Questioning governance of urban informality: A study of township economy in Alexandra, Johannesburg

Journal of Foresight and Thought Leadership

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Questioning governance of urban informality: A study of township economy in Alexandra, Johannesburg
 
Creator Masuku, Blessings
 
Subject Urban Studies informality; urban spatial planning and governance; street food vendors; township economy, informal food sector, regulatory framework.
Description Background: This study presents informality as a center of in-depth analysis by referencing current studies to demonstrate how this perspective foregrounds new and emerging pragmatic literature developments on urban informality, notably informality as a strategy for livelihood earning for disadvantaged groups.Aim: The purpose of this study was to examine the approach of the city of Johannesburg in its inclusive policy of urban spatial planning and management. This study interrogates what regulatory frameworks are in place that govern urban informality, notably informal trading.Methods: This study utilised in-depth interviews and policy document reviews. This study focused on township economy in Alexandra. The data collected were analysed using correlation and cross-tabulation methods.Results: Findings reveal that measures adopted by city authorities to govern informality are largely fragmented and uncoordinated; especially, the procedures on licensing, permit application and infrastructure access and provision for street vendors are intricate, cumbersome, and costly.Conclusion: The city of Johannesburg still overlooks the crucial economic role of township economies by clamping down on informal trade and forcing the informal traders to formalise their practice.Contribution: This study contributes to the emerging urban informality scholarship by exploring how city regulations and management conceptualise and engage with urban informality.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor
Date 2023-06-19
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — —
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/joftl.v2i1.20
 
Source Journal of Foresight and Thought Leadership; Vol 2, No 1 (2023); 14 pages 2958-1001
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://joftl.org/index.php/joftl/article/view/20/12 https://joftl.org/index.php/joftl/article/view/20/13 https://joftl.org/index.php/joftl/article/view/20/14 https://joftl.org/index.php/joftl/article/view/20/15
 
Coverage — — vendors; both male and female
Rights Copyright (c) 2023 Blessings Masuku https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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