Browsing by Author "Strauss, Margot"
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- ItemA historical exposition of spatial injustice and segregated urban settlement in South Africa(Southern African Society of Legal Historians, 2019) Strauss, MargotSpatial injustice and urban residential segregation represent significant dimensions in the historical development of the settlement patterns of South Africa's urban poor, which have strong links to colonialism and apartheid. A myriad of political, economic, legal and social factors contributed to the legacy of spatial injustice and socioeconomic exclusion that characterises contemporary towns and cities. This contribution provides a historical exposition of the leading causes of spatial injustice and segregated urban settlement in South Africa during colonialism and apartheid, and adopts a spatial perspective in its analysis of relevant legislation, case law and academic literature. Advancing this critical spatial awareness is essential, as it remains elusive in current approaches to the interpretation and implementation of the housing rights of South Africa's urban poor.
- ItemA right to the city for South Africa’s urban poor(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-03) Strauss, Margot; Liebenberg, Sandra; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Law. Department of Public LawENGLISH ABSTRACT : In South Africa, spatial injustice holds profound implications for the democratic transformation of society, the planning and development of inclusive towns and cities, and the realisation of the constitutionally enshrined housing rights of vulnerable and marginalised urban inhabitants. The post-apartheid state has enacted an extensive housing law framework since 1994 aimed at giving substantive effect to the right to have access to adequate housing in section 26 of the Constitution. In practice, however, the implementation of this framework remains distorted and fails to adequately respond to the country’s complex housing crisis. A deep disjuncture also characterises current approaches to the interpretation and implementation of the housing rights of South Africa’s urban poor. Addressing these challenges requires a paradigm capable of contextualising housing rights interpretation and litigation, while viewing housing policy analysis and implementation through the normative lens of section 26. This study adopts an interdisciplinary and multifaceted research framework informed by history, social theory, international housing law, and South African legislation, policy, and jurisprudence. The dissertation investigates the value and potential of the right to the city paradigm to develop the substantive content of the housing rights of South Africa’s urban poor. The right to the city represents a normative framework adept to critically analysing current approaches to the interpretation and implementation of housing rights, in both international and South African housing law. Utilising this theoretical paradigm can contribute to a value-based understanding of housing rights, which offers pragmatic solutions to material problems in the areas of housing delivery, urban planning, and local governance. This value-based approach also requires democratic institutions, which include the courts, the legislature, and the executive, to collectively contribute to contextualised and participatory housing solutions in South Africa. If properly understood and implemented, the right to the city paradigm has the potential to advance the substantive realisation of housing rights and to promote spatial and social transformation in a manner that is congruent with the transformative nature of the South Africa Constitution.