Urban development in contemporary South Africa generates opportunities for the reproduction of inequality, as well as chances to increase the social justice of the urban landscape. In this article, Lindsay juxtaposes two current developments in greater Johannesburg to illustrate the contrast between ‘insurgent’ bottom-up planning approaches and top-down ‘control’ policies characteristic of development in Africa today. The narrative of control and insurgency explored in Johannesburg highlights the diversity of approaches the underprivileged employ to ensure claims to space and opportunity. It also emphasises the need for innovative approaches attuned to this urban majority rather than ‘grand visions’ that exclude them from the process of city-making.
Published in International Development Planning Review 40(4).