Entrenching systems of dominance in urban form: Exploring the origins of inequality in Secunda, South Africa

Scholars have increasingly called for the expansion of theoretical frameworks to incorporate perspectives from the Global South (Alizadeh & Prasad, 2024). Lemanski (2019) sets out a comparative urbanism approach aimed at bridging the North/South divide by exploring the interconnected trajectories and identities of urban spaces on a global scale. One pertinent example is the phenomenon of informality, which manifests similarly yet may be experienced and approached differently in both Global North and Global South cities (Lemanski, 2019). Arguably, additional such commonalities encompass the phenomena of ‘othering’ and white privilege, which have garnered heightened attention in recent discourse (DiAngelo, 2011, Moosavi, 2022, Alizadeh and Prasad, 2024).

Fabricated race-based identities have proved to be powerful tools in the establishment of whiteness and white privilege (Leonardo, 2004, DiAngelo, 2011, Moosavi, 2022, Alizadeh and Prasad, 2024). Notably, after 30 years of democracy, planners continue to grapple with stubborn segregation levels in South Africa (Watson, 2013), and vestiges of the apartheid urban model, with its roots in both colonialism and modernist planning, provide a rich context for understanding the underlying factors that contribute to racial segregation and discrimination, including power dynamics, economic inequality and prejudice. By examining the institutionalisation and normalisation of systems of dominance through intentional socio-spatial initiatives, we can identify recurring patterns of discrimination and oppression in various contexts. This understanding enables early recognition and intervention, paving the way for proactive measures to combat systemic discrimination and promote social justice globally.

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Published in: Geoforum
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
See article on publisher's website: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2024.104125