UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Sciences Research Report for the Degree of Master of Arts By Coursework and Research Report Supervisor: Dr. Teresa Dirsuweit The Network Approach to Urban Regeneration The Case of Yeoville ?A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Geography?. - Johannesburg 2007 Human Research Ethics Committee: Protocol number: 41104 Declaration I declare that this thesis is my own unaided work. It is being submitted for the degree of Master of Arts in Geography at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. It has not been submitted for any other degree or examination in any other University. M. Ismail Farouk 15 March 2007 Acknowledgements My greatest gratitude goes to my supervisor Dr. Teresa Dirsuweit who has guided my research process through tough times over the past few years. Thank you to my Rat and Max for all your sacrifices and for putting up with me during the extended research report writing stage ? I am forever indebted to you. I would also like to thank the participants in this research for their time. Finally, Thanks to my parents, thanks to Fazila, Mohammed, Adam and last but not least Sadia ? thank you for your support during my extended academic career at Wits. - For Maxwell Abstract Yeoville presents a particular context of the inner city in decline and has been identified by the city as a suburb in need of regeneration. In 2004, The Yeoville Rockey/Raleigh High Street Development was conceived as the urban regeneration strategy for the upgrading of the suburb. The objectives of this strategy were to upgrade strategic public facilities and to improve urban management of the area over a period of five years. Through the prioritisation of a privatised urban management system, the aim was to attract a new middle class back into Yeoville (gentrification). However, the absence of a plan for dealing with the socio-economic challenges faced by the existing poorer residents has leads to cultural and class conflicts. International experience has shown that in order to achieve the long-term, strategic regeneration of poorer neighbourhoods, social networks and community development should be prioritised. An effective regeneration strategy should budget for capacity building from the outset and should involve citizens in the design and decision making process in order to ensure that the needs of all the local actors are met and that all possible resources are mobilised. At the forefront of this approach are alternative methodologies like social network analysis, which aim to reconnect the social, cultural and economic dimensions of society to rhythms of space and time. The focus on the mapping of existing social capital resources helps to pinpoint the opportunities, and constraints presented within neighbourhoods and ultimately guide the restructuring process in a meaningful and relevant way. Keywords: Urban Regeneration ? Gentrification - Social Networks - Rhythm Analysis Contents Chapter 1: Introduction 8 1.1 Development Context 12 1.2 A New Vision for Yeoville 13 1.3 Overview 14 1.4 Outline 15 1.5 Methodological Approach 16 Chapter 2: Literature Review 18 2.1 Locating the Theory 18 2.2 Urban Restructuring ? Early Debates 19 2.3 Urban Restructuring ? Recent Debates 22 2.4 Beyond the impasse: Complementing Approaches 25 2.5 The New Agenda for Urban Regeneration 26 Chapter 3: Urban Regeneration Policy and its impact on the Yeoville Precinct Plans 36 3.1 The Inner City Regeneration Strategy (2002) 37 3.2 BID Feasibility in Yeoville 39 3.3 Managing Risk 40 3.4 Profit Driven Project Definition 42 Chapter 4: Analysis of Findings 45 4.1 Park Management 48 4.2 Yeoville Recreation Centre 51 4.3 Yeoville Swimming Pool 52 4.4 Wider Networks 53 Chapter 5: Conclusion 72 8 Chapter 1: Introduction The main road is crammed with cars and there is always a paper recycling truck or a taxi or a police van obstructing the flow of traffic. Street vendors jostle for position on the crumbling sidewalks to sell everything from individual cigarettes to vegetables. Car guards in faded garments whistle after potential customers. Groups of school children play in the streets or crowd the arcade-game shops. People laugh and talk and move with bold confidence. Telephone lines crisscross balconies and reach down into the street. Informal telephone operators provide a service throughout the day and participate in the public performance of social interaction. Networks from continental Africa and technological networks merge with organic social webs and stretch through public space. Private space meets the public realm in a multiplicity of cultures and languages. Figure1: Public phone vendor on De La Rey Street The performance begins at dawn on the corner of Bedford and Raleigh. Besides the few perennial garbage heaps, the space is deserted. The streets begin to wake at first light and at six o?clock in the morning the only sound is that of occasional minibus taxis accelerating down Rockey Street. A few people emerge onto the scene. This is mostly the working-class making their way to work. Some of the hawkers appear and construct their haphazard stalls. The market traders across the road are sweeping their spaces and bringing out their wares. A few of the schoolchildren stop on the sidewalk for a quick game of tazzos. As the first light breaks and the streets become more populated the sound grows to a perceptible din. Soon the taxis hurtle down the road advertising their destinations. There is a young 9 man wearing a new suit running after one of the taxis shouting excitedly. He seems to be running late. The sound of his voice echoes above the traffic. He stumbles on the broken pavement and nearly falls. His body unexpectedly rushes forward and he flails his arms in an attempt to right himself. His right leg juts out forward at unpredictable angles and finds firm footing. The taxi he was shouting after disappears down the road, but another one pulls up next to him and he jumps in. The traffic quickly becomes chaotic. The traffic lights are out of order and the pedestrians run across the road at random intervals. Outside Time Square there is a considerable traffic jam and the drone of the traffic is often punctuated by shouts and hooting. People are in a rush and yet they are not in a hurry to get anywhere. Organised chaos. More hooting and shouting. It is still early in the morning, but the heat is beginning to intensify. Outside the Lothlorien Paper Recycling Centre the loud beeping of the paper truck echoes relentlessly and forces a synchronized blink from passers-by. The shops are open. People are milling outside the shop fronts and internet cafes and weighing out their options. The proprietors ? typically of continental African descent ? sit inside the darkened shops looking bored. And through this seeming disorder there exists an order that binds Yeoville together. The streets function as an organic entity that exists as an arrangement of activity and change. It seems as if there is an invisible conductor that coordinates this performance of conversation, construction, street trade, traffic, and social interaction. These diverse ?rhythms in the concrete? are made up of subjects and objects where opposites find and recognise each other in a unity both more real and more ideal, more complex than its elements. Rhythms are the music of the city, a picture that listens to itself. They represent a struggle between a measured, imposed and exterior time, and a more endogenous time. And while every street, every corner, every cafe and every sidewalk have their own rhythm there exists a binding beat to which Yeoville dances. This dance is never the same, however. It is riddled with improvisation and replete with variation through space and time. It is difficult to concretise a starting point to discuss the streets of Yeoville and impossible to distinguish a beginning and an end to the performance. It is as if the streets vibrate imperceptibly with their own, almost palpable creative energy. By eleven, Rockey Street settles down and quietly hums for the next few hours. The streets are less populated, but street traders and the car guards continue their 10 vigilance over the streets while the taxis persist in their quest for customers. On Fortesque Road, a weathered old man in tattered grey clothes sits on the pavement next to a street pole and shouts impatiently into its empty insides. In the main park, in the dust below the rusted park ride and next to the old swings, two ashy-legged youths sit with no shoes and talk excitedly. On Hopkins Street the smell of rotting sewage floats on the gentle breeze as the workers continue their work despite the smouldering heat and the blinding light. A few of the seats at the numerous shabeens are occupied. After lunch, the streets become livelier. There is more traffic while people move about their business or stop to talk. Banks and shops get busier in the afternoon as the heat begins to subside and the light strikes the city at a slightly more obtuse angle. There are more children on the streets and there is a gradual crescendo of sound. The movement on the streets begins to intensify. In the din of the afternoon a phone rings on the corner of Bezuidenhout Street, a little way downhill from the BP Garage. The phone rests atop a muddy computer stand. A woman approaches it picks up the receiver. She shouts jovially into the receiver in French. She continues to shout over the noises of the afternoon. By about five o?clock in the afternoon, the rush hour reaches its peak. The pavements are packed with people going home after work. The taxis and busses once again joust for position while their informal conductors advertise their destinations over the noise of the traffic. It is starting to get dark and some of the children, on their way back from play, have stopped at the well-lit popcorn machine near the market. One of the kids feels that he was cheated and argues with the popcorn vendor. The other children laugh and dance with glee at the site. Across the road a black, polished, expensive-looking Mercedes convertible stops next to the kerb and attracts considerable attention from the passers-by. A small group of people stops to stare at the impressive vehicle. The darkness is thicker now and the some of the streetlights are switched on. The sidewalks are changing as the homebound citizens are replaced by throngs of residents looking for entertainment. In the evening, young men and women gather at tables located at the (often informal) cafes and shabeens to drink and sing. Piccadilly Square is a hive of activity in the evenings. The sidewalk is packed and comes alive after nine o?clock when it is fortified by loud music emanating from the numerous 11 bars. Tandoor is a rooftop club located between Bezuidenhout and Raymond Street that attracts creative minds as well as young people looking for a night of quality reggae beats. On the other end of the street, at Time Square, a different kind of party is going down. In a small pool hall people gather to drink, gamble and shoot pool. The parks, normally vibrant spaces during the day, are poorly lit and considered dangerous spaces to frequent. Many of the sidewalks are shrouded in darkness and present a danger to passers-by. Up to about two o?clock in the morning, the streets are populated with people. The smell of food from informal vendors fills the air and security guards diversify their activities by selling cigarettes and sweets to passers by. About the only time that there seems to be no human activity on the streets is between two and five o?clock in the morning. Things quiet down for the night and an eerie silence settles on Yeoville. The streets are deserted and feel foreign and hostile with an occasional passer by or car headlights. And so the cycle is complete. The performance does not have a conclusion; the rhythm of Yeoville evolves through time. Some of the rhythms are cyclical and occur at intervals, some of them are accented and sudden, some have longer durations while some occur unexpectedly and disappear just as suddenly. Some rhythms dominate and determine other rhythms while others are mere remembrances of moments. The changing rhythms of different spaces and times throughout Yeoville provide a backdrop for social interaction that, in turn, becomes a part of the symphony as each player contributes to the overall performance. Rhythm analysis aims at reconnecting the social, cultural and economic dimensions of society to rhythms of space and time. It is an alternative methodology that furthers an understanding of existing networks through movement, as functional performance in relation to passing trade, property value and natural surveillance. This form of analysis can inform the development process by providing meaningful criteria for regeneration. However, it is rarely utilised in mainstream development mainly because of the narrow view of flagship regeneration projects that tend to impose an identity on an area based on market research which often contradicts the current activities and needs of existing residents. 