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

Bad Buildings, Urban Management and Crime Control: The Case of the Fashion District

posted by Ismail Farouk at Sunday, February 24, 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.

The Fashion District in downtown Johannesburg is a contested inner city space. Despite signs of economic development, the ownership of many buildings is disputed, infrastructure is crumbling and levels of crime have long been high. The predominant business activity is controlled by Ethiopian and Eritrean asylum seekers and refugees who have taken control of high rise 'bad buildings' and adapted them to limit interaction with the dangerous sidewalk. The organisational structure within these buildings presents an innovative model for inner-city community-based crime and urban development management.

At the forefront of these initiatives is a refugee-run NGO called the 'Horn of Africa Crime Stop Association' which was formed after an Ethiopian trader was killed during a robbery in 2006. Through partnerships with the South African Police Services and the Central Johannesburg Property Company, the organisation is paying for supplementary security services which consist of 25 private guards who patrol an 8 block radius. The monthly cost to the organisation is R150,000, to which every trader and formal business in the area contributes. As a result, crime has been drastically reduced and business in the area is booming.

South African investors and chain stores are beginning to notice the business potential of the area served by the Horn of Africa Crime Stop Association, now that crime has been controlled. The development value of the area is on the increase and there is much activity by private sector housing companies who are redeveloping residential buildings for middle class South African families. However, for the Ethiopian and Eritrean businesses which started the crime-stop initiative, their success at starting the urban regeneration process may lead to their displacement. Many of the businesses are run by people who have not been able to access asylum or refugee documents, due to backlogs at the Department of Home Affairs' Refugee Reception Offices. This means they are unable to secure formal tenure or ownership of buildings, have no access to loans or local government economic development support, and are in practice confined to small geographic areas in the city for fear of being arrested and deported. In spite of the Horn of Africa Crime Stop Association's substantial private investment in security, its members and businesses are in danger of being pushed out rather than integrated into the future of the Fashion District.

Labels: Citizenship, Community, fashion district, gentrification, immigrants, Informal, informal trade, Johannesburg, migration, refugees, social networks, spatial justice, 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

Mistrust: Contemporary Visions of Southern Africa

posted by Ismail Farouk at Wednesday, November 21, 2007

I submitted this image called 'Mistrust' for the Contemporary Visions of Southern exhibition at the Pretoria Art Museum. It was taken in Yeoville in 2004 and it formed part of my research project which looked at the mapping of social networks in the suburb.

Here is a link to more from the Yeoville 2004 photo set.

Labels: Citizenship, Creative Response, Exhibitions, gentrification, Johannesburg, Network Approach, Photography, social capital, social networks, Yeo, Yeoville

Teaching: Market Photo Workshop

posted by Ismail Farouk at Friday, November 09, 2007

I've started teaching a course at the Market Photo Workshop in Newtown. My class focuses on developing an understanding the city using multi-burst photography and digital animation as rhythm analysis tools.

The cost of a basic studio flat starts at R400 000. Whilst this may not seem like a huge sum of money for property these days, the price excludes most of the existing tenants. In fact, 60% of the building has already been vacated and the remaining leases are not being renewed.

The developers have already sold 80% of their show units. Whilst this is very impressive, I am not sure how many new investors are initially planning on living in the building themselves. I think its a case of initially buying to rent and waiting for the wider redevelopment of the city to make an impact before moving in.

The Ponte Development presents an interesting case study of gentrification in the inner city. It demonstrates the vision for the redeveloped inner city, primarily as a place for formally employed South Africans. I left my students thinking about questions around 'the right to the city'. Where to from here for those who are not desired?

Labels: Citizenship, gentrification, Johannesburg, Ponte, Projects, urban research

GreYeo: Community Based Internet Communication in Yeoville

posted by Ismail Farouk at Monday, October 01, 2007

The Yeoville Yahoo Group called GreYeo represents a successful case study of a community based internet communications system. The group was established in 1999 and boasts 139 active members.

The importance of GreYeo is the information being communicated around urban management, service delivery, crime and general community news. More recently, some members have been mapping garbage on street corners and this action has placed the city utility companies under pressure to provide better services.

