Suchergebnisse

AbstractRecent attention to the phenomenon of 'beds in sheds'—outbuildings used illegally for residential accommodation—suggests that shelter informality is increasing in the UK. Reflecting concerns about its apparent proliferation, the issue has been increasingly prominent on government and media agendas, framed in terms of illegal immigration and rogue landlordism, with policy announcements accompanied by high‐profile police and border agency raids. While little firm evidence exists on the scale, nature and causes of this type of informal shelter provision, this paper takes as its starting point the discursive construction of informality in the specific context of the UK, exploring the role of key agentic and structural factors therein. It suggests that an emphasis on agency in government and media accounts may risk obscuring the structural factors (including state policies) involved in the production of informality, as well as the interaction between agency and structure. The case of shed housing demonstrates how informality is produced by a complex interplay of structural and agentic factors characteristic of many global Northern cities, captured by the notion of 'informality as practice' which derives from debates focusing on Southern cities. At the same time, it shows how discourses around informality may be mobilized in the service of specifically context‐driven ideological agendas, in this case relating to immigration and welfare.

Informal settlements are commonly regarded as a problem; such a condition stems from their association with poverty, irregularity and marginalization. Despite years of research proving the opposite, policies and academic discourses still highlight the division between "formal" and "informal" cities, which often excludes informal settlements from "normal" urban considerations. This paper argues that discursive construction increases the marginalized condition of informal settlements, thus affecting their residents. Through the use of a "place-making" approach, we explore the construction of a place according to discursive, spatial, social, cultural and political elements in order to destabilize some of the assumptions underlying the discourses on marginalization. This research was carried out using a qualitative methodology in two lowincome settlements located in Xalapa, Mexico. Results show that local discourses reveal complex and ambivalent opinions about working-class settlements, thereby reproducing and affecting the binary categorization of "informality". However, it is the focus on the residents own place-making activities that determines the possibility of rethinking informal settlements. ; Los asentamientos informales son, con frecuencia vistos como problemáticos debido a la asociación que se hace de ellos con la pobreza, la irregularidad y la marginalización. En particular, a pesar de años de investigación mostrando lo contrario, las políticas y los discursos académicos continúan destacando la división entre la ciudad 'formal' e 'informal', lo que hace que los asentamientos informales sean a menudo vistos como fuera de las consideraciones urbanas 'normales'. Este artículo argumenta que la construcción discursiva sobre los asentamientos informales contribuye a su marginalización, trayendo efectos tangibles para los residentes. Usando un enfoque de 'lugarización', se explora, en este contexto, la construcción de lugar discursiva, espacial, social, cultural y política para desestabilizar algunos de los ...

AbstractParticipation has recently been subject to renewed attention and critique in the context of neoliberal urban governance. This is especially relevant in countries where decentralization and democratization in the context of neoliberalism have led to increased promotion of local‐level participation. This article suggests that current critiques of participation's potential for democratic citizen engagement in a neoliberal context would benefit from further reflection on how participation is implemented in contexts, particularly the global South, where neoliberalism and democracy may be understood differently. Different 'cultures of engagement' in specific settings suggest that understandings and practices of participation draw on different traditions, including corporatism and self‐help. This article seeks to add to the debate by exploring the socio‐spatial consequences of participation structures in low‐income neighbourhoods in a provincial Mexican city. Based on qualitative research in two low‐income neighbourhoods in Xalapa, Mexico, it examines how the provisions of the local citizen‐participation framework compare with residents' experiences of it. Formalized conceptions of participation, framed as involvement in service provision, interact with and shape residents' activities in developing their neighbourhoods. This has consequences for urban development there, including the reflection and reproduction of social and spatial marginalization.

This article explores the experiences of urban informal settlements residents in formal and informal planning, and in the light of state planning's frequent exclusion of informal settlement residents, asks whether "insurgent planning" offers a conceptual alternative for understanding activities organized by these residents. Insurgent planning is understood as direct action by residents to transform local resources and capacities into political and social capital to defend and improve their neighborhood. It is found that opportunities for participation in this context are scarce, despite the existence of formal mechanisms, due to the neighborhood's lack of formal status. However, high levels of informal participation or insurgent planning, have contributed to the neighborhood's relatively consolidated physical state. But the present stagnation of community activity is perhaps due to the neighborhood's unrecognized status, and its lack of legal land tenure. The article concludes with some policy recommendations to better support informal neighborhoods. ; Este artículo explora las experiencias de residentes de asentamientos urbanos informales en su participación en planeación urbana. Debido a que la planeación estatal frecuentemente excluye habitantes de asentamientos informales, se propone la "planeación insurgente" a modo de concepto alternativo para comprender las actividades organizadas por ellos y se define como la acción directa de los residentes en la transformación de recursos y capacidades locales en capital social y político para defender y mejorar su vecindario. Se encuentra que las oportunidades de participación en este contexto son escasas a pesar de la existencia de mecanismos formales, debido a la carencia de estatus formal o legal del barrio. No obstante, los altos índices de participación informal o prácticas de planeación insurgente conllevaron a que el barrio tenga un estado actual de relativa consolidación física. Pero hoy en día hay un estancamiento en la actividad comunitaria, quizá debido al estatus no reconocido del barrio y a la falta de legalización de la tenencia de la tierra. El artículo concluye con algunas recomendaciones políticas para un mayor apoyo para los barrios informales ; Este artigo explora as experiências de residentes de assentamentos urbanos informais na sua participação em planejamento urbano. Devido a que o planejamento estatal frequentemente exclui habitantes de assentamentos informais, propõe-se o "planejamento insurgente" a modo de conceito alternativo para compreender as atividades organizadas por eles e define-se como a ação direita dos residentes na transformação de recursos e capacidades locais em capital social e político para defender e melhorar a sua vizinhança. Encontra-se que as oportunidades de participação neste contexto são escassas apesar da existência de mecanismos formais, devido á carência do status formal ou legal do bairro. Não entanto, as altas taxas de participação informal ou práticas de planejamento insurgente implicaram que o bairro tivesse um estado atual de relativa consolidação física. Contudo, hoje em dia tem um estancamento na atividade comunitária, talvez devido ao status não reconhecido do bairro e á falta de legalização na posse da terra. O artigo conclui com algumas recomendações políticas para um maior apoio para os bairros informais.

