12 - Introduction

Summary

In this section of the book we turn to the materiality of living conditions in Yeoville, in particular the house and home, and the neighbourhood micro convenience store. Ways of occupying houses, yards and flats in Yeoville, as in some other parts of Johannesburg, had become dense and intense, multi-use in nature, and frequently non-compliant with City regulations. Throughout the city there was no effective response to housing trends emerging from changes in the socio-economic and demographic context, reflecting a gap in national housing policy, limited and unreformed urban management tools, and municipal capacity overwhelmed or distracted by other pressing issues. In Yeoville, stressed buildings and living conditions had become a major concern for our Studio partners.

From diverse angles the Studio scrutinised physical conditions, residents’ experiences, social and management arrangements, and the contestations and innovations around these. Analysis of local and micro dynamics became the basis on which to build policy commentary and to facilitate discussion of it – a form of engaged research interactive not only with ordinary residents and community partners but also with its policy, regulatory and institutional environment. Authors’ contributions in this section thus extend beyond analysis to propose ways of intervening – through policy proposals, pilot projects or governance mechanisms, for example – in other words, to ‘recommend’.

Ambitious to use grounded research to inform more directly policy impasses and conundrums, the Studio convened a series of ‘roundtables’ or dialogues with housing practitioners and local authority officials at the end of the project. Despite frank discussions, these ultimately had limited success in shaping inner-city housing approaches, as Sarah Charlton's chapter reflects on and accounts for. Amongst the constraints – such as restrictions in the policy environment, alternative political imperatives and limited pressure from residents – was also the disconnect of City departments from the Studio: they had neither partnered in the work nor invited housing policy input. Nevertheless, a core member of Yeoville Studio with direct and important fieldwork experience, Simon Mayson, subsequently became a key driver within the City of a fresh and innovative inner-city housing plan.