Marie Huchzermeyer
New national spatial
planning legislation in 2013 highlights the need to spatialize justice.
However, the new spatial planning framework does not ensure local autonomy. In
the new legislation, spatial justice remains poorly defined and is in conflict
with hierarchical imperatives of ‘national [political-economic] interest’. This
is at a time when South Africa is witnessing a growing national distrust in the
local, as the political landscape diversifies and opposition party support
increases in urbanised areas. Aspects of spatial justice can emerge in the
absence of planning and property rights – much is to be learned from
informality; spatializing justice is a complex but necessary endeavor, it can
build a just and reliable economy, but it needs a strong political bearer that
trusts the local and is willing to tamper with property rights. The multiple dimensions found in a
progressive reading of the right to the city help inform this political
project.
WISER, the Department of
Politics and History Workshop invite you to join us for the sixth panel
discussion in the series of Public Positions on History and Politics. In this session Marie Huchzermeyer
(Architecture and Planning, Wits) will present a short paper which will be
followed by a panel discussion chaired by Imraan Valodia (Wits, Dean of the
Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management) with discussants, Sue Parnell
(Environmental and Geographical Science, UCT) and Glen Robbins (Development
Studies, UKZN).
On-line streaming of this
event will be available on this page from approximately 5:15pm.
Refreshments will be
served; please RSVP to Najibha Deshmukh (Najibha.Deshmukh@wits.ac.za)
More information on
Public Positions on History and Policy is available at
Documents:
Huchzermayer-RightToCity2014.pdf