The group demonstrates a positive social capital resource in a suburb considered as lacking in community ownership. It proves that there are many people who love and care for the suburb but their actions need to be reciprocated.

As a new feature to this site, I have added the Yahoo GreYeo RSS feed to my news page. Check out my news page to see what Yeovillites have so say.

Labels: Citizenship, Communication, Community, GreYeo, Internet, social capital, social networks, urban research, Yeoville

Yeoville: Citizenship via the Bedroom and Chicken eating Cops

posted by Ismail Farouk at Monday, July 30, 2007

The furniture business in Yeoville appears to be controlled by an entrepreneurial immigrant population who are profiting off the sale of beds and other essentials, but in most cases beds are the only items invested in by arriving residents as houses are sub-let with other users, and there is limited space for anything else.

The bedroom has become an important site in the struggle for citizenship as having a baby can secure citizenship. The strategy of falling pregnant to obtain citizenship is a desperate measure for arriving immigrants who don't have a sense of social capital or belonging. A new family not only obtains citizenship but a new hope for a better life. Some immigrants have permanent illegal status and live a life of continual deportation. For them, citizenship via the bedroom provides an easy alternative to obtaining the necessary identity documentation.

The influx of foreigners and transient nature of life is a popular subject of discussion in the streets of Yeoville:

It seems in the past year or so, there's a lot more people that have come into Yeoville to live here. And it concerns me a little bit, because some people seem to have found their niche and are contributing to society, and some people seem to be ambling about, and not necessarily settled or contributing. (Yeoville Resident)

Harassment by the police and by local residents has contributed to the mistrust and transient nature of life in Yeoville. Popular strategies of survival from police harassment include the falsification of identification documents which is a thriving business in Yeoville. Other strategies for survival include the speaking of Zulu by Zimbabwean residents. Most Zimbabweans claim to come from Kwa-Zulu Natal as a strategy for survival:

If I call you in my language and you don't answer, we are going to spin! (I will rob you)...Gangster

A recent complaint by a Yeoville resident on a community Internet forum has confirmed the disinterested attitude by our local police. An African foreigner, asked four police officers inside the Chicken-Licken outlet in Raleigh Street for help. The man had apparently just been mugged but the policeman waved him away and told him they were busy eating. The Yeoville residents are growing tired of the lack of positive action by the police and are concerned about police corruption. Many residents have fallen victim to police who have confiscated their personal possessions. Innocent people are arrested by the police who rip up or 'lose' identity documents or passports. In most cases, bribery is the only recourse against a corrupt police force.

Labels: Citizenship, Network Approach, social networks, urban research, Yeoville

Yeoville: Overcrowding and Bad Buildings

posted by Ismail Farouk at Monday, July 30, 2007

Some evidence of overcrowding in Yeoville can be seen by the numerous advertisements offering various informal rental options on notice boards throughout Yeoville. With monthly room rentals which vary from R150 - R1000, sub-letting is the often the only housing option available to the urban poor. Sub-letting is made possible mainly through poor building management.Because dysfunctional practices contribute to overcrowding of buildings, they also lead to the total dysfunction of the housing stock.

Furthermore, there is a link between the growing informal economy and accommodation problems. A popular strategy for dealing with bad buildings in Yeoville has been for the City to acquire ownership through the expropriation of all the sections and the whole of the common property. The expropriated property is then sold under policies of the Better Buildings Programme. Whilst the benefits of the Better Buildings Programme include an improved quality of life for new tenants and property owners, existing tenants who are evicted as part of the expropriation process are not provided with alternative accommodation and are left homeless. Evicted residents from expropriated buildings are forcibly removed into the streets by the city's Wozani Security force.



The results of this violent action are demeaning and result in a loss of dignity and respect and ultimately criminal exploitation in the streets. Another problem associated with bad buildings is the lack of recognition for informal trade as a viable means of income if regulated and implemented in a controlled manner. Uncontrolled informal trading in residential buildings ultimately leads to the destruction of the building mainly because of a lack of infrastructure for dealing with the activity and its associated waste. Furthermore, the criminilisation of informal trade limits earning potential and therefore limits housing options to sub-letting and poor housing practices.