12 1.1 Development Context An important catalyst in the development of the inner city has been the successful bid to host he soccer world cup in 2010.The success of which is highly dependent on the effective urban management of the city. The creation of development zones (See Figure 2) is the city?s response to t he management of the diverse urban typologies and activities present in the city. Development zones are ?place making? or marketing research exercises, which impose an identity onto a development area. The clustered developments are a means of privatising management of the inner city for the primary purpose of attracting investment opportunities. Figure 2: Johannesburg Development Context, JDA 2004 The development areas located to the east of the city (denoted by broken lines) is where the 2010 soccer world development is making an impact. This is where the sporting infrastructure is located. Investment in the inner city has also being encouraged by the creation of an Urban Development Zone (UDZ), which provides economic incentives to private developers who invest within the development zone. The potential benefits of the world cup combined with the financial incentives of the UDZ and the availability of vacant floor space is changing negative perceptions of the 13 city as indicated by the growing number of new businesses and residences currently being developed in the inner city. Despite the perceptions of increased investor, apartheid has left a lasting legacy and inner city residential neighbourhoods are still segregated culturally. Commonly, for the diversity of residents the city is a place where crime and the fear of police persecution still pervade. Compounding problems are thousands of people pour into the city on a daily basis in pursuit of financial success. Most are forced into the informal economic sector as the only viable economic activity and over trading is placing strain on the city?s infrastructure as street traders jostle for optimal operating spaces. 1.2 A New Vision for Yeoville In 1988, a plan to redevelop Rockey Street, the High street in Yeoville, was proposed by the Yeoville Community Development Forum to the City Council. The aim of the proposal was to change the negativity associated with the declining urban environment, however, the council did not respond timeously and the proposal was shelved (Smithers 2005). Fourteen years later in 2002, the Economic Development Unit presented the same proposal to the City Council to upgrade Rockey Street. This time the project was accepted by the mayor as it coincided with his view that there were a number of 'High Streets' in Johannesburg that needed attention, it was decided that Rockey Street would be used as a pilot project development. The Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) was appointed by the City Council to come up with a regeneration strategy for Rockey Street and after a period of research and consultation, the JDA presented a plan to the Joburg Metro which was approved in principle in August 2004 (Smithers 2005). The strategy called, ?The Rockey/Raleigh High Street Development??, would cost around R71million over a 4 year period. The primary aim of the development is to attract new investment into the area and to restore Rockey Street to its former glory and even better as "the symbolic heart and soul of Yeoville". At its most popular during the ?80s and ?90s, Yeoville boasted restaurants and entertainment venues, which vied for space in buildings along the main roads. 14 Another focus of the strategy is what is called the Civic Node, which details the redevelopment of the Yeoville Recreation Centre and park into a new public facility boasting a new clinic, a larger community centre, an improved police station, a heated swimming pool and improved play park and tennis courts. The new vision for Yeoville is two-fold in approach. An improvement to buildings and infrastructure describes an improved physical environment whilst a privatised urban management strategy describes an improved efficiency of services and utilities. What is apparent in this vision is a lack of a pro-poor focus as privatised services need to be supplemented by local stakeholders. A new vision for Yeoville will be shared only by those who can afford to pay for it. Figure 3: Architects impression of the new civic node, ASM Architects & Urban Designers (ASM 2004). 1.3 Overview Yeoville presents a particular context of the inner city in decline and has been characterised by a number of regeneration initiatives over the years. The market on Rockey Street is a recent effort to formalise street trading and on first sight the 15 market appears to be vibrant and successful but the reality is that it a contested space with dysfunctional management practices. Driven by the Inner City Regeneration Strategy (2002), the enforcement of the city?s by-laws is ensuring that unregulated street trade is outlawed. The contradictory goals of a well managed world class African city over a perceived ?chaotic? African city seems to pervade all sensibility as the city administration applies a heavy hand on the poorer residents and street traders of the city. Through the prioritisation of privatised urban management system, frequently referred to as Business Improvement Districts (BIDS), the inner city is characterised by areas of uneven services, which seem to fragment the quality of living in the inner city. The focus of the inner city regeneration strategy (2002) is the attraction of potential investment opportunities and the desire to attract a new middle class back into the city (gentrification). However, the absence of a plan for dealing with socio- economic challenges faced by the cities existing poor is leading to cultural and class conflicts. International experience has shown that in order to achieve the long-term, strategic social and economic regeneration of cities, social networks and community development needs to be prioritised (JRF 2000). An effective regeneration strategy needs to budget for capacity building from the outset and needs to involve citizens in the design and decision making processes in order to ensure that the needs of all the local actors are met and that all possible resources are mobilised (JRF 2000). 1.4 Outline Regeneration of inner cities most frequently takes the form of gentrification which is defined as the movement of middle class families into urban areas causing property values to increase. Local government has emphasized the construction of new infrastructure to promote this process. Chapter 2 locates the theory behind the gentrification concept and attempts to understand gentrification from both production-side and consumption-side points of view. Is gentrification a purely economic phenomenon or are there social aspects linked to the transformation of urban areas? This debate between production and consumption results in a deadlock. Furthermore, in reality the only thing that appears 16 to matter is the commercial viability of development projects. As a result the focus often tends to favour the physical conditions of localities and tends to ignore community or social development issues. British case studies point to new approaches in urban regeneration, which do not depend on middle class consumption patterns, these approaches rely on the mapping of existing social networks and on the capacity building of social capital resources as a strategy for building on existing neighbourhood strengths. However, the interpretation of participatory processes in the mainstream development context seems to legitimize ?non-participation? for active consultation and involvement. The misuse of the participation term in the global development context raises questions over the politics that inform it. Chapter 3 examines the cultural and class conflicts normally masked behind public- private ventures such as community participation bodies and privatised urban management partnerships and their ability to manage risk at a neighbourhood level. The Inner City Regeneration Strategy of local government is also reviewed. This importance of this strategy is that it outlines a five-pillar approach to attract and sustain private investment in the inner city. Privatised urban management is central to this approach and is used as a mechanism for determining the policy implementation at a neighbourhood level. Social networks need space to operate from. A lack of operating space leads to a reduced capacity and ultimately leads to the disruption of social networks. The initial focus of the second empirical chapter (chapter 4) is an examination of the social capital resources available in Yeoville Park, since Yeoville Park has been prioritised by the city as the site of initial capital investment. Before the beginning of construction work in June 2006, the park pr ovided the diverse range of Yeoville?s residents with an important collection of social facilities. I will analyse the facilities and social capital resources, which existed prior to the implementation stage of the regeneration initiative of the city. The official regeneration programme has ignored wider Yeoville and so the second part of Chapter 4 focuses on other spatial, social and economic networks. 1.5 Methodological Approach As my entry point, I chose to interview key informants through a combination of judgement sampling and snowball sampling. Unstructured yet guided interviews were 17 conducted to elicit an understanding of the complexities of Yeoville street life. Different types of interviews were carried out according to the following categories: ? Interviews with the regeneration project team: Interviews were conducted with the project manager from the JDA, the chief urban planner, representative from Kagiso Urban Manag ement and the chairperson of the Yeoville Stakeholder Forum (YSF). ? Interviews with those directly involved in the functioning of public amenities in Yeoville: Interviews were conducted with the manager of the Yeoville market, The Administrator of the Yeoville Library, The caretaker of the Yeoville Swimming Pool and The manager of the Yeoville Recreation Centre. ? Interviews with residents of Yeoville ? Interviews with informal traders and formal business owners in Yeoville. In total 27 interviews were carried out over a period of 12 months. Furthermore, my position as a resident and homeowner of Yeoville strengthened the research process through participant observation at trustee meetings. As such, trustees discussed important information around the effective running of a building in the suburb. I also participated in the Greater Yeoville List serve, which is an online platform for residents of Yeoville for the discussion of matters related to the suburb. The list serve is moderated by the chairperson of the Yeoville Stakeholder Forum (YSF) and is increasingly becoming more representative of the diversity of residents in Yeoville. 18 Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 Introduction: Locating the theory Forty three years have past since the word gentrification was coined by Ruth Glass in 1964. In its original definition, gentrification was used t o describe the rehabilitation of working-class and derelict housing and the consequent transformation of an area into a middle-class neighbourhood (Smith 1986). This process frequently causes an increase in the values of properties and has a secondary effect of driving out poorer families. As the terminology suggests, gentrification is a process which operates in the residential housing market. However, residential rehabilitation is only one facet of a more profound economic, social, and spatial restructuring. Gentrification deals not only with the production of urban space but also the production of gentrifiers. It therefore concerns the production and consumption of space by a group whose existence is an outcome of the restructuring of the social and economic relations of production, which has occurred since the late 1970s. The two related aspects of urban restructuring have been the internationalisation of ?production, distribution and exchange? and t he partial displacement of manufacturing by the rise of an international service community (Butler 1997). The consequence of this has been the decline of many cities associated with manufacturing or distribution and the rise of cities associated with the provision of business and other services (Smith and Williams 1986). Associated with this economic shift in the modes of production is a consequent transformation of the working class and there have been shifts in state intervention and political ideology aimed at the privatisation of consumption and service provision (Smith and Williams 1986). Urban regeneration encourages gentrification and is the visible spatial component of this social transformation. The earliest analyses of gentrification exposed tensions between those who were interested in the economics of the process and the relationships between flows of capital and the production of urban space and by those who were interested in the characteristics of the gentrifiers including life-style changes, preference patterns and descriptions of demographic change. The basis for these explanations was that changing urban patterns were the expression of changed consumption choices among the middle class (Smith and Williams 1986). 19 In the mid-1980s, however, it became clear t hat it was becoming increasingly invalid to claim that either production or consumption was 'more important' in the explanation of gentrification. The two divergent perspectives were reconciled and used in a multifaceted approach. Sharon Zukin (1982) was the first theorist to combine both methodological approaches. Zukin?s work suggests that cultural innovation, particularly around the activities of artists, can attract and then be displaced by commercial forms of gentrification. More recently, there have been some attempts to reconcile the capital and culture arguments by looking at gentrification as a manifestation of cultural capital (Butler 2003). Regardless whether emphasis is given to culture or capital, Atkinson and Bridge (2005) argue that gentrification must also be seen in the context of globalisation. An aspect of gentrification in a global context has been geographically dispersed neighbourhood to neighbourhood connections. These connections are described by the economic profile and the residential choices of the elite managerial class and by the other side of the global city represented by social networks of recruitment and migration of low paid personal service workers who clean the offices and apartments of the professional elite (Sassen 2000b). In this chapter I examine gentrification, despite the many arguments over its continuing validity as a concept, from both economic and cultural perspectives. I also examine new approaches to urban regeneration, which rely on the mapping of existing social networks as a tool for understanding the complexities of urban dynamics and on the capacity building of social capital resources as a strategy for building on existing neighbourhood strengths. 