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Making demands on government: Theorizing determinants of backyard residents' collective action in Cape Town, South Africa

Harris, Adam S.; Scheba, Andreas; Rice, Louis

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Authors

Adam S. Harris

Andreas Scheba

Profile image of Louis Rice

Louis Rice Louis.Rice@uwe.ac.uk
Associate Professor in Architecture



Abstract

Informality is growing with Africa's rapid urbanization. Much like residents of other types of informal housing, backyard dwellers face overall poor living conditions and political marginalization. However, backyard residents are in an ambiguous legal area and have been far less politically active and organized to pursue their rights to adequate housing. Using a qualitative case study of backyard residents in three Cape Town neighborhoods, Harris, Scheba, and Rice bridge theories of infrastructural citizenship and collective action to shed light on how informality may undermine collective action, and they identify four factors influencing collective action.

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jan 23, 2023
Online Publication Date Mar 22, 2023
Publication Date Sep 30, 2023
Deposit Date Jan 29, 2024
Publicly Available Date Jan 30, 2024
Journal African Studies Review
Print ISSN 0002-0206
Electronic ISSN 1555-2462
Publisher Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 66
Issue 3
Pages 698 - 720
DOI https://doi.org/10.1017/asr.2023.10
Keywords South Africa; backyard; collective action; informal housing; urban politics; infrastructural citizenship
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/11640978

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