Labels: Citizenship, Housing, Informal, Network Approach, social networks, urban research, Yeoville

The Network Approach To Urban Regeneration: The Case Of Yeoville

posted by Ismail Farouk at Monday, July 30, 2007

Here is the abstract from my Masters Research Report which focussed on the mapping of socail networks as an alternative methodology for the urban regeneration of Yeoville. I am in the process of publishing 2 papers from my report. More later:



Yeoville presents a particular context of the inner city in decline and has been identified by the city as a suburb in need of regeneration. In 2004, The Yeoville Rockey/Raleigh High Street Development was conceived as the urban regeneration strategy for the upgrading of the suburb. The objectives of this strategy were to upgrade strategic public facilities and to improve urban management of the area over a period of five years.

Through the prioritisation of a privatised urban management system, the aim was to attract a new middle class back into Yeoville (gentrification). However, the absence of a plan for dealing with the socio-economic challenges faced by the existing poorer residents has led to cultural and class conflicts.

International experience has shown that in order to achieve the long-term, strategic regeneration of poorer neighbourhoods, social networks and community development should be prioritised. An effective regeneration strategy should budget for capacity building from the outset and should involve citizens in the design and decision making process in order to ensure that the needs of all the local actors are met and that all possible resources are mobilised. At the forefront of this approach are alternative methodologies like social network analysis, which aim to reconnect the social, cultural and economic dimensions of society to rhythms of space and time. The focus on the mapping of existing social capital resources helps to pinpoint the opportunities, and constraints presented within neighbourhoods and ultimately guide the restructuring process in a meaningful and relevant way.

Labels: Citizenship, Johannesburg, Network Approach, social networks, urban research, Yeoville

Yeoville Rhythm Analysis

posted by Ismail Farouk at Wednesday, July 25, 2007

The performance begins at dawn on the corner of Bedford and Raleigh. Besides the few perennial garbage heaps, the space is deserted. The streets begin to wake at first light and at six o clock in the morning the only sound is that of occasional minibus taxis accelerating down Rockey Street. A few people emerge onto the scene. This is mostly the working-class making their way to work. Some of the hawkers appear and construct their haphazard stalls. The market traders across the road are sweeping their spaces and bringing out their wares. A few of the schoolchildren stop on the sidewalk for a quick game of tazzos. As the first light breaks and the streets become more populated the sound grows to a perceptible din. Soon the taxis hurtle down the road advertising their destinations. There is a young man wearing a new suit running after one of the taxis shouting excitedly. He seems to be running late. The sound of his voice echoes above the traffic. He stumbles on the broken pavement and nearly falls. His body unexpectedly rushes forward and he flails his arms in an attempt to right himself. His right leg juts out forward at unpredictable angles and finds firm footing. The taxi he was shouting after disappears down the road, but another one pulls up next to him and he jumps in.

The traffic quickly becomes chaotic. The traffic lights are out of order and the pedestrians run across the road at random intervals. Outside Time Square there is a considerable traffic jam and the drone of the traffic is often punctuated by shouts and hooting. People are in a rush and yet they are not in a hurry to get anywhere. Organised chaos. More hooting and shouting. It is still early in the morning, but the heat is beginning to intensify. Outside the Lothlorien Paper Recycling Centre the loud beeping of the paper truck echoes relentlessly and forces a synchronized blink from passers-by. The shops are open. People are milling outside the shop fronts and internet cafes and weighing out their options. The proprietors typically of continental African descent sit inside the darkened shops looking bored.

And through this seeming disorder there exists an order that binds Yeoville together. The streets function as an organic entity that exists as an arrangement of activity and change. It seems as if there is an invisible conductor that coordinates this performance of conversation, construction, street trade, traffic, and social interaction. These diverse rhythms in the concrete are made up of subjects and objects where opposites find and recognise each other in a unity both more real and more ideal, more complex than its elements. Rhythms are the music of the city, a picture that listens to itself. They represent a struggle between a measured, imposed and exterior time, and a more endogenous time. And while every street, every corner, every cafe and every sidewalk have their own rhythm there exists a binding beat to which Yeoville dances. This dance is never the same, however. It is riddled with improvisation and replete with variation through space and time. It is difficult to concretise a starting point to discuss the streets of Yeoville and impossible to distinguish a beginning and an end to the performance. It is as if the streets vibrate imperceptibly with their own, almost palpable creative energy.