2.2 Urban Restructuring - Early Debates 2.2.1 Production ?Side Arguments ?Production-side? arguments explain urban restructuring processes within the context of uneven development (Smith & Williams 1986). A broad understanding of uneven development can provide some useful insights into many patterns of recent change in society and space at different scales: global, regional, national, urban and local (Massey, 1995, 2004). This theoretical appr oach emphasises the central problem of uneven economic power (socially and spatially). Urban restructuring in one region of a national or international economy may not be matched in quality or quantity, 20 character or extent, by restructuring in another. This is immediately apparent in a comparison of developed and developing parts of the world economy (Harvey 1982). David Harvey (1979, 1982, 1985a, 1985b) and Neil Smith (1982, 1984, 1986) are proponents of the ?production-side? approach, which explains uneven development in terms of the ceaseless drive of capital accumulation (to make money out of money) and the related imperative to seek out more profitable forms and patterns of investment (Harvey 1989; Smith 1984). This Marxist understanding of capital accumulation is inherently tied to the concept of labour. Labour and capital accumulation are two inseparable themes that are regarded the ''opposite sides of the same coin'' (Harvey, 1989: 59). Under capitalism, therefore, new spatial configurations can be understood in relation to these temporal requirements. The physical manifestations of such temporal requirements are discussed by Harvey and Smith in terms of Marx?s notion of the ?annihilation of space by time?. Under the impulse of increasing surplus value, capitalists are intent on reducing capital?s turnover time by restructuring the pattern of spatial integration (Harvey 1982; Smith 1984). Smith affirms the crisis in capital by summarising the most salient processes of the 'production-side' argument of urban restruct uring as the product of suburbanisation of capital or the devalorization of capital invested in the urban built environment and the operation of a rent gap. A rent gap is the difference between the value of abandoned inner city land and the potential value if put to better use, the result of a developing service economy or of changed life-style preferences (Smith 1986). 2.2.2 The decentralisation of advanced capitalist economies and the growth of white collar employment In the ?primary? circuit of commodity production the central question is how social relations within the economy are organised spatially (the spatial division of labour), as well as how this socio-spatial structure is dynamic and subject to periodic crises and reconstruction (Harvey 1990). The most important recent example is the global shift, whereby older Fordist systems have given way to a new international division of labour, characterised by increasingly mobile flows of capital, flexible production chains and a concentration of economic power in trans-national organisations. Harvey speaks of this transformation as one from Fordism to ?flexible accumulation? (Harvey 1990:41). 21 Flexible accumulation is linked to decentralisation which is associated with the decline of certain economic sectors and land uses. This is a product primarily of broader changes in the employment structure. Decentralisation has been experienced by both developed and developing countries since the 1960?s with a reduction of proportion of workers in the industrial sectors (Smith and Williams 1986). The corollary to deindustrialisation is increased employment in other sectors of employment, especially white-collar or service occupations. These broad types of employment include clerical, communication and retail operatives to managerial, professional and research careers (Smith 1986). According to Smith (1986), the processes of decentralisation and white collar growth do not explain the restructuring of urban centres. Rather, these processes help explain the kinds of building stock and land use most involved in the development of a rent gap and the kinds of new land uses which can be expected where the opportunity for redevelopment is taken. Applied at the urban scale, this kind of analysis describes the ?place? or ?role? of cities in the broader world economy as dynamic and subject to constant change. This is particularly evident under recent conditions of global shift, whereby cities increasingly compete for radically mobile investment in many sectors, and clear winners and losers can emerge at various times, as reflected in industrial job loss and economic decay at certain times/spaces, or rising service and high-tech employment and emerging post-industrial landscapes at a different juncture or location (Atkinson and Bridge 2005). 2.2.3 The Critique against Production-Side Arguments The theories presented by Harvey and Smith have the central point of ?unevenness? as a broad theoretical consideration to the understanding of the conflicts and contradictions generated by capital accumulation. Subsequent gentrification literature has been shaped by arguments against explanations of the restructuring process which have an economic bias. Critics of Smith's rent gap theory describe it as a partial explanation for reinvestment in the urban core. The main argument against rent gap theory has been the fact that the theory does not tell us anything about the gentrifiers. Hamnett (1991) argues that while the gentrification process does involve capital flows, it also involves people. Smith has been criticised for being insensitive to consumer patterns and demand. This argument, presented in Ian Munt?s (1987) 22 research, stemmed from the perception that gentrification cannot take place without the existence of a 'pool of gentrifiers?, or consumers who have a desire to live in the inner-city. These critics argued that people have individual preferences regarding their place of residence, and Marxist analyses such as Smith's work seemed to ignore this concept in favour of an approach which emphasise the centrality of capital fluctuations within urban areas. This argument was tracked further developed by Liz Bondi (1991: 194) who commented that th e rent-gap theory prioritised economic processes over the cultural conditions of their operation and ?serves as a foil against opening up questions of gender practises?. In 1992, Smith believed he had been misrepresented in the critiques, saying, "I do not now believe, nor have I ever believed, that the rent gap is the only and sufficient explanation of gentrification" (Smith 1992:112) . The nature of the critique against rent gap theory forms the basis of the consumption-side school argument which asks the fundamental question, ?What about the people?? (Slater 2004). 2.3 Urban Restructuring ? Recent Debates 2.3.1 ?Consumption-side? Arguments The word ?consume? or ?consumer? both in their original meanings have pejorative connotations: to use up, destroy, devour, waste, squander, exhaust (Aldridge 2003). The ?consumption? term originally referred to any wasting disease, before becoming the term for severe pulmonary tuberculosis. From the mid-nineteenth century, the term ?consumer? mutated into a neutral term in bourgeois political economy and became an abstract entity in opposition to ?producer?, just as ?consumption? stood in contrast to ?production? (Aldridge 2003: 2). The literature on consumption is polarized into two camps, as Slater (1997: 51, cited in Aldridge 2003: 7) puts it, ?the study of formally rational behaviour (economics) and the study of its irrational, cultural content (the rest)?. The war between economics and the ?rest? is not the only contest. Sociology and cultural studies have been regularly criticised by social anthropologists for peddling stereotypes of ?the? consumer, as a result subsequent cultural studies writings have broken free from the criticism associated with sociology?s obsession wi th social class and production (Aldridge 2003). 23 2.3.2 From Production to Consumption David Ley has been regarded as one of the leading proponents of the a ?demand- side? model of gentrification which focuses on the agency of the characteristics of the gentrifiers including life-style changes, preference patterns and descriptions of demographic change (Beauregard 1986). Ley?s argument about gentrification takes as its starting point the ?production? of gentrifiers by the new service economy and their cultural and consumption requirements. He is interested in the emergence of the post-industrial city, which is closely related to the decline in manufacturing employment and the rise of tertiary and quaternary sector employment which, in turn, creates a demand for the new middle class in the inner city (Butler 1997). Ley?s approach explains the demand for gentrification mainly by focussing on the supply of gentrifiers but is unable to identify which areas are likely to provide gentrified housing. Although his primary focus may be in terms of consumption and lifestyle, he does not deny the primacy of production processes but argues that these produce a class of people who express their needs in relation consumption and cultural issues (Butler 1997). Critics of Ley?s earlier research argue that his explanations of consumption suffer from a productivist bias. Alan Aldridge (2003: 28) argues that even if the prioritisation of production over consumption was credible in the heyday of industrial capitalism, today its validity is questionable. Community has been eroded, social class is in decline, and work is no longer a central life interest for the majority of people. 2.3.3 Gentrification, Culture and Identity Over the past few decades there has been a trend toward the postponement of marriage and of childrearing, and increasingly more people deciding to remain childless, despite a more recent rise in childbearing in women in their early thirties (Beauregard 1996).The implications for gentrifi cation are that these decisions create more single individual households and childless couples whose consumption patterns differ from those who have traditionally migrated to the suburbs (Beauregard 1996). The importance of demographic issues seems to be chiefly in the determination of the surface form taken by much of the restructuring rather than explaining the fact of urban transformation. Given the movement into the urban core, and the emphasis on executive, professional, administrative and managerial functions, as well as other 24 support activities, the demographic and life-style changes can help understand why we have trendy franchise stores rather than family owned corner shops (Smith 1996). The work of many feminist urban geographers writing initially in the 1980s shows an increasing incorporation of cultural studies throughout the past decade. In recent years, feminist discourse has presented complex arguments related to gentrification (Rose 1996; Bondi 1998, 1999). Thus research that was once more exclusively concerned with the different structures and spaces of patriarchy, while remaining attentive to these processes, now also incorporates theories of knowledge that stem from more culturalist and postcolonial traditions (Bondi 2005). 2.3.4 The Aesthetics of Gentrification Studies of gentrification have acknowledged the importance of a gentrification aesthetic. For some this aesthetic is at the centre of analysis. Jager (1986) used the insights of Veblen and Bourdieu to suggest how certain attributes of Victorian housing are aestheticised to symbolise the cultural distinctiveness of a new, but insecure, middle class. In an earlier important theoretical contribution Warde (1991) argued that differences due to stage in the life course were likely to account for the contrasting types of gentrification - newly built apartments for young singles, Victorian terraces for young families. These contrasts were tied strongly, according to Warde, to the increased participation of women in the professional labour force. Thus the inner areas of post-industrial cities, especially global cities, have passed over to the arenas of reflexive consumption associated with the urban new middle class. Ley (1996) calls this the aestheticisation of consumption and argues that it builds on a post-industrial liberal politics begun in the 1960s with the hippy movement. Aestheticised consumption involves the valorisation of historic preservation and the consumption of craft or commodities. These aesthetic valuations are set against the newness and mass-produced characteristics of housing in the suburbs. Zukin (1991) identifies a critical infrastructure of artists, gallery owners, restaurant critics and cultural commentators that comprise a community that supports the gentrification process. Whether the gentrification aesthetic is seen as coherent or fragmented, to some degree, all these judgements depend on the nature of the gentrified neighbourhoods themselves. Lyons (1994) points to the importance of the feminisation of professional employment in this context. This work is all about the new middle class in the commonly identified gentrified neighbourhoods. Much less attention, however, has been paid to gentrifiers moving through the housing system 25 as part of their work/housing histories. Some of these concerns are captured by Bondi (1999) through her analysis of the contrasting class and neighbourhood histories of professionals within a particular gentrified district. 