This article explores the experiences of urban informal settlements residents in formal and informal planning, and in the light of state planning's frequent exclusion of informal settlement residents, asks whether "insurgent planning" offers a conceptual alternative for understanding activities organized by these residents. Insurgent planning is understood as direct action by residents to transform local resources and capacities into political and social capital to defend and improve their neighborhood. It is found that opportunities for participation in this context are scarce, despite the existence of formal mechanisms, due to the neighborhood's lack of formal status. However, high levels of informal participation or insurgent planning, have contributed to the neighborhood's relatively consolidated physical state. But the present stagnation of community activity is perhaps due to the neighborhood's unrecognized status, and its lack of legal land tenure. The article concludes with some policy recommendations to better support informal neighborhoods. ; Este artículo explora las experiencias de residentes de asentamientos urbanos informales en su participación en planeación urbana. Debido a que la planeación estatal frecuentemente excluye habitantes de asentamientos informales, se propone la "planeación insurgente" a modo de concepto alternativo para comprender las actividades organizadas por ellos y se define como la acción directa de los residentes en la transformación de recursos y capacidades locales en capital social y político para defender y mejorar su vecindario. Se encuentra que las oportunidades de participación en este contexto son escasas a pesar de la existencia de mecanismos formales, debido a la carencia de estatus formal o legal del barrio. No obstante, los altos índices de participación informal o prácticas de planeación insurgente conllevaron a que el barrio tenga un estado actual de relativa consolidación física. Pero hoy en día hay un estancamiento en la actividad comunitaria, quizá debido al estatus no reconocido del barrio y a la falta de legalización de la tenencia de la tierra. El artículo concluye con algunas recomendaciones políticas para un mayor apoyo para los barrios informales ; Este artigo explora as experiências de residentes de assentamentos urbanos informais na sua participação em planejamento urbano. Devido a que o planejamento estatal frequentemente exclui habitantes de assentamentos informais, propõe-se o "planejamento insurgente" a modo de conceito alternativo para compreender as atividades organizadas por eles e define-se como a ação direita dos residentes na transformação de recursos e capacidades locais em capital social e político para defender e melhorar a sua vizinhança. Encontra-se que as oportunidades de participação neste contexto são escassas apesar da existência de mecanismos formais, devido á carência do status formal ou legal do bairro. Não entanto, as altas taxas de participação informal ou práticas de planejamento insurgente implicaram que o bairro tivesse um estado atual de relativa consolidação física. Contudo, hoje em dia tem um estancamento na atividade comunitária, talvez devido ao status não reconhecido do bairro e á falta de legalização na posse da terra. O artigo conclui com algumas recomendações políticas para um maior apoio para os bairros informais.

In cities of the Global South, access to land is a pressing concern. Typically neither states nor markets provide suitable land for all users, especially low-income households. In the context of urban growth and inequality, acute competition for land and the regulatory failures of states often result in conflict, which is sometimes violent, affecting urban authorities and residents. Conflicts are often mentioned in analyses of urban land, but rarely examined in depth. This paper develops a framework for land conflict analysis, drawing on relevant literature and the papers in this special issue. In order to explore the drivers, dynamics and outcomes of urban land conflicts, diverse disciplinary perspectives are discussed, including environmental security, political ecology, legal anthropology, land governance, conflict analysis and management, and urban conflict and violence. The papers focus on conflicts in the peri-urban areas of Xalapa, Mexico, and Juba, South Sudan, and during informal settlement upgrading in eThekwini (Durban), South Africa, and Nairobi. A second paper on South Africa examines how current tenure law reflects the characteristics and outcomes of previous conflicts. We suggest that an analytical framework needs, first, to consider definitional categories, including the material and emotional dimensions of access to land, conflict and violence, and tenure. Second, it needs to identify and examine the interests and behaviour of the many actors involved in urban land conflicts. And third, it needs to analyse the interactions and relationships between those involved at different levels, from the individual/household, through the local to the citywide, national and international.