By eleven, Rockey Street settles down and quietly hums for the next few hours. The streets are less populated, but street traders and the car guards continue their vigilance over the streets while the taxis persist in their quest for customers. On Fortesque Road, a weathered old man in tattered grey clothes sits on the pavement next to a street pole and shouts impatiently into its empty insides. In the main park, in the dust below the rusted park ride and next to the old swings, two ashy-legged youths sit with no shoes and talk excitedly. On Hopkins Street the smell of rotting sewage floats on the gentle breeze as the workers continue their work despite the smouldering heat and the blinding light. A few of the seats at the numerous shabeens are occupied. The clientele talks quietly while one of the local beers.

After lunch, the streets become livelier. There is more traffic while people move about their business or stop to talk. Banks and shops get busier in the afternoon as the heat begins to subside and the light strikes the city at a slightly more obtuse angle. There are more children on the streets and there is a gradual crescendo of sound. The movement on the streets begins to intensify. In the din of the afternoon a phone rings on the corner of Bezuidenhout Street, a little way downhill from the BP Garage. The phone rests atop a muddy computer stand. A woman approaches it picks up the receiver. She shouts jovially into the receiver in French. She continues to shout over the noises of the afternoon.

By about five o clock in the afternoon, the rush hour reaches its peak. The pavements are packed with people going home after work. The taxis and busses once again joust for position while their informal conductors advertise their destinations over the noise of the traffic. It is starting to get dark and some of the children, on their way back from play, have stopped at the well-lit popcorn machine near the market. One of the kids feels that he was cheated and argues with the popcorn vendor. The other children laugh and dance with glee at the site. Across the road a black, polished, expensive-looking Mercedes convertible stops next to the kerb and attracts considerable attention from the passers-by. A small group of people stops to stare at the impressive vehicle.

The darkness is thicker now and the some of the streetlights are switched on. The sidewalks are changing as the homebound citizens are replaced by throngs of residents looking for entertainment. In the evening, young men and women gather at tables located at the (often informal) cafes and shabeens to drink and sing. Piccadilly Square is a hive of activity in the evenings. The sidewalk is packed and comes alive after nine o clock when it is fortified by loud music emanating from the numerous bars. Tandoor is a rooftop club located between Bezuidenhout and Raymond Street that attracts creative minds as well as young people looking for a night of quality reggae beats. On the other end of the street, at Time Square, a different kind of party is going down. In a small pool hall people gather to drink, gamble and shoot pool.

The parks, normally vibrant spaces during the day, are poorly lit and considered dangerous spaces to frequent. Many of the sidewalks are shrouded in darkness and present a danger to passers-by. Up to about two o clock in the morning, the streets are populated with people. The smell of food from informal vendors fills the air and security guards diversify their activities by selling cigarettes and sweets to passers by. About the only time that there seems to be no human activity on the streets is between two and five o clock in the morning. Things quiet down for the night and an eerie silence settles on Yeoville. The streets are deserted and feel foreign and hostile with an occasional passer by or car headlights.

And so the cycle is complete. The performance does not have a conclusion; the rhythm of Yeoville evolves through time. Some of the rhythms are cyclical and occur at intervals, some of them are accented and sudden, some have longer durations while some occur unexpectedly and disappear just as suddenly. Some rhythms dominate and determine other rhythms while others are mere remembrances of moments. The changing rhythms of different spaces and times throughout Yeoville provide a backdrop for social interaction that, in turn, becomes a part of the symphony as each player contributes to the overall performance.

The above rhythm analysis was interpreted by Milos Sajin and myself in 2004. Milos is an extremely talented urban geographer and guitar teacher who now resides in Japan. Together we collaborated in Yeoville in a parallel research process.

Labels: Citizenship, Communication, Network Approach, Rhythm Analysis, social capital, social networks, urban research, Yeoville