2.4 Beyond the impasse: Complementing Approaches One of the first attempts to highlight the fact that both factors were important came from the sociologist Sharon Zukin, in her now classic study of the gentrification of SoHo in New York City entitled 'Loft Living' (1982). The role of culture was crucial in enabling financial capital to rehabilitate the SoHo area of Manhattan from an industrial area into an upper income residential district (Zukin 1987). The large warehouses which dominated the area were initially sought after by artists who needed to live and work in the area in large and well-lit working spaces. This resulted in the development of ?loft living? whereby the large warehouse floors were converted into studio apartments. Initially these functional working and living-space conversions were restricted to working artists but inevitably the arrangement became synonymous with a desirable lifestyle and the basis for commercial rehabilitation aimed directly at young and affluent members of Manhattan?s expanding middle class. Zukin explains with how derelict loft spaces attracted artists in the 1960s and 1970s, and through them provided a cultural basis for the commercial redevelopment of Lower Manhattan. Her phrase 'cultural capital' encapsulates the emphasis of her project - it was the fusion of culture and capital which set the stage for gentrification to take place, not one over the other. Most Marxist urban geographers of the 1980s, whilst not relinquishing their firm grip on materialist processes and the social relations of class struggle, have widened their view in the last decade to incorporate symbolic meanings in their examinations of urban conflict. Following the lead of David Harvey (1989) and Smith (1993, 1995, 1998) recent work on the city demonstrates a keen desire to explore new avenues of thought and to connect with some of the work in cultural studies. Loretta Lees (2000) provides the most precise and informative critique of one-sided explanations, and calls for a 'productive tension' between economic Marxism and cultural postmodernism. 26 2.5 The New Agenda for Urban Regeneration The new agenda for 'urban regeneration' is not just about enhancing the physical conditions of localities, but also about improving the economic conditions and unemployment of the area in question; tackling social and community issues; and, developing the longer term future of the locality by strengthening the community's potential for self-government (Skelcher 1996). In Britain, the urban regeneration process is built around linkages between a range of stakeholders. The widening urban policy agenda and changes in the structure of the public sector mean that a variety of community, public, private and voluntary groups are now brought into a working relationship that focuses on particular initiatives and programmes. Some of these linkages are informal contact and voluntary effort, while others are more formalised with a management structure and paid staff (JRF 2000). These new approaches try to be an answer for the failures of many of the early regeneration attempts. Earlier approaches tended to be single issue oriented, focusing solely on environmental upgrading, delivered by a single minded agency and often operated top-down, in isolation both from other local programmes and those they were intended to assist (Thake 1995). Urban regeneration strategies have to address a complex mix of local needs and opportunities (Bemrose and Mackeith 1996). Experience has shown that the answer in urban regeneration is not leaving the initiatives either to the private or the public sector to try to do it all on their own. Rather it involves creating partnership and community networks (Bemrose 1996; Hastings1996; Skelcher 1996) and promoting regeneration over a period of years in order to achieve a balanced incremental development (Badshah 1996). 2.5.1 Case Study: ?Urban regeneration through partnerships? ?Urban regeneration through partnerships,? was an innovative study of partnerships in nine urban regions in England, Wales and Scotland. Partnerships and critical issues about policy and governance were identified priority issues. The study looked at regeneration partnerships in East London and Newham, Birmingham, Greater Manchester, South Yorkshire and Sheffield, the Tees Valley and Middlesbrough, the Welsh Valleys and Rhondda Cynon Taff, Lanarkshire, Glasgow and Edinburgh(JRF 2000). The result of this study was that in order to achieve long-term, strategic social 27 and economic regeneration of cities and neighbourhoods, there is a need to: ? Move away from blueprint, modernist approach to planning towards a more organic, integrated approach that focuses on rejuvenating social space, (JRF, 2000). ? Stimulate the local economy with activities such as training and enterprise support to business in order to increase the skills of the unemployed; ? Place social networks and community development at the forefront; ? Focus on reversing the trends of social exclusion by fostering community development; ? Engage with social and community issues such as community safety, adult literacy and health promotion; ? Budget for community capacity building from the outset; ? Involve citizens and private and local community sectors in the design and decision making processes in order to ensure that the needs of all the local actors are met and that all possible resources are mobilised and that ownership and commitment are enhanced; ? Have distinct and finite links to regional, provincial and national policy in order to ensure coherence. The underlying perspective of these strategies is that almost anything to do with a locality experiencing economic and social deprivation becomes integral to urban regeneration. At the forefront of this approach is a focus on the mapping of existing social networks, which help to pinpoint the opportunities, and constraints presented within neighbourhoods and ultimately guide the restructuring process in a meaningful and relevant way. 2.5.2 The Network Approach The theoretical underpinnings of the network approach are found in the social capital and neighbourhood participation literatures. Globally, the social capital concept is increasingly being applied to disadvantaged neighborhoods. Social capital highlights important resources and points to a more socially determined and locality-based mix of ?trust, norms and networks that can improve the efficiency of society by facilitating coordinated actions? (Putnam, Leonardi and Nanetti 1993, 167). Social capital is a multidimensional concept that encompasses both a structural and a cultural (or attitudinal) dimension (Van Deth 2003; Stolle and Hoogh 2003; Uslander and Dekker 28 2001). The structural dimension refers to the extent to which citizens are engaged in all kinds of formal and informal networks that may connect them to their neighbourhood and the wider world as well as through connections at the workplace and memberships in all kinds of associations (Lilieveldt 2004). The attitudinal dimension refers to people?s mindsets. Tradi tionally this dimension was equated with social trust but it also incorporates norms and values (Van Deth 2003). Norms and values refer to obligations, democratic orientations, and levels of tolerance. It is because of the wide definition and application of the social capital concept that the decomposition of the concept into its constituent elements becomes crucial. Subsequently, it is important to specify the mechanisms which may affect neighborhood participation. The impact of trust on neighborhood orientated forms of participation derives from the expectation of reciprocity that is associated with it. Trust helps overcome collective action dilemmas because it makes people more willing to contribute to the neighborhood when they are confident that others will take their turn as well (Putnam, Leonardi and Nanetti 1993). The impact of a sense of duty operates through norms and feelings of obligation that tell someone to do something about neighborhood problems or to keep an eye on a neighbours home (Lilieveldt 2004). Although there?s an expectation that all the elements of social capital will be positive, the mechanisms differ. Figure 5: Constituent elements of Social Capital 29 For social networks the mechanism is information; for trust the mechanism is reciprocity and for duty the mechanism is the feeling of obligation (Llileveldt 2004). Social networks have value for people inside the network and also for those outside. Networks are extremely valuable because they transmit information, encourage trust and reciprocity and influence identities. General norms of reciprocity mean that individuals engage in selfless acts without direct expectation that the favour will be returned immediately. Fine (2001) argues that both the meaning and the distribution of social capital have been said to be context specific, whilst Foley and Edwards (1999) point out that how social capital is produced, its ?use value? and ?liquidity? or ?portability? depend upon the specifics of context. Networks therefore have to be analysed within the context of underlying collective problems and the prevailing political and institutional arrangements of which they are a part (Pennington and Rydin 2000). In relation to crime, theories of informal social control view communities as social organisations with complex social networks which influence their ability to control youth and criminal activities (Shaw and Mackay 1942). Perceptions of neighbourhood cohesion, trust and expectations that neighbours would exercise informal control over others, have been related to levels of violent crime and property crime both within particular cities (Sampson et.al. 1997). Social capital is interpreted as a community resource which is associated with better socialisation and collective norms (Bridge 2002). Network Approach Methodology Social network theory is a branch of social science that applies to a wide range of human organisations, from small groups of people to entire nations. The term network refers to a set of objects, or nodes, and a mapping or description of the relationship between the objects. In the case of social networks, the objects refer to people or groups of people. For example, a network might consist of a person and a mapping from that person to each of his or her friends and relatives. The mapping can be directional or bi-directional. An example of a directional mapping would be if person A related to person B, but person B did not relate to person A. This is a directional mapping from person A to person B. An example of a bi-directional 30 mapping would be if person A and person B both related to each other (Kearns 2003). Network analysis allows researchers to see how actors are located or "embedded" in the overall network (Freeman 1988). An actor can be a person, an organisation, a place or even an object. Rather than just describing an actor's attributes, the network analyst instead attempts to perceive a structure of connections, within which the actor is embedded. Linkages as well as their attributes describe actors. The linkages themselves are just as important as the actors that they connect (Buskens and Weesie 1999). The major difference between conventional data and network data is that conventional data focuses on actors? attributes while network data focuses on actors and their linkages (Freeman 1988). Network analysis methods require that we collect information about the ties of each actor with other actors. A thorough examination of networks allows for very powerful descriptions and analyses of social structures. Unfortunately, comprehensive network data can also be very expensive and difficult to collect (Buskens and Weesie 1999). Obtaining extensive data from every actor is a challenging task in any but the smallest areas. However, the task is made more manageable through the identification of a limited number of specific groups, individuals, times or spaces through critical observation and community consultation. Actors and their positions (embeddedness) within networks can be assessed and cross-linked. This data is further supplemented through a systematic assessment of case studies (Freeman 1988). A great deal can be learnt about a network and about the structural constraints on individual actors, one can even start forming some hypotheses about their social roles and behavioural tendencies, just by looking at adjacent actors and linkages. In theory, an actor is "reachable" by another if there exists any set of connections, which can be traced from the source to the target actor, regardless of how many others fall between them. For the purposes of this study, an actor is connected to another actor only if it is directly adjacent to it (primary linkage) or if there are one (secondary) or two (tertiary) other actors between the target and the source. Beyond that, actors usually have very little influence on each other (except in specific cases). Most persons, groups, and organisations tend to have limited numbers of ties ? or at least limited numbers of primary and secondary ties ? as social actors have limited 31 resources, energy, time, and cognitive capacity to maintain large numbers of strong ties (Freeman 1988). Figure 4: The Network Approach methodology A useful method to examine networks as a whole, and the way in which actors are embedded in them, is to examine local structures. Networks can thus be categorised into thematic sub-networks such as economic networks, cultural networks, crime networks, and networks of mobility and movement. These categories however, only serve the purpose of simplifying the information into more manageable chunks. All of the (sub-) networks are tightly interlinked and interdependent. Social, spatial, economic and technological networks intersect to form a complex matrix of fluid actors and linkages that is dynamic and evolving. Social network analysis is a powerful means to understanding the fluidity of everyday life in Yeoville. Networks tend to be self-reinforcing and contribute to the production and reproduction of identity and social norms. Constructive actors and linkages form a significant part of social capital and result in high levels of cooperation, trust, reciprocity, civic engagement and collective well being. Social structures can develop a considerable degree of order and solidarity with relatively few connections. However, detrimental actors and linkages are also self-reinforcing. This means that they can ?intensify one another in a suffocating miasma of vicious circles? (Puntam, 1993: 177) and cause distrust, isolation, disorder, exploitation and crime. 