Letter of Doom

posted by Ismail Farouk at Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Labels: 2010, Bertrams, Citizenship, gentrification, urban research, world cup

Urban regeneration and evictions in Bertrams, Johannesburg

posted by Ismail Farouk at Monday, February 25, 2008

Case Study by Ismail Farouk for the Migrants Rights Monitoring Project, special report No.2: Migrant Access to Housing in South African Cities. Report by Jennifer Greenburg and Tara Polzer, Forced Migration Studies Programme, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Bertrams is the oldest suburb in Johannesburg. Located to the east of the city, the suburb has a history of displacement and migration which spans over 80 years. Since political transformation in 1994, Bertrams has been home to a diversity of immigrants, including economic migrants, refugees and asylum seekers from Mozambique, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Congo and Zimbabwe, and poor and lower-middle class South Africans. Poverty is a feature in the area, but inadequate housing conditions are also a result of absentee landlords who have lost control of properties. This has resulted in exploitative practices by slum lords and widespread sub-letting of rooms. The urban environment is therefore of highly uneven quality as the suburb also boasts houses and flats which are well maintained.

Due to its strategic location next to the Johannesburg Stadium, and fuelled by the prospects of economic prosperity associated with the 2010 world cup, the suburb is in the process of being transformed. Returning landlords and developers are renovating their properties, and homeowners are protesting the lack of urban management services and putting pressure on residents who are not paying for rental or services. The City of Johannesburg has designated part of the suburb for the construction of subsidized public housing, which is nonetheless targeted at attracting middle class South African residents rather than at accommodating the urban poor.

The gentrification associated with the suburb's transformation affects all its poor residents, but has particularly serious impacts for foreign tenants. Impoverished South Africans as well as immigrants are both economically excluded from the new housing developments, as residents' incomes fall below the envisaged income profile. While the South African residents have the possibility of accessing housing subsidies, immigrants are completely excluded.

Renovations and the planned demolition of buildings for construction of social housing are resulting in the eviction of illegal occupants as well as residents of buildings with uncertain ownership or tenancy arrangements. The city has pledged to provide alternative temporary accommodation for the displaced residents in converted inner city high rise buildings, yet this offer is not addressing local needs. General problems with the temporary accommodation, which affect all evicted Bertrams residents, include the exclusion of families with more than two children, the small size of rooms and the relatively high rents. Once again, non-citizens are completely excluded from accessing this temporary housing option.

Alternative housing options for foreign residents of Bertrams are also limited by their social context. Many came to Bertrams because family members or countrymen were there, so that now entire communities are being displaced without social networks in other parts of the city. "Where to from here?" continues to be the question asked by the displaced residents of Bertrams.

Labels: Bertrams, Citizenship, Housing, refugees, urban research

The Chinas (2008)

posted by Ismail Farouk at Monday, February 04, 2008

My latest work, "The Chinas" was presented at the opening of the .ZA Young Art from South Africa show which opened in Siena Italy this weekend. Without saying too much, the work deals with the debates around the evictions in the suburb of Bertrams as a result of the upcoming 2010 world cup.

There are many stakeholders involved in the area. There seems to be conflicting agendas and dreams for the future of the area. What is apparent is that the suburb is not being designed for the poorer residents who are being pushed out without viable alternatives.

A special thanks to Zack Sejaphala for conducting the interviews in Zulu and to "The Chinas" for welcoming me into their homes and hearts.

How do you feel about the shape of things to come in Joburg?

Labels: "social exclusion", 2010, Bertrams, Citizenship, Community, Creative Response, Exhibitions

The Parking Gallery: Sometimes a Fire

posted by Ismail Farouk at Sunday, April 01, 2007

'Sometimes a Fire' was the name give to the photographic series depicting a fire and subsequent struggle at a heritage house located in Bertrams, the oldest suburb in Johannesburg. The fire occurred in June 2006 on a cold winters night and was caused by a paraffin heater. The photographic series was exhibited 1 month later at the Parking Gallery in downtown Jozi, on the 29th of July 2006.

The house has been suffering from structural problems and has been declared unsafe for sometime now. Regardless of this fact the building was at the time of the blaze sublet by slum lords and the house had a high occupancy rate of +-40 people of various ages. Currently, the house is being demolished to make way for a new housing development linked to the 2010 soccer world cup.



In addition to the photography, visitors to the exhibition were treated to sneak preview of my film JHB626GP - A film made for the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2006. The movie was projected on a whitewashed wall, which formed an impressive rooftop cinema, with commanding night time views of the inner city of Johannesburg.

Labels: Bertrams, Exhibitions, Photography