Participatory Planning and the Global South: A Case Study of Local Planning and Development in Vrygrond
type: CreativeWork
description: Urbanisation is occurring most rapidly in the global South, where cities are characterised by increasing levels of poverty, socio-spatial inequality, and informality. Mainstream planning theories have tended to originate from the North, responding to a context that differs greatly from that of cities of the South where theories have been uncritically adopted and imposed. State planning systems in developing countries often reflect traditional technocratic approaches and have become increasingly disengaged from rapidly changing urban conditions. In a context in which neoliberalism is becoming increasingly hegemonic, such planning systems may serve the interests of capital over the needs of the poor. There has therefore been a call to focus on developing descriptive and explanatory theories through case research from which new and more contextually appropriate approaches to planning might emerge. I offer the case of Vrygrond as a contribution to this ongoing endeavour to ‘theorize from the South’, regrounding planning theory and practice in the realities and complexities of global South contexts. The case study explores the nature of development in the densely populated, low-income settlement in Cape Town, from 1997 to 2014. The main research question asks how services, public facilities and amenities have been secured in Vrygrond, and how planning theory and practice might learn from this experience. The dissertation therefore draws on semi-structured interviews to understand the interaction between development processes adopted by key actors and contextual factors which include racial and ethnic diversity, power struggles, oppositional forms of citizenship, mistrust, and pervasive crime. The findings are then interpreted through the application of three contrasting theoretical frameworks of technocratic planning, communicative and collaborative planning, and co-production. I argue that the assumptions underlying technocratic and communicative planning are problemati…
abstract: Urbanisation is occurring most rapidly in the global South, where cities are characterised by increasing levels of poverty, socio-spatial inequality, and informality. Mainstream planning theories have tended to originate from the North, responding to a context that differs greatly from that of cities of the South where theories have been uncritically adopted and imposed. State planning systems in developing countries often reflect traditional technocratic approaches and have become increasingly disengaged from rapidly changing urban conditions. In a context in which neoliberalism is becoming increasingly hegemonic, such planning systems may serve the interests of capital over the needs of the poor. There has therefore been a call to focus on developing descriptive and explanatory theories through case research from which new and more contextually appropriate approaches to planning might emerge. I offer the case of Vrygrond as a contribution to this ongoing endeavour to ‘theorize from the South’, regrounding planning theory and practice in the realities and complexities of global South contexts. The case study explores the nature of development in the densely populated, low-income settlement in Cape Town, from 1997 to 2014. The main research question asks how services, public facilities and amenities have been secured in Vrygrond, and how planning theory and practice might learn from this experience. The dissertation therefore draws on semi-structured interviews to understand the interaction between development processes adopted by key actors and contextual factors which include racial and ethnic diversity, power struggles, oppositional forms of citizenship, mistrust, and pervasive crime. The findings are then interpreted through the application of three contrasting theoretical frameworks of technocratic planning, communicative and collaborative planning, and co-production. I argue that the assumptions underlying technocratic and communicative planning are problemati…
author: Davies, Craig
language: eng
date published: 2014
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:23:29Z
provider: University of Cape Town
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13047