Gentrification: prospects for urban South African society?

Abstract

English: The objective of this paper is to highlight some of the current international trends in the study of gentrification and assess its potential as the research site in a postapartheid urban context. In the light of international experience and the changing spatialities of post-apartheid cities, it is argued that recent developments in South Africa’s city-centres present classic opportunities for gentrification processes to emerge as part of urban regeneration. This exploration assesses this claim in four sections. The first deals with issues of definition, while the second reviews the main theoretical approaches currently employed in understanding gentrification processes. The third section relates this to gentrification research undertaken in South African cities, with the concluding section considering the types of gentrification research issues we might address in the post-apartheid context.

Afrikaans: Die doel van hierdie artikel is om sommige van die huidige internasionale neigings in die bestudering van gentrifikasie uit te lig en die potensiaal daarvan as navorsingsterrein in ’n post-apartheid stedelike konteks te beoordeel. In die lig van internasionale ervaring en die veranderende ruimtelike benuttingspatrone van postapartheidstede, word daar geargumenteer dat onlangse ontwikkelings in Suid-Afrika se sentrale stedelike areas klassieke geleenthede bied vir gentrifikasieprosesse om pos te vat as deel van stedelike herontwikkeling. Hierdie siening word in vier interafhanklike afdelings ondersoek. In die eerste word aspekte van definisie oorweeg; die tweede bevat ’n oorsig oor die belangrikste teoretiese benaderings wat tans in die bestudering van die gentrifikasieprosesse gevolg word; die derde oorweeg die relevansie hiervan met gentrifikasienavorsing wat aangaande Suid-Afrikaanse stede gedoen word; en in die laaste afdeling word die tipes van gentrifikasienavorsing oorweeg wat in die post-apartheidskonteks aangepak kan word.