32 Through the identification of positive and negative actors and network linkages, it is possible to pinpoint the opportunities and constraints presented within established networks and better inform the proposed interventions by guiding the process of self- reinforcement in a constructive manner. In trying to understand Yeoville, we need to examine the interweaving of potentials and constraints that activate and delimit the specific initiatives of local communities to maintain a sense of social cohesion. From here we are able to enhance and diversify the positive network positions and alter, modify or remove the negative network positions (Freeman 1988). Internally, networks need to develop a language which is accessible to all and ground rules for decision-making and resolving any conflicts. Externally, they need to establish links with both the formal democratic system, and with networks and partnerships at different scales - the local, regional, central government levels. Social Networks and Participation One of the reasons social network theory is studied is that by understanding the mappings connecting one individual to others, one can evaluate the social capital of that individual. Social capital refers to the network position of the object or node and consists of the ability to draw on the resources contained by members of the network. Basically, the more connections a person has in the social network, the more knowledge, influence, and power the original person will control. Social capital can have a substantial influence on a person?s life; affecting such aspects as job searches and potential for promotions. Social networks can also help sociologists identify primary groups and cliques (Kearns 2003). Networks in an urban regeneration context raise wide questions about changing forms of governance and the implications of a shift of power from elected to non- elected bodies. Participants in community networks are engaged in two processes - the particular urban regeneration initiative itself and the longer-term process of developing new forms of governance drawing on the benefits of networking (JRF 2000). Despite greater openness in urban regeneration networks in recent years, some groups are significantly less advantaged than others. At the societal level, there are barriers of class, race, gender and locality. Networks of minority groups may remain invisible and unrecognised by policy-makers. Local activists who have 33 been campaigning for years may feel suspicious of policy-makers' sudden enthusiasm for 'participation'. Where marginalised groups enter mainstream regeneration networks, they may feel themselves disadvantaged in terms of status and knowledge of the 'rules of the game' (JRF 2000). Developing sustained urban regeneration and new forms of community governance depends not only on the creation of networks, but on how those networks are supported and maintained in the long term. Ultimately, the sustainability of networks is dependent of effective participation and on existing social capital resources. However, participation in the mainstream sense is often an afterthought and strategies for achieving greater involvement points to a gap between the rhetoric and the reality. ...Images conveyed by simple terms are taken as reality, and words are increasingly loaded with ideological symbolism and political correctness. It may seem innocuous. It surely is not. Why make a fuss? The reason is that the terms we use help to shape the policy agenda. The linguistic crisis is real, and is not going to go away (Standing 2001:13). Participatory approaches emerged in the ?60s along with the global focus on poverty reduction and the development of the basic needs approach, which suggested that the focus of aid should shift from investment in capital formation to the development of human resources. In its earlier form community participation was a sub-category of techniques and methodologies known as ?participatory approaches in development?. But instead of human development, participation resulted in communities sharing the costs and the burdens of development (Saint 2001). The terms ?community participation? has gained considerable popularity in recent years in the language of mainstream development. There is general consensus about the need for community participation. However, participation inevitably reflects the ideological position of those initiating the process. In current usage, the term ?community participation? in urban regeneration has an important methodological consequence. ?Community? refers to local groups of users, beneficiaries, stakeholders who own, use and have access to these resources and have been identified as such in the projects. ?Partici pation? means taking part by these groups in consultations and actions for planning, execution, maintenance and benefit sharing. This is done both informally and by setting up formal committees, forums and other organizations which, invariably, include local functionaries of government or non- 34 government agency to provide guidance, maintain financial control and undertake training (Saint 2001). However, as the debate on the meaning and practice of participation continues, it would appear that it has become a umbrella term for a people-centred approach to development. The inclusion of participation processes in development appears to represent a considerable shift in approach but has it made a difference at all? Has it led to any meaningful change in the policies pursued by mainstream development? One way to approach this would be a look at what is actually being done in the field of urban regeneration and to ask questions about to what extent this represents real differences in practice. Is ?community participation? a democratic process that offers meaningful representation or simply, the appropriation of nice-sounding words to dress up ?business as usual?? Figure 6: Sherry Arnstein's Ladder of Participation (Arnstein 1969) Sherry Arnstein's Ladder of Participation (see figure 6), developed over 30 years ago, remains a powerful tool for thinking about how much influence people have in participation processes. Arnstein?s model illustrates that there are various grades of participation. The bottom of the ladder describe levels of "non-participation" that appear to substitute for genuine participation. Their objective is not to enable genuine involvement, but to enable those in power to manipulate control whilst appearing to include participants (Arnstein 1969). The rungs progress to levels of 'tokenism' that 35 allow participants to voice an opinion (Informing and Consultation) but this voice does not ensure any power to effect meaningful change. Placation, is a higher level of ?tokenism? because those in power have the continued right to decide but still accept that there may be some resistance to their decisions (Arnstein 1969). At the top of the ladder are levels of citizen power with increasing degrees of decision-making power. Citizens can enter into a Partnership that enables them to negotiate and engage in future decision making whilst the topmost rungs, Delegated Power and Citizen Control, imply decision-making or full managerial power (Arnstein 1969). Public participation in public-private partnerships (a dominant urban practice for local government), is frequently a mere technical fix that leaves unchallenged the uneven global and local relations in which poverty and powerlessness remain embedded (Saint 2001). Thus, an understanding of the ways in which they have been made relevant to the needs of the poor while operating to enhance the cities to participate in and operate at the global scale has become imperative to this study. In this chapter I have examined the gentrification concept from both the production- side and consumption-side perspectives. I have also investigated new approaches to urban regeneration, which do not depend on middle class consumption patterns, but rather on the mapping of existing social networks and on the capacity building of social capital resources as a strategy for building on existing neighbourhood strengths. However, the interpretation of participatory processes in the mainstream development context seems to legitimize ?non-participation? for active consultation. In the following chapter, I will examine the cultural and class conflicts normally masked behind public-private ventures such as community participation bodies and privatised urban management partnerships and I will examine their ability to manage risk at a neighbourhood level. 36 Chapter 3: Urban Regeneration Policy and its impact on the Yeoville Precinct Plans Global capital maintains a particular relationship between space and place. Although the expansion of capital accumulation invests in infrastructure in a city and uses this infrastructure for further expansion, ultimately the imperative to constantly to seek out more profitable forms and patterns of investment (Harvey 1989; Smith 1984) altering the scale at which the urban political economy operates. The work done at the city scale functions to map participants in the global political economy of place and thereby reconstitutes the global scale itself. As the global scale reshapes, the local scale subsequently is redefined in terms of just how local it really is. Public-private ventures in urban areas have been at the forefront of this political economy of place by regenerating city infrastructure and altering urban governance structures to become more competitive within this political economy (Fraser and Lepofsky 2003). Public-private ventures usually represented by community participation bodies and privatised urban management companies, both claim to simultaneously improve neighborhoods as well as the quality of life for those who reside in these locales (Halpern 1995). In this chapter I highlight the cultural and class conflicts normally masked behind public-private ventures such as community participation bodies and privatised urban management partnerships. I also assess the ability of privatised urban management and community participatory bodies to manage risk at a neighbourhood level. However before doing so, the Inner City Regeneration Strategy (2002) is briefly reviewed. This importance of this strategy is that it outlines a five-pillar approach to attract and sustain private investment in the inner city. Privatised urban management is central to this approach and is used as a mechanism for determining regeneration interventions at a neighbourhood level. 37 Figure 7: The relationship between The Inner City Regeneration Strategy and Urban Design. 3.1 The inner city Regeneration Strategy and the place of the urban poor The Inner City Regeneration Strategy was developed for the city of Johannesburg in 2003 (City of Johannesburg 2004). The strategy serves to synchronize the efforts of all agencies under the leadership of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Council for the regeneration of the inner city. The strategy is comprehensive and aims to ?encourage improved coordination of efforts and mobilization of resources, better institutional management and identification of areas for attention? (City of Johannesburg, 2004: 3). The Inner City Regeneration Strategy and Business Plan highlight the strategic importance of the inner-city as an economic asset to the wider planning goal of developing Johannesburg as a world-class African city. The five-pillars of the strategic framework for regenerating the inner city are: ? The first pillar seeks to address the problem of ?sinkholes?. Sinkholes are properties, which are characterised by dysfunctional practises and result in either abandonment or overcrowding of buildings. 38 ? The second pillar is that of ?i ntensive urban management? which focuses on ?by-law enforcement, management of informal trading, regular or improved delivery of services and utilities and maintenance of the public realm?. Private examples of such intensive urban management are seen as the Business Improvement Districts and CCTV surveillance. ? The third pillar focuses on maintenance and infrastructure role out including roads, street signs and robots, water, sanitation and power networks and waste collection points. ? The fourth pillar is the promotion of so-called ?ripple pond investments? which encourage gentrification and are defined as ?catalytic, concerted investments in property that create confidence for further investment in adjacent areas?. Examples of such ripple pond investments are private sector or public sector led initiatives such as the recently developed Constitution Hill or Newtown Cultural Precinct. ? The fifth pillar relates to targeted support for SMME development for youth entrepreneurs in particular. An analysis of the above five- pillar strategy demonstrates that the business plan was developed to address urban blight and other socio-political problems such as unregulated street trade and the overcrowding of buildings by representing business interests through the prioritising a privatised urban management system or Business Improvement Districts (BIDS) and by creating new investments in property. BIDs are loosely defined as geographic areas in which the majority of property owners determine and agree to fund supplementary and complementary services to those normally provided by the Local Authority. Supplementary services might include safety and security patrol officers, by-law enforcement, pavement cleaning, litter collection and the maintenance of public space. Complementary services might include business attraction through marketing and place making through forging new place identities (Frasier 2002). The terms ?clean and safe? are generally used to describe the primary objective of most Improvement Districts and they implement a wide range of services to support the perception of cleanliness and safety. This approach is common, and businesses and property owners believe "that to be competitive, they need the same dedicated funding and management tools as a regional shopping centre, an office campus, or a 39 theme park? (Levy 2001). By paying for such supplemental services as sanitation and security, urban BID participants expect to create clean and safe spaces that attract more shoppers and investors. However, because BIDs are created to supplement services, they often result in an unequal quality of life beyond the BID boundaries. 3.2 BID Feasibility in Yeoville Investigation of the feasibility study (Yeoville Urban Management Business plan August 2005 conducted by Kagiso Urban Management or KUM) reveals that in the project area there are 247 properties of which only 44 have business rights. Together these properties are valued at R10.6m by the municipal authority for purposes of rates revenue calculation. The rates revenue from properties in the area to the council, based on information from the valuation roll is R95 700 per month. Assuming a BID levy contribution of 20% of monthly rates income, the BID revenue would be R19 140 per month. This means if all proper ty owners paid their levies, an amount of R19 140 would be available every month for BID management and services in the Yeoville project area. This figure is alarmingly low and falls short of the required R250 000 per month for supplementary services. Thus, the BID in its usual formulation of services paid for by levies from property owners is not feasible in Yeoville. The feasibility study concluded that other sources of income are required to supplement property owner contributions (KUM 2005). According to KUM, Yeoville is the first poor neighbourhood to undergo a BID feasibility study and thus there is very limited local literature written on BIDs in poorer neighbourhoods. Internationally, models such as Neighbourhood Improvement Districts (NBIDS) have been tested in poorer neighbourhoods. Katharyne Mitchell (2000) analyzes a participatory mapping project and messages on a neighborhood e-mail list to compare the visions of place expressed by disempowered community members living under the management of NBIDs. The study reveals that although NBID structures regulate public life and may increase the perception of safety for certain constituents and restructure the business environment to suit their preferences, it also threatens to suppress the varied expression of human interaction and constrain the capacity of small businesses to stay afloat. NBID structures also inflame already existing tensions. The surveillance of public space and the restriction of citizenship to consumership results in intense neighborhood conflict. The increased surveillance of street life under a NBID has the 40 potential of deepening the current social and ethnic cleavages and reinscribing onto historical class, ethnic, and racial prejudices (Mitchell 2000). NBIDs concentrate power for a narrow set of actors, primarily property owners and secondarily business owners. They prioritise the needs and desires of groups of constituents and stakeholders who already command greater access to economic and political capital. How can poor communities find meaningful representation in which citizen engagement can be expanded through community processes that highlight and empower alternative voices to interrogate ?possessive? and consumptive benefits (Zukin 1995)? The seemingly attainable objectives expressed by the above question continue to contradict our ethical sensibilities through the ceaseless drive for accumulation, the forces of globalisation and gentrification. 3.3 Managing Risk An examination of the Yeoville regeneration management model (Figure 9) reveals that risk is managed by a 3 pronged stakeholder participation process and the implementation of a Business Improvement Districts (BID) as the primary sustainability mechanisms. The emphasis on ?community participation? in the Yeoville management model appears to represent a considerable shift in approach but has it led to any meaningful change? Figure 8: The Development Management Process (JDA 2004) 41 3.3.1 Community Participation in Yeoville In 2004 the Yeoville Development Forum (YDF) was developed as a community representative body as a direct result of the regeneration plans for the area. The primary function of the YDF was to engage the community in a discussion of future plans with view of implementation (JDA 2004). However, not much discussion took place and the organisation failed shortly after inception. The report On Public/Stakeholder Participation for Yeoville Urban Design Project (2004) lists the following methodological constrains as reasons for the failure of the organisation: ? Political affiliation and poor attendance by the ward councillor at meetings; ? Poor attendance by stakeholders; ? The lack of consultation of the wider community due to accreditation requirements which favour formal groups and stakeholders with a vested economic interest only; ? The instability of the community of Yeoville brought about by the immigration to other areas; ? Budgetary constrains which dictated a 30 day timeframe for the presentation of the draft business plan. Despite, the lack of meaningful consultation, the initial business plan for the redevelopment of the Yeoville was passed in July 2004. The Report on Public/Stakeholder Participation for Yeoville Urban Design Project (2004) affirms the legitimacy of the protocol followed by the YDF in the passing of development plans whilst recognising the lack of meaningful consultation. An interview with the chief planner for the Yeoville redevelopment revealed: The time allowed for the preparation of the Business Plan (One Month) was not adequate to allow for meaningful participation of key stakeholders in the Yeoville High Street Development. This was mainly because of the nature of the community that we were dealing with, very heterogeneous and multi-cultural, with a wide variety of needs of the various groups. It was therefore necessary to allow for adequate time to get all the key stakeholders on board, with the understanding that there was a need to ensure that the pace of bringing them on board was going to be slower than anticipated. (Interview, Martin Mzumara, Chief Planner ASM Architects and Urban Designers, 24 March 2004). In early 2005, The Yeoville Stakeholder Forum (YSF) was formed as the new participatory body for the implementation stage of the Yeoville Development. The 42 YSF was instituted by the JDA and much of the organisation?s earlier work was undertaken to readdress the failures of past initiatives. A new constitution was drawn with a focus on reconceptualising accreditation criteria thereby making the organisation more assessable to residents seeking representation. Much of this earlier work has begun to pay off. In his speech during the YSF Annual General Meeting (2005), the chairperson noted: Since we started, we have managed to get 20 member organisations?Working with us also are the Ward 67 c ouncillor Nomoaswazi Mohlala, and our Community Development Worker Neo Setloboko. This means that already we have representatives of youth structures, faith-based institutions, artists and art support groups, HIV/AIDS support groups, schools, organisations representing refugees and non-South Africans living in the area, development groups, informal trader representatives, political structures and the unemployed. (Maurice Smithers, YSF Chairperson, 16 September 2005) Despite this early success, the ability of the YSF to affect meaningful change in the implementation stage is doubtful mainly because of the existing business plan which dictates the predetermined shape of things to come. An inability to change pre existing development proposals questions the legitimacy of the YSF. The management model illustrates a reliance on community participation processes as a principal component of the sustainability of the regeneration initiative. Consultants, planners, and managers all say that residents will be consulted however the reality has been top-down planning in the traditional style. Lastly, participation has been used as a co-opting practice, to mobilise local labour or materials and reduce costs ? meaning ?they? (the local peopl e) participate in ?our? project. Who should determine the future of a community? The only ethical response would be that a community should determine its future. But the capital accumulation imperative of the global economic system continues to narrowly define local place along profit lines. 3.4 Profit Driven Project Definition The imposed development proposals outline a R4, 5 million plan for the first phase of interventions. Prioritised interventions include: ? Intervention 1: Urban Management Interventions The development of a Business Improvement District (BID). 43 ? Intervention 2: Public Environmental redevelopment interventions The development of a central civic node in the park and recreation centre including the upgrading of existing facilities and relocating of library to the gas works building on Rockey Street between Fortesque and Kenmere Roads. Despite KUM?s questions around the feasibility of an improvement district in Yeoville, the JDA has prioritised the establishment of an improvement district as an initial project. In its proposed form, the improvement district is funded by the JDA and not supplemented by the property owners of the area. Questions also arise around the nature of the civic node and the methodology used in determining the uses of the complex. The proposed civic node needs to be an integrated community driven intervention if it is to provide relevant services that are of true value to the residents. To date, there has been limited consultation with residents and this has led to many questioning the legitimacy of the regeneration programme. Despite this, construction of the Civic Node has already begun. The Civic Node represents another case study of a top down style project associated with low risk and high profit potential associated with physical infrastructure delivery. In this chapter I have highlighted the cultural and class conflicts normally masked behind public-private ventures such as community participation bodies and privatised urban management schemes. I have also assessed their ability to manage risk at a neighbourhood level. An examination of the primary regeneration strategy, the Inner City Regeneration Strategy (2002) has illustrated a lack of recognition and planning for existing residents. Rather, the focus of the strategy seems to be centered on the attraction of new investment, a narrow view, which demonstrates a modernist, blueprint approach towards urban planning. International experience has shown that in order to achieve long-term, strategic social and economic regeneration of cities, social networks and community development needs to be prioritised (JRF 2000). An effective regeneration strategy needs to budget for capacity building from the outset and needs to involve citizens in the design and decision making processes in order to ensure that the needs of all the 44 local actors are met and that all possible resources are mobilised (JRF 2000). At the forefront of this approach is a focus on the mapping of existing social networks, which help to pinpoint the opportunities, and constraints presented within neighbourhoods and ultimately guide the restructuring process in a meaningful and relevant way. In an attempt to address the shortcomings of the Inner City Regeneration Strategy (2002), the following chapter focuses on an analysis of the social capital resources available in Yeoville. The analysis of social capital resources takes into account the disruption of public space caused predominantly through the construction of new infrastructure developments. This assessment is paramount, as social networks need space to operate from. Space is critical to the operation of the network and is also an actor within different networks. A lack of operating space leads to the reduced capacity of networks and may ultimately leads to the termination of social networks. 45 Chapter 4: Analysis of findings In this chapter I will be examining networks associated with Yeoville Park and other networks beyond the park. The first focus of this chapter is an examination of the social capital resources available in Yeoville Park. Yeoville Park has been prioritised by the city as the site of initial capital investment. Before the beginning of construction work in June 2006 (see figure 10), the park provided the diversity of Yeoville?s residents with a range of social facilities (see figure 11) and provided children with access to play equipment and swimming activities at the adjacent public pool. An analysis of park facilities and social capital resources is undertaken to bring about an awareness to the activities and networks, which existed prior to the implementation stage of the regeneration initiative. This assessment is crucial, as social networks need space to operate from. A lack of operating space leads to a reduced capacity and ultimately leads to the termination of social networks. As such, network analysis can be used as assessment criteria for determining the success of the imposed regeneration developments. The second part of this empirical chapter focuses on spatial, social and economic networks and social capital resources at a wider scale. The official regeneration programme has ignored wider Yeoville. The area is described as rapidly declining and is characterised by inconsistent urban management and high rates of crime. Residential buildings are described as dysfunctional practises and the sidewalks are over traded as informal trade provides the only viable income opportunity for the ever-increasing resident population. An effective regeneration strategy needs to budget for capacity building from the outset in order to ensure that the needs of all the local actors are met and that all possible resources are mobilised (JRF 2000). The transformation of Yeoville Park into a Civic Node places much emphasis on new social infrastructure. However, all of the R4, 5 Million budgeted for the project is earmarked for new physical infrastructure and not for the support of the community organisations who may potentially use the infrastructure. In June 2006, the contractor responsible for the completion of the Yeoville Park upgrade abandoned the contract after receiving an advance payment. 46 Figure 9: Yeoville Park and Recreation Centre dug up and abandoned (2006). As a result, Yeoville Park and the adjacent Yeoville Recreation Centre remain in a dug up state and completely fenced off to the public indefinitely. An official statement blames ?non-performance? of the contractor as the reason for the apparent halt to further work. The JDA in the meanwhile, are waiting for the awarding of a tender to a new contractor to finish the contracting work as specified. The importance of the Yeoville Recreation Centre as a central meeting place cannot be understated. The delay in the development has been devastating for Yeoville residents as they have not been able to access the recreation centre through the main entrance, a problem the JDA are currently trying to solve. The lack of access to the recreation centre has led to the termination of important community events like some of the weekly Sunday morning church services and CPF meetings. It seems the failure to assess the impact of the new developments on existing social capital resources is not of importance to the JDA as they continue their mandate to develop new infrastructure as a primary focus without much regard for the programmatic challenges of the space. 47 Yeoville Park ? Facilities Map Figure 10: Land use map of Yeoville Park Key 1. New Library 2. Time Square 3. Swimming Pool 4. Park Rides 5. Yeoville Recreation Centre 6. Park Movement 7. Community Garden 8. Tennis Courts 9. Derelict Water Feature 10. Police Station 48 4.1 Park Management There are many city utilities companies involved in the daily running of Yeoville Park. City Power is responsible for its adequate lighting whilst City Water is responsible for its water and sewage needs. City Parks is accountable for the daily maintenance of park equipment and gardening needs including grass cutting. However, Region 8 Social Services is responsible for the Recreation Centre and its related facilities. Communication between city utilities companies is lacking as the grass in the park is often cut in patches - The area around the Recreation Centre is often left uncut. It seems the uncut area is not under the control of City Parks and is therefore ignored. An agreement regarding roles and responsibilities between city departments needs to be reached and activities need to be discussed with the park users as this lack of communication affects the social capital resources in a negative manner. Park maintenance activities often coincide with important community activities resulting in their indefinite postponement. A lack of a new management structure for the new Civic Node facility in has left many people questioning its long-term sustainability. A coordinated management strategy has not been prioritised in the new facilities upgrade, which suggests a continuation of the confusion at an institutional level for many years to come. Children and Crime in the Park The observed users of the park are children who make use of the many park rides (figure 10, 4). Observations of park activities show that the most popular playground equipment is the swings and roundabout, which are in constant use. The continuous use of the park equipment and irregular maintenance is leading to a dangerous situation for the children as many damaged rides in the park continue to be used despite the apparent danger. Of particular concern is the non-functioning water feature (figure 10, 9) in the southern end of the park, which presents an environmental hazard. 49 Figure 11: Derelict Water Feature on Southern end of Park (2004). We are doing an upgrade of the existing park by installing lights, paving [pavements and walkways] around the park and within the park itself, planting trees and grass and installing new playground equipment. The tennis courts within the park will be turned into a multi-purpose sports area with tennis, basketball, volleyball and netball courts. (Sepati Moore, JDA, City Vision, 26 September 2006). In the meanwhile however, all the park rides have been removed and the park remains inaccessible. This has affected the social capital resources negatively as the children do not have an alternative play space in close proximity. Children are also presented with new dangers associated with the construction site, which now characterises Yeoville Park. The newly erected temporary corrugated fence, takes up much of the sidewalk on Rockey Street and this forces pedestrians onto the busy High Street. The JDA have failed to provide a safe pedestrian crossing or any signage warning motorists to give way to pedestrians. Across the road, the JDA are developing a brand new library facility (figure 10, 1) in the old substation. The existing Yeoville library is well utilised by the children of Yeoville, but the library is struggling to cope with the increasing demands of an ever expanding member base. Parents of children frequenting the library also complain about the unsafe nature of the streets and of the dangers their kids faced whilst waiting to be picked up from the existing library as it is often overcrowded leaving no option but to wait outside. Despite its problems, the existing library is an essential resource in the social network of Yeoville. Its importance to the children of Yeoville needs to be emphasised, as there is limited access to after school facilities. Of particular concern is the disruption of library services during the construction and ultimate move to the new library facilities. The possibility of a temporary library needs 50 to be investigated in order to facilitate a continuation of services during the transition phase to the new facilities. Figure 12: Impression of the new library facilities, ASM Architects and Urban Designers (2006). Children are also being threatened by the increasing number of vagrants who frequent the adjoining taverns at Time Square (figure 10, 2). The JDA plan for dealing with increasing number of taverns in the area is to confine drinking activity within a demarcated ?adult activity? zone located some distance from the park thus neutralising the conflicting land use (JDA 2004). Another strategy identified for dealing with perceived crime within the park is the upgrading of the existing police station (figure 10,10), which is in a state of neglect and is severely under resourced. Upgraded facilities will drastically improve the lives of Yeoville residents as an increased police capacity and presence is what is needed in dealing with crime in the park and at a wider suburban scale. In 2008 we will have a brand new station, built in the park behind the existing offices. No more cramped premises. ?The new police station will have ample parking, bigger and more offices, holding cells ? and the biggest bonus for me: the detective branch, which is now operating from a house in Acorn Avenue in Observatory, will be back under my wing. (Senior Superintendent Mpe Lobisi Motaung, SAP, 17 July 2005). 51 4.2 Yeoville Recreation Centre Yeoville Recreation Centre (figure, 5) is under resourced and is barely surviving as a reduced annual operational budget has limited the range of activities and programmes being offered. The lack of access to the recreation facility as a direct result of the construction activity is not helping the situation at the recreation centre. Figure 13: The missing activity board at the Yeoville Recreation Centre (2004). The missing activity board at the Yeoville Recreation Centre (figure 11, 5) is a physical reminder of the lack of programmes and activities. Activities include the renting of multi-purpose rooms to religious organisations, cr?che operators and to the Yeoville Community Policing Forum (YCPF). The collected rental revenue does not go back into the centre however and is used by Region 8 Social Services for ?other? purposes. Compounding the problems at the recreation centre has been the reduced management and operational staff. This has led to the recruitment of volunteers who have been performing civic duties without pay. Aura Msimang is a volunteer at the Yeoville Recreation Centre who has committed the last two years of her life to community work in the suburb. Aura is a central actor in the social network of Yeoville. She is passionate about life in the suburb and thrives on the multicultural dynamic of the inner city. Aura organises a weekly community orientated open-mic event every Sunday at Yeoville Park. Aura?s intervention brings together a multitude of young local talents including song, dance and poetry performances with the aim of providing a platform of expression for the diversity of cultures present in Yeoville. 52 Open-mic sessions are a response the lack of cultural activities at the rec centre (Interview, Aura Msimang, volunteer at the Yeoville Recreation Centre, 21 March 2004). Open-mic sessions represent a positive social capital resource but lately the activity has ceased to exist. Aura cannot find a sound system for the event and has also struggled to find an electricity outlet within the park. When a sound system is available for the event, electricity has to be connected via a series of extension cables, which are run from across the road at Time Square (2). Permission to use the only available electricity outlet from the adjoining Yeoville Recreation Centre has been denied. A lack of space has contributed to the abrupt end to an important weekly social event in Yeoville. Open-Mic sessions attracted crowds of more than 400 people and aided in social cohesion by unifying diverse cultures through cultural expression. Furthermore, the new institutional budgetary arrangement for the Yeoville Recreation Centre needs to be investigated. Region 8 Social Services does not pass revenue generated by the Yeoville Recreation Centre back into the facility. As a result, the recreation centre has not been able to introduce new activities. The importance of the Yeoville Recreation Centre cannot be understated as a social capital resource. New activities and programmes, which are relevant to residents, have the potential to foster a sense of belonging in an increasingly diverse neighbourhood. A beginning step would be the promotion of income-generating activities for the long-term benefit of the facility and the residents. 4.3 Yeoville Swimming Pool Yeoville Swimming Pool is located on the busy corner of Kenmere and Raleigh Streets, a constant stream of traffic and people pass the pool all day. It is an important public facility, which provides swimming classes for children in the afternoon, and as such is recognised as an important node in the daytime Yeoville social network. The pool is easily recognisable by its distinctive dome like entrance and multi-toned blue mosaic fa?ade. The mosaic artwork was completed by a local artist who wanted to uplift the public image of the pool. An important spin off of the mosaic project is 53 that 10 people were employed during the project. All of the people involved learnt new skills which have led to the trainees developing a self empowering business. I was pretty determined and hoped it would spark something positive, by changing the area from something worthless into an attractive corner. (Interview, Gabrielle Ozinski, Artist, 12 July 2005). Despite the good intentions and actions, the mosaic work outside the pool wall on Raleigh Street has been defaced and vandalised through graffiti. A possible solution is the development of a managed graffiti walls in strategic locations throughout the suburb. Figure 14: Defaced public art outside the public swimming pool The primary users of the pool are children who visit the pool during summer. The pool is not heated which means it is not used during the winter months. However, the swimming pool has been included as part of the park upgrade of the Yeoville development. Part of the upgrade includes the heating of the pool for winter swimming and the building of a new roof for all weather swimming. Whilst residents welcome the new improvements, many parents are concerned about the disruption of swimming activities during the upgrade of the facility. 4.4 Wider Networks In focussing on the Yeoville Park, other important networks have been largely ignored by local government. These networks include cultural networks; informal and formal business networks; service networks and dysfunctional/crime networks. 