The Theory and Practice of Urban Reform Coalitions in South Africa
Authors: Ivan Turok (University of the Free State), Andreas Scheba (Human Sciences Research Council), Helen Rourke (Development Action Group), Zama Mgwatyu (Development Action Group)
Keywords: Broad-Based Coalitions, Political and Technical Processes of Change, Urban Transformation and Reform, Role of Knowledge as a Force for Progress, Housing, Land and Planning as Objects of Reform
Session 8: Knowing the City: Transformative Theoretical Practices of African Urban Scholarship
Thursday October 24, 15:30–17:00, A4 John Moffat Building
The Theory and Practice of Urban Reform Coalitions in South Africa
Abstract
Recent urban coalitions in South Africa have been heavily criticised for being driven by political expedience and opportunism rather than by wider socio-economic goals and objectives. Political elites have entered into temporary alliances to negotiate short-term deals which essentially ‘share the spoils’ of power. The paper explores the potential for other kinds of urban coalition shaped by deeper principles and more inclusive and transformative agendas. It interrogates the theory of ‘urban reform coalitions’ (Mitlin, 2023) and identifies selected examples from cities elsewhere in Africa and the global South. The key features of such arrangements include their broad composition of diverse actors with different values, interests and expectations; their focus on politics as well as technical expertise; the emphasis on knowledge creation among actors as a motive force for progress; and the creation of hopeful spaces that encourage experimentation and active learning. The paper then explores the relevance and applicability of this concept to an emerging alliance between a group of actors engaged in the reform of a variety of housing, planning and land policies in Cape Town. They include sympathetic public officials, NGOs, civil society activists, social movements, scholars and other technical experts. It discusses the strategy and tactics of this loose coalition, its achievements in practice, and the obstacles it faces at local and national levels, particularly the challenges involved in altering the policies, systems and everyday practices of a very large, siloed and risk-averse bureaucracy that itself reflects diverse political interests and constituencies. The paper concludes by reflecting back on the strengths and limitations of the concept of urban reform coalitions as a guiding vision for transforming cities.