Go to AfricaBib home

Go to AfricaBib home AfricaBib Go to database home

bibliographic database
Line
Previous page New search

The free AfricaBib App for Android is available here

Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The Wynberg Concerned Residents' disempowering court victory
Author:Sinwell, LukeISNI
Year:2010
Periodical:Urban Forum (ISSN 1874-6330)
Volume:21
Issue:2
Pages:153-169
Language:English
Geographic term:South Africa
Subjects:housing
social and economic rights
legal procedure
urban poverty
State-society relationship
External link:https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12132-010-9083-8
Abstract:In the South African context, the use of the judiciary as a means through which the poor can access housing and defend themselves from evictions has been addressed by several researchers. While some scholars seem to assume that the court offers the possibilities for redistribution and for the protection of the rights of marginalized South Africans, others have highlighted 'the limitations of the judiciary as a route to democratic access to the city'. However, authors have not provided an in-depth analysis of the relationship between the demands made by a community-based organization and their involvement in a court case. Drawing primarily from in-depth interviews with a community-based organization in Alexandra (a township in Johannesburg, South Africa) called the Wynberg Concerned Residents (WCR) and local government officials involved with the Alexandra Renewal Project (ARP), this article illustrates the process through which the WCR became disempowered after its victory in court. Furthermore, it suggests that court cases do not always challenge the amount of resources provided by the State for the local level, in this case the ARP. As a result, victories in court do not necessarily have a positive effect on the living conditions of the poor as a whole. Instead of transforming development through the court system, the court may merely offer a potential means by which to re-manage specific local decisions so that the demands of particular residents can be addressed. The article concludes by offering a possible way forward given the disjuncture between community-based activists and movement theorists. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract, edited]
Views