54 4.4.1 Cultural Networks The City of Johannesburg is currently formulating a Public Art Strategy. In its current form, it appears to be part of the city?s wider regeneration strategy and as such it focuses on permanent physical implementations and not on the cultural programmatic needs of the city. The public art strategy excludes many informal cultural activities such as open-mic sessions or street poetry and theatre. Activities such as open-mic sessions are important as they create a socially cohesive environment by promoting interaction between various creative people. In Yeoville an assessment of existing cultural activities needs to be undertaken with the view of developing new facilities and for providing support for existing cultural activities and organisations. The network of cultural activities in Yeoville exists without state support. Most are operating on a reduced capacity but continue to make a valuable contribution to the social networks of Yeoville despite the many challenges faced. There is a wealth of social capital based creative activities in Yeoville. These are generally inclusive and sensitive to the diverse cultural identities of Yeoville. Figure 15: Graphic representation of identified cultural networks operating in Yeoville 55 Tandoor Tandoor is a reggae club where people meet to socialise and exchange ideas and is central to the cultural network of Yeoville. Whilst creative interaction at Tandoor has led to many positive spin-offs, many residents perceive the club as a disruption to residential life. The frantic activity at Tandoor has become a point of contestation as surrounding residents complain about the high levels of noise, which emanates from the club all day and night. I am sitting here in my house at close on one o?clock in the morning. I have just had a conversation with the police who came here after I called to complain about the noise coming from Rockey St. Though I live five blocks away, I can hear loud music from Rockey St until the early hours of the morning every night. (Interview, Maurice Smithers, YSF) There is an agreement between the police and the clubs allowing them to stay open until 2am. It is therefore the official understanding that the police are not expected to do anything about the noise unless it continues after 2am. Despite the curfew, many residents believe that the clubs and bars close too early: I am not about to park my car in Rockey street and thus walk. It was much better when I could walk home in the morning as it was safer. Now if I am kicked out of the club at 2am and have to walk home alone all kinds of bad things could happen to me. (Yeoville Resident, 17 January 2006) The curfew is having an adverse effect on the safety of residents as drunken patrons hang around and cause trouble in the streets and are unhappy to return to their homes. It seems the night time activities in Yeoville is somewhat of a contested issue. Whilst some residents thrive on the night time entertainment being provided by the many clubs and bars, others are not too happy about the noise and public drunkenness, which characterise the streets at night. Frank?s Artists Studios Frank Horley is a Yeoville resident who has converted his home into a multi- disciplinary art space where numerous workshops take place on a daily basis. The public are invited to participate in free skills development activities such as pottery and ceramic making. Frank's Studio also boasts an exciting exhibition space in the basement of his home, which is used by local artists for small art events. Frank has also converted the driveway to his home into a street level community library where 56 people are encouraged to bring books for exchange; however, an unfriendly street interface, characterised by high walls and razor wire, has resulted in under utilisation of the facility. A solution to the problem may be as simple as redesigning the interface between Frank?s Studio and the street in order to enable the range of indoor private activities to spill out into public space and contribute to the animation of the dead space between De La Ray and Bezuidenthout Streets. Frank has also initiated an art production project that employs 14 people. Trainees are learning pottery skills, working on clay sculptures, printing aprons and T-shirts. We want to help make Yeoville safe by creating work for the unemployed youth who spend their lives drinking and engaging in criminal activity. (Interview, Frank Horley, Artist, 08 July 2004) Frank?s studio represents an important social capital resource on the Eastern end of Rockey Street. The area around Frank?s studio is characterized by poorly maintained homes and there is always a presence of unemployed youth on the corner, sitting around engaged in substance abuse. Frank offers the youth from the corner with an opportunity to develop new skills. Discussions are underway with the National Institute for Crime Prevention and Reintegration of Offenders (Nicro) to offer counseling to the young men who are involved in the project. Public Art and the CICI Most Yeoville based graffiti artists are linked to the Creative Inner City Initiative (CICI) located in Hillbrow. The CICI is a community space where young people are provided with a platform to vent frustrations and dreams in creative ways, with the goal of empowerment through performance, crafts and visual arts. The CICI offers training and development in street theatre, visual arts and crafts wherein youth work in team-oriented activities to develop artistic productions that are presented to the greater community through street theatre and carnival, the beautification of buildings with mosaic, art welding, murals, and signage for local public spaces. Despite not being located within Yeoville, the importance of the CICI as a network node providing essential skills to the youth of Yeoville cannot be overstated. The 57 CICI represents a successful case study of a community owned artist workshop space where young people are encouraged to further themselves through creative expression for the greater good of the city. 4.4.2 Dysfunctional Networks Central to the dysfunctional networks in Yeoville are inconsistent urban management services and vacant lots, which have become dumping grounds for the residents of Yeoville. Because dysfunctional practices contribute to a dysfunctional urban environment, they also lead to the total dysfunction of the housing stock. There is also a link between the growing informal economy and accommodation problems. At the root of the problem is the immigrant population?s struggle for citizenship and employment, which is not helped by further persecution by a corrupt police force who appear to be central to the dysfunctional criminal networks in Yeoville. Figure 16: Graphic representation of activity associated with the Yeoville sidewalk and urban environment 58 Garbage Removal Residents of Yeoville complain that urban management and services remain inconsistent. Businesses operating on Rockey Street struggle with an erratic electricity supply and a faltering storm water system. The poor operating conditions and disputed ownership of prominent land parcels are key factors in the lack of investment which characterise the area. Spatially this translates into a highly uneven quality of environment. Predominantly, the housing stock in Yeoville is well maintained, however, responsible homeowners are growing tired of the lack of urban management services and general disregard by ward councillors: I was complaining about the fact that for the second week in a row dustbins have not been emptied on schedule. The consequence is that people have left their dustbins out in the streets, indigent people have been going through them and spilling the garbage into the street, residents have placed plastic bags of garbage next to their full dustbins and these bags have also been opened by indigent people and scavenging dogs (Interview, Maurice Smithers, YSF). A measure of the seriousness of the problem is that is not only privileged home- owners or residents with a roof over their heads are commenting on the detrimental feel Yeoville has as a result of inconsistent garbage removal. A homeless man commented: The new council has just been elected and look what the streets look like. (Homeless man, 2 June 2004). Figure 17: Garbage obstructing movement outside the Yeoville market (2004) A contributing factor has been a failure on the part of Pikitup, the company contracted to remove garbage from the streets of Yeoville. Pikitup, in defence, have 59 complained that many of their trucks are out of commission and are therefore unable to pick up garbage. The corporatisation of the city's utilities, including Pikitup, was to improve service delivery but service has not improved. An inconsistent garbage removal system remains a primary problem contributing to disinvestment in the high street. Despite the efforts of tax paying residents, the city continues with the maintenance contract with Pikitup and is not holding the company accountable. There are no signs that their maintenance contract will be re-evaluated. As a result many Yeoville residents have been applying pressure by reporting non - performance to the city council, however, this pressure is having limited success as the garbage company continues to provide erratic service. In desperation, some residents have used social networks to co-ordinate a community street clean -up campaigns. However, other residents have not reciprocated this activity and the culture of street dumping continues to characterise most street corners. As a result, community street clean-up campaigns have ceased to exist. The importance of this activity is that it demonstrates a culture of community ownership. Presently, Yeoville is characterised by the dumping of old beds and other unwanted furniture on street corners. These items do not comply with Pikitup regulations and therefore are not picked up. Dark Streets and the Perceptions of Crime Yeoville residents resort to walking in the middle of the road at night as a survival strategy as they are less likely to trip over garbage in the dark. It is also perceived as safer because most crime occurs in the dark corners of the street and it is under this darkness which underground criminal networks are perceived to operate amidst a culture mistrust and fear. 60 On Highland Street, residents complain about the erratic street lights which are having an adverse effect on the levels of crime: For about 7 years, our streetlights have been going off on a regular basis. This leaves the street in pitch darkness. Tonight, gunmen cut a hole in our fence facing onto the hillside and waited in a resident's garage. When he arrived home, they held him up and tried to force him into the boot. He screamed and they tried to drive away in his car. By now, all the other residents were alerted. As the hijackers tried to drive out the gate, everyone pressed their remotes to close it. They tried to open it and again, residents closed it. They then fled through the hole and into a waiting car. (Yeoville Resident, 12 July 2005) Figure 18: The dark end of Highland Street (2006) City Power seems completely unable to permanently fix the street lights as the interrupted service continues to endanger the lives of residents. The erratic service has been reported to the mayoral committee who are ?looking into the problem?. Every time I drive home at night when the street lights are off, I hold my breath until I'm inside the parking lot. (Resident, 12 July 2005) Vacant Lots Don?t know why anyone called that lot ?vacant.? The garbage was piled this high . . . (Resident, 10 July 2005). Neglected vacant lots in the modern urban setting pose great hazards to community life. These lots, which host criminal behavioral activities , accumulate garbage, and create various health risks, epitomize the frustration and despair nearby residents often feel. 61 Land is abandoned for a number of reasons, including population shifts from the cities to the suburbs due to de-industrialization and political transformation. Land is also abandoned because of changing views on desirable housing stock; and residential shifts due to the declining reputations of school systems and racial prejudices. Contributing to the problem is the red lining of the area by banks which for many years made land ownership close to impossible for most residents. Figure 19: Vacant lot on Cavendish Street which is commonly known for its ?chop shop? activities (2004). Land may also be vacant if it is small in size, irregular in shape, and undeveloped. In declining neighborhoods, vacant houses often fall prey to trespassing and arson, resulting in rapid deterioration. Some of the most dangerous structures are condemned and razed, leaving vacant lots as monuments to neighborhood disinvestment. In addition to being economically unproductive, vacant lots endanger public health and safety by becoming illegal dumps for refuse that can contain noxious chemicals and breed disease. 62 Figure 20: Dumping on vacant lot in Pope Street (2004). Overcrowding and bad buildings Some evidence of overcrowding in Yeoville can be seen in the growing number of shops that sell beds, and in the number of beds dumped on street corners. The bed business is booming like never before in Yeoville. More evidence of the increased resident population is also found by the numerous advertisements offering various informal rental options on notice boards throughout Yeoville. Figure 21: Informal notice board detail. With monthly room rentals which vary from R150 ? R1000, sub-letting is the often the only housing option available to the urban poor. Sub-letting is made possible mainly through poor building management. 63 Figure 22: Poorly maintained high-rise building in Yeoville Because dysfunctional practices contribute to overcrowding of buildings, they also lead to the total dysfunction of the housing stock. Furthermore, there is a link between the growing informal economy and accommodation problems. A popular strategy for dealing with bad buildings in Yeoville has been for the City to acquire ownership through the expropriