008, pp.3738). Thereupon, if this is allowed to happen, cities become more segregated and “ghettoised” (Harvey, 2003, p.940) along economic lines that inevitably have greater consequences on the urban poor. This can be seen in the streets of Johannesburg, especially in the Northern
suburbs, that have abandoned urban3 life in favor of a “forced and fixed segregation” (Lefebvre, 2003, p.18).
Lefebvre argues that the city should be the oeuvre, defined as value for human use, rather than a product defined by its exchange value. Contemporary economic production has destroyed the city as oeuvre, commodifying it and turning it into exchange value (1996, pp.66-68) as can be seen with housing financialisation and speculation. The reason this is so important is that, as Lefebvre affirms, humans have certain needs that must be fulfilled other than consumable products, particularly the need for creative engagement (1996, p.147). Subsequently, one must advocate for greater democratic control of urbanisation (Harvey, 2008, p.37) so that the city returns to the oeuvre: embodied by the right to the city as an allencompassing right to freedom, participation as well as individual expression where one resides (Lefebvre, 1996, p.174). To summarise, the right to the city is really a right to change oneself using the city as a means of doing so (Harvey, 2008, p.23). It supports a fairer and more democratic distribution of surplus capital in order for everyone to benefit from a more equitable expression of urbanisation.
The concern one might have is with the method of how to achieve this. Harvey argued that the disenfranchised urban poor must gain power through political mobilisation (2003, p.941). This appears rather blasé, only stating what must be done without any indication of how to do it. There is perhaps too much faith placed in general terms, akin to ‘mobilisation’, with little evidence to support them. Nonetheless, the right to the city extends a valuable framework to support various forms of grassroots activism like Bayat’s theory of quiet encroachment. It suggests a system of actions like tapping municipal electricity poles. By doing so the urban poor challenge the power structures of the elite or the state and their associated negative impacts on public space and access to basic services (2004, pp.90-91).
2 Horizontal ties are social relationships within communities on an equal level rather than an unequal power balance between the state and citizen for example (Martínez, 2018).
3 Urban refers to Lefebvre’s definition of a place of interaction and social encounter (Lefebvre, 2003, p.18; 1996, p.158).
Squatting
“Tradition states that where there is a need, there is a right.” (Martínez et al. 2014a, p.28).
Thus, if there is a need for housing then there is a right to it. This right is all too often ignored or overpowered. Squatting in the sense of dwelling in abandoned or unused buildings is used as a tactic in response to this contravention. As a transgressive act it pushes at the boundaries of architecture: challenging the nature of public and private space in order to provoke a change in the established behavior of the urban realm (Mosley and Sara, 2013, p.15). By making a fundamental claim to satisfy the right to housing one might suggest that it makes a more general claim to satisfy social needs, in the vein of the right to the city (Martínez et al. 2014a, p.28).
The Socio-political Agenda
Synonymous with “emergent countercultures” and “radical ideologies” (Guzman-Concha, 2015, p.197), squatting, although in the immediate sense satisfies a right to housing, is simultaneously political (Martínez et al. 2014a). That is not to say, however, that there cannot be a separation. Indeed, squatting out of desperation is often unnoticed and only discovered in retrospect whereas political squatters often document and record occupations (Bliss, 2017) in order to overtly politicise their actions. Martínez et al. contend that squatting predominantly offers a “radical critique” of capitalist society including “private property, housing shortages, urban speculation, the commodification of culture and the authoritarian background of representative democracy”. In so doing, it directly challenges government policy (2014b, p.213). Yet in reality, squatting, as a political movement, will not revolutionise society’s current condition but instead is a political act of defiance against it (Martínez et al., 2014a, p.35).
Political squatting has its roots in many European countries where it exists till this day, occasionally garnering left-leaning political support. Barcelona’s mayor, Ada Colau, in her 2014 election campaign, committed to ending evictions from unused buildings, arguing that it is in fact criminal for them to be left unused when so many are in need of shelter (O’Sullivan, 2014). Various French politicians offered their support in response to Jeudi Noir’s squatting of a Parisian building, specifically chosen to highlight global property speculation4. Eric Coquerel of Parti de Gauche5 said, “I support them because I believe
they show what the government should do” and Manuel Valls, the then Interior Minister, said the occupants were “not outside the law, because housing is a right under the law” (Feldman, 2013). Uitermark credits Amsterdam’s squatter movement, in part, to making the city more “just and egalitarian”. He still suggests that such movements will only be successful if they ring true with a government’s agenda and can, at the very most, only prompt governments to rethink (2003, p.227, p.242).
The Environmental Commentary
The act of squatting also offers a commentary on the environmental state of the city. Cities built on industrialisation, vast capital and physical resources have completely destroyed or, at the very least, dramatically changed natural ecosystems and social systems that once existed as well as causing great harm to the people who depended on them (Di Mauro and Cattaneo, 2014, p.166). As a result, they can now be seen migrating to these very places. In terms of social sustainability, squatting demonstrates how power is unequally distributed in society and also between societies across the world (Di Mauro and Cattaneo, 2014, p.168). It, in response, represents a way of using the wasted space that embodies wasted energy, labour and infrastructure caused by liberalised regulations in development (Martínez et al. 2014b, p.216). Bliss puts forth a very pertinent point, saying that squatting’s very nature displays no capitalist drive to generate surplus product but rather to distribute space in a more sustainable way (2017).
Justification in Terms of the Right to the City
Martínez et al. contend that squatters do not represent the interests of any other party apart from those unable to gain access to the formal housing system (2014, p.30 (a)). They further this argument, referencing Lefebvre in that the right to the city allows for the appropriation of everyday day spaces in order for those excluded
4 The unused office building is owned by 3 non-French businesses: one from Holland, two from Majorca (Feldman, 2013).
5 A politically left-leaning party in France (translated to Party of the Left)
in society to carve their own space within the urban landscape (Martínez et al. 2014b, p.214). In line with this logic is its importance for the migrant who at the national level is refused citizenship but through their assertion of the right to the city is able to create a political voice on the micro-level (Maestri, 2018, p.170). However, this perspective is rather insular and fails to appreciate that the right to the city is not an individual but a common right (Harvey, 2008, p.23). Therefore, one can actually understand squatting as an act that seems to initially only benefit the homeless but is an act that really benefits the whole of society and is done in its collective interests. This is because it implores society to become fairer and, from a moral standpoint, more decent in the purest form of the word; something that is intuitively good.
Cooperation & Solidarity
Cooperation and solidarity appear to be extremely important to the success of squatting movements, as it perhaps demonstrates a belonging within systems of formality. Throughout its inception and progression, the squatting movement brought together many young people from across Europe who were able to cooperate thanks to shared experiences of exclusion from areas of society like: employment, housing and creativity. This collective experience enabled the extensive distribution of philosophy, ideas and action related to squatting and its associated interests (Martínez, 2007, p.383). Interviewing Alex Vasudevan, Bliss is told that in his research the squats that were well organised, and thus effectively cooperated, managed to gain legitimacy in the context of other social movements. An example he gives is the community services, such as a nursery and communal eating, of some squats he experienced in Germany. For Vasudevan, the importance of functioning in such a way that helps to appeal to others outside of their immediate community is that it nurtures social ties with others who can provide solidarity in times of government hostility (2017).
Equally, this legitimacy is cemented through solidarity shown to other movements in return as was seen with the support of the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa by Danish Squatters (Guzman-Concha, 2015, p.197). This political engagement is crucial in the fostering of social capital (Guzman-Concha, 2015, p.198 after Minkoff, 1997) as it garners support and as a result: power with which governments can be pressured into acting. A prime example of this is
the squatted Can Vies social centre in the Sants neighbourhood of Barcelona. It became rooted in the community through cultural activities like film showings and concerts as well as directly engaging with the community by holding neighbourhood meetings and producing a newspaper. Upon its eviction, outrage led to five nights of riots and demonstrations throughout the city with the government ending the building’s demolition prematurely (Scorsby, 2017).
TORRE DAVID
Torre David (Figure 7) is perhaps one of the best examples of a highly organised and effective squatter community of homeless people who achieved a sense of identity and place within Caracas, Venezuela. They were also able to acquire shelter with relatively decent security both in terms of safety and to a degree, tenure. Due to a period of looting and crime before their occupation in 2007 (Brillembourg et all., 2013, p.33), the 6-building complex, in which the community lived at the core, had become synonymous with poverty, danger and crime (Gómez, 2014, p.219, p.56). This led to their ostracisation from the formal city (The Architecture Foundation, 2014).
Dramatic urbanisation of Venezuela began in the the 1900s due to the exploitation of petroleum resources. As seen already the rapid expansion caused a large amount of people from rural areas to migrate to the city, which led to severe socio-economic imbalances (Lieuwen et al., 2018, p.1). Crucially, natural disasters have left thousands of people homeless (Grant, 2009) who, in turn, have migrated to the capital seeking shelter and employment. The resultant informality has been estimated to contribute up to half of Caracas’ built environment (Delcas, 2011) (Figure 8). As highlighted by Justin McGuirk, much of Latin America’s social housing projects during the mid 1900’s, aimed at satisfying this urban growth, were abandoned by the increased prevalence in neoliberal politics and economics (The Architecture Foundation, 2014). Reinforcing privatisation’s aforementioned shortcomings, Venezuela was still short of 2 million houses in 2011(Cawthorne and Chinea, 2011). Hugo Chávez6 even endorsed squatting on unused private land or buildings for those in search of housing (Gómez, 2014, p.222) in a move similar to Ada Colau’s in Barcelona.
The community had, in fact, organised themselves to the extent that they formed a residents cooperative in 2009 called, CCV, which was pivotal in the establishment of a legal water and electricity connection to the city grid (Gómez, 2014, pp.16-17) and allowed them to defend their rights and interact with the rest of society with a degree of legitimacy (Gómez, 2014, p.224). Their well-established and shared experiences were the key to cooperation and obedience of the community norms (Gómez, 2014, pp.228-229). Their shared fight for housing and also the right to the city can be seen with a woman saying they “were already fighting for the common good before” (Urban-Think Tank, 2015).
Such was the shared hardship that the residents became very proud of their community and individual identities with one resident stating, in a rather Lefebvrian manner, “this is ours because we have struggled for it” (BBC Newsnight, 2014). The building features public spaces (Figures 9-10) and private spaces constructed by individual residents (Figures 11), creating considerable eclecticism over the different floors (Brillembourg et all., 2013, pp.34-35). For some, the fact that they had been allowed to occupy the abandoned financial complex demonstrated Chávez’s commitment to putting the poor’s welfare above that of corporate interest (Rosati, 2014, Cawthorne and Chinea, 2011) and can be interpreted as a display of the right to the city.
U-TT, by studying the community and tower (Saieh, 2012) proposed a retrofit (Figure 12) that aimed to raise living standards and offer greater safety and sustainability (Brillembourg et all., 2013, p.36). The tower was chosen due to the overlap of informality and mainstream norms that “shows us how bottom-up resourcefulness has the ability to address prevailing urban scarcities” (Frearson, 2014). Amongst other elements, the project proposed a façade redesign due to the residents’ desire to have a smarter outward appearance (Brillembourg et all., 2013, p. 36): an idea reminiscent of the aforementioned expression of the self.
Regardless of the feasible proposal, the government appeared to have another agenda. In a statement released by U-TT it said:
“two months after the government of Nicolas Maduro announced its intention to work with the community of Torre David to improve living conditions, it [began] a process of transformation that [began] with eviction” (Urban-Think Tank in Frearson, 2014).
The eviction entailed the relocation of many families to Cúa, a city over 50km away from Caracas (Urban-Think Tank in Frearson, 2014). Despite mixed opinions from residents (Rosati, 2014), the concerns raised by U-TT are directed towards the fact that “past failures have consistently perpetuated or exacerbated systematic poverty” (Urban-Think Tank in Frearson, 2014).
6 Hugo Chávez was President of Venezuela from 1999 to 2013 (The Telegraph, 2013)
Fig.7 Profile of Torre David.
Fig.8 Aerial view of Caracas displaying the clear spatial separation of the formal city and the extensive informal settlements.
Fig.9 A basketball court offers the residents an opportunity to form and strengthen social relationships. Note the care taken to paint the columns.
Fig.10 A small church offers residents communal space to come together in a shared identity.
Fig.11 Self-made partitions were erected by residents to provide privacy and a sense of personal identity.
Fig.12 Proposed retrofit of Torre David.
JOHANNESBURG’S BAD BUILDINGS
‘Bad’ Buildings
In a rather stark contrast to Torre David, homeless squatting has taken a more widespread and rather different form in Johannesburg’s inner-city. It occurs in the form of the appropriation of abandoned buildings that have been deemed ‘bad’ by The City of Johannesburg. They can be broadly identified by a few main characteristics that include little or a complete lack of utility services such as: sanitation, waste disposal and electricity. They are also in a state of disrepair that poses safety, fire and hygiene hazards to its residents who are overcrowded in communal living spaces (Cachalia, 2010, p.31). Statistics published by the city’s Development Planning and Urban Management department suggest that 80,000 people are affected by around some 1,300 buildings that are distinguished by this “impermeable cycle of occupation, violence and abandonment” (Johnson, 2012, p.7).
Migrants & Xenophobic Sentiment
According to SSA, just over half of Gauteng’s7 international migrant population were in search of employment from 2002-2014 (Lehohla, 2016, p.42). It is, therefore, unsurprising that many of the people living in ‘bad’ buildings are illegal immigrants in search of employment. They rarely find well paid and fair labor as they do not have the rights of a citizen (although superficial in many cases) due to their lack of legal documentation (Wood, 2017, p.103). Instead, as the documentary, Into the Shadows viscerally demonstrated, homeless migrants commonly face xenophobia, violence and exploitation (2013). It is even seen at state and elite level with the likes of the city’s current mayor, Herman Mashaba who labelled the majority of squatters as foreign, deeming them “not the responsibility of the city” (Anna, 2018). This is concerning as if such sentiment is held and espoused by the State and elite it legitimises action at the public level.
Furthermore, a report issued by MSF attributed migration, especially of Zimbabweans, to an issue of survival rather than out of economic aspiration. The report also concludes that most Zimbabwean arrivals move directly into these ‘bad’ buildings, often with young families in order to remain undetected by South African authorities who will deport them (Médecins Sans Frontières, 2011, pp.1-2).
‘Hijacked’ Buildings
The term ‘hijacked’ has become synonymous with ‘bad’ buildings and has firmly added to their association with danger and poor public perception. Hariwe (Harold Johnson), before beginning his research on Dark City8 and its community, was told, “You will come out naked if you go in there, they will take everything. they will kill you.” He subsequently formed many close relationships with its residents in the process of his research (2017, p.30). Essentially, hijacked buildings are bad buildings which are illegally controlled by “slumlords who extort money” from the residents, habitually turning them into places of drugs and prostitution (Times Live, 2017). In return, there is no security nor investment in services such as electricity, sanitation and waste disposal. They only offer shelter. This system is the only option available to many residents and thus contributes to a state of exploitation and marginalisation within society (Médecins Sans Frontières, 2011, p.1). Into the shadows, emphasises that public perception paints a very broad brush of criminality over all these buildings when, in actual fact, the majority of residents are simply destitute and forced into this system simply to survive (2013).
Inadequate Living Conditions
Investigative research into these ‘bad’ buildings has provided damning evidence of the majority having drastically substandard living conditions. Key issues, highlighted by MSF, include overcrowding (Figure 13) in subdivided spaces and a severe failure to provide sanitation and water (Figure 14): all of which contribute to the spread of disease (Médecins Sans Frontières, 2011, p.1-2). Hariwe et al. documented the fact that there was no electricity, no toilet, one sink, two flooded stories and accumulated rubbish over three floors despite almost 250 people living in Dark City (Figure 15) (2017, p.7). Fire and structural integrity to the buildings is also a notable concern as illegal electricity connections (Figure 16) have caused deadly fires (Pearce, 2006). Exemplified by the deaths of 7 people in Joahnnesburg’s Cape York Building, these situations are tragic, yet not uncommon (Royston et al., 2017). On the other hand, upon visiting Dark City, Victor noted the striking difference between the building’s circulation and external appearance compared to the community living areas which were cleanly swept for children to play demonstrating an “attempted sense of pride and order” (2017, p.100).
Inner-city Development
Whilst governmental officials recognise the “deeply inhumane and accumulated failures” of housing provision (Coz, 2017), the image of a city with, what have been called, “vertical slums” (Into the shadows, 2013) is not compatible with the theme of the world class African city. In a symptomatic occurrence, after residents were evicted, with no record of where they have been displaced, Dark City was renovated and is at present a low-income apartment block (Opper, 2017, pp.18-19) (Figure 17). CALS at Witwatersrand University contend that the real reason behind these evictions is not due to safety concerns for residents but rather to force the urban poor to the city’s periphery and make way for development (Pearce, 2006). Consequently, up to 60000 people have no security of tenure (SERI, 2013) and are always at risk of eviction (Into the shadows, 2013).
8
7 Gauteng is the province in which Joahnnesburg is located.
Dark City was a ‘bad’ building located in Doornfontein, Johannesburg.
Fig.13 Malawian migrants making shoes in an overcrowded bedroom.
Fig.14 A harsh reality for many squatters. Poor sanitation and non-existent utilities is common in many bad buildings throughout Johannesburg’s inner-city.
External Support
Community and inter-personal cooperation appear to be fairly minimal apart from minor acts such as sharing fire (Johnson, 2012, p.73). Still, formal organisation does occur and can be seen in the case of the Chung Hua Mansions community who engaged with SERI to successfully help them appeal seven evictions. It took three and a half years and eventually taking the City and Mayor to court in order to attain alternative accommodation as is their statutory right. In SERI’s documentary, The Road Home, one resident poignantly affirms the connection between knowledge and power that has allowed the community to cooperate and fight for their rights as citizens against the City (2013).
Fig.15 The dilapidated and abused entrance to Dark City.
Fig.16 Improvised wiring illegally takes electricity from the city grid. It is dangerous and often causes fires: many of which are deadly.
Fig.17 Facade of the renovated low-income Beverley Towers, formerly known as Dark City.
DISCUSSION
Johannesburg’s squatted ‘bad’ buildings provide a revealing insight into this area of informal housing that is frequently overlooked or ignored. Presented alongside an overview of Johannesburg’s housing crisis, they help demonstrate how squatting is already being used in order to provide the homeless with accommodation but also how, in reality, the action is rather limited. Five core aspects have presented themselves through analysis of existing studies, investigations and journalism.
The first reveals that the truth behind the many negative perceptions of these squatted buildings appears to be based on the existence of crime. Although it is present, many residents in the buildings have no other option or are unfairly associated with it, thereby becoming further socially ostracised (Médecins Sans Frontières, 2011, p.1). Second is, that cooperation and community engagement is fairly minimal. Although some communities, like that of Chung Hua Mansions, have engaged politically through judicial systems (SERI, 2013) there does not appear to be any community cooperatives that provide a substantial voice to interact with the state and surrounding neighbourhoods with the same degree of legitimacy as was seen with Torre David’s CCV (Gómez, 2014, p.224). Thirdly, the analysis clearly emphasises how poor the conditions within many of Johannesburg’s buildings are. Produced by criminality, found specifically in ‘hijacked’ buildings, and disrepair, the conditions people live in are extremely dangerous with structural failures, fire, hygiene issues and overcrowding being commonplace (Médecins Sans Frontières, 2011, p.1-2; Bonet, 2013). The fourth aspect is the friction between the State and the residents due to the disparity between their needs, and indeed, their right to housing and the City’s agenda of extending its globalised urban image. Finally, and most notably, however, is the situation of many migrants, which is regularly made all the more difficult without legal residence and documentation (Médecins Sans Frontières, 2011, p.1-2).
Rather than one of crime, the reality of homeless squatters is a niche within the informal sector that has been produced or rather is a process by which urbanisation is carried out (Roy, 2005, p.148). The result of Johannesburg’s ongoing urbanisation has been to “lure countless numbers of expected newcomers into its captivating
orbit” (Murray, 2011, p.1) adding to the ongoing housing crisis. The persistent perception of ‘bad’ buildings and their residents can be seen to be informed by a misunderstanding of informality through the assumption of it propagating a ‘culture of poverty’ and ‘marginality’ (Perlman, 1979, p.258). To this end, the communities appear, to mainstream society, as other in the sense that their deviance from social norms puts them in complete opposition to formality and the State; thus becoming heterotypic (Foucault and Miskowiec, 1986, p.27; Boyer, 2008, p.54). Certainly, Bayat’s idea of marginality being a term that actually denotes exploitation, disenfranchisement (AlSayyad, 2004, p.9) and repression is evident when studying these communities. Perhaps, more thought needs to be given to the “complex and threatening layers, which define the lives and livelihoods of so many informal dwellers in [this] unforgiving city” (Opper, 2017, pp.21-22).
It could be argued that a far more organised manifestation of squatting might offer Johannesburg’s homeless a better solution. As with the European movements, it could possibly provide foundations in community cooperation that would generate levels of political and social validity when interacting with the formal sector (Guzman-Concha, 2015, p.198 after Minkoff, 1997). Apart from small-scale social ties seen in communities like that in Dark City (Johnson, 2012, p.73; Victor, 2017, p.100) and when formal NGOs like SERI are involved, no systematic organisation like CVV has been witnessed. Therefore, democratic organisation as was seen with the Torre David community may offer inner city residents an opportunity to form social capital in their surrounding neighborhoods, which in turn may help them to defend themselves more effectively from evictions, stem the tide of displacement and combat the sweeping public perception caused by criminals. Likewise, successful squatting within the framework of a community would offer greater safety and security to allow the socially excluded to actively participate and contribute to the city. Furthermore, it would provide the support to exercise ones right to the city in terms of producing spaces of individual and community identity but also by demonstrating a rejection of capitalism’s urban embodiment (Martínez et al. 2014b, pp.214-216).
Contrarily, one cannot discount the very unique
conditions of Johannesburg and romanticise the ability of squatting to overcome them. Firstly, it is abundantly clear that the squatters’ primary objective is not political. It is a last resort in the search for housing. By being forced to squat out of necessity there is, of course, an inherent political dimension imploring the system that has caused such dire circumstances to change (Mosley and Sara, 2013, p.15). However, it would seem as though the City’s priorities lie elsewhere. The living conditions are, perhaps, a result of insecure tenure driven, in part, by conscious political negligence. Secure tenure is very important as it helps enable people to enjoy other human rights such as accessibility to employment, community and cultural identity as was put forth by UN-Habitat (Lehohla, 2016, p.3). If a more organised system of squatting would help provide this then many of the issues such as hygiene, waste disposal and overcrowding may be alleviated. Rather than constantly having to move from building to building as a result of frequent evictions (Johnson, 2012, p.52) people will be able to invest in a space, forming a solid identity and, thus, the pride needed to take care of it.
Yet, the empowerment of inner-city squatters is not part of the City’s agenda and therefore squatting will not gain the political support that Torre David was offered (Gómez, 2014, p.222). From a certain perspective the spatial manifestation of power has successfully disempowered the homeless so that the City no longer need worry about a risk of social movements, like squatting, and can, to an extent, disregard their duty to provide alternative housing until the law is involved (SERI, 2013). Neoliberalism is so engrained in the workings of Johannesburg and South Africa that it would be slightly naïve to expect squatting to cause such a dramatic shift in priorities to the extent that private property becomes a derivative rather than fundamental right as was advocated for by Harvey (2003, p.941).
The issues of xenophobia and exploitation surrounding the migrant (Bonet, 2013) may also not be so easily resolved through organised squatting. The Tower of David’s community cooperated with one another very effectively due to their shared experience and similar identity (Gómez, 2014, pp.228-229). Migrants living within the inner-city’s ‘bad’ buildings, on the other hand, may face “structural limitations” (López,
2017, p.2486) in the form of language or ethnicity for example, which may limit cooperation to any meaningful degree.
CONCLUSION
Squatting as an act is a direct and extreme response to what many people deem to be a grave social ill; the housing crisis. Whether done out of necessity or political motivation, the act is a specific criticism of the state, of property and more specifically, that of housing. Squatting in Johannesburg can be solely classified as an act of necessity despite the act in itself having greater political ramifications. However, even though a more formal and organised structure of squatting has had success in both the Global South and Global North, it would appear that it would not be able to be utilised all that successfully by Johannesburg’s innercity homeless population to better provide themselves with a home.
Research on informality has demonstrated its thorough integration as a modern mode of urban expansion (Jenkins, 2013). Squatting as witnessed in many parts of the Global South, including Johannesburg, is simply one of many elements that are incorporated into this expanding mode of urbanisation that has been directly influenced, if not, caused by capitalism. The subsequent increase in surplus capital in urban areas has led to huge increases in urban populations and, in turn, a severe lack of adequate housing that pushes people into systems of informality in order to access housing.
The presence of squatters in Johannesburg poses a serious issue to the State, City and elite. From their perspective, they represent otherness, and the unordered and must, therefore, be repressed or normalised into formal society (Boyer, 2008). In the context of Johannesburg, a city trying to compete financially at a global level, the whole concept of informality is at odds with the the world class African city: a notion dictated by the processes of neoliberal globalisation. Subsequently, the homeless in Johannesburg, originally left to fend for themselves in the abandoned centre of the city are once again being pushed to the periphery as developers return to invest.
Squatting, proposed in a more organised and formal manner, such as was seen in the successful case of Torre David, superficially offers a viable and justified answer to the crisis of housing faced by the inner-city’s urban poor. Very much in the fashion of the European squatter movements, if residents of ‘bad’ buildings cooperated with each, demonstrating
considerable social ties, social capital (Beall et al., 2002) and solidarity with one another there would be an outward perception of legitimacy that could enable them to better interact with mainstream society and defend their constitutional rights. This would engage the right to the city by taking back power from the elite so that they might change their environment in order for it to change them in return (Harvey, 2008).
In reality, advocacy of squatting as a tactic to better afford housing to the homeless in Johannesburg ultimately dangerous. The conditions faced by residents of ‘bad’ buildings are damaging to their physical and mental health (Médecins Sans Frontières, 2011), partially caused by insecurity of tenure that prevents people from seriously maintaining vital infrastructure. This prevents communities from undertaking actions that would help realise their right to the city and to establish identities. The large migrant demographic is also at risk due to their illegal status and xenophobic sentiment (Médecins Sans Frontières, 2011) towards them that could likely impact their ability to benefit from inter-community social ties and capital that are crucial in forming a strong political voice. In the face of almost unrestricted city redevelopment, new social divides (Murray, 2011) and no government support, it is unclear as to how organised squatting would really fare.
This paper provides a picture of the realities faced by many residents in Johannesburg’s inner-city, informal sector. It strongly suggests that their situation will remain firmly embedded in the City’s fabric as a result of what might be considered not only a crisis of housing provision but also of Johannesburg’s wider social, political and economic context. Therefore, one must ask a few questions. First, is the City actually able to manage the informal housing sector as an integrated aspect of everyday life and secondly, if it should at all? Third, if organised squatting, as a form of informal housing, is unable to offer the homeless an alternative solution in Johannesburg, how must the city’s population tackle its housing crisis?
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Front cover.
Image by William Gibbs
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Into the Shadows. (2013). Directed by Bonet, P. [Film]. Available at: https://vimeopro.com/ kansei/works-for-photographers/video/73681804 (Accessed at: 12 December 2018).
Fig.17
Google Maps. (2017). ‘80 End Street’ Available at: https://www.google.com/maps/@26.2011785,28.0535116,3a,73.8y,322.13h,1 09.19t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sR05yYUlTPb8Tc4W2fVzCA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 (Accessed at: 12 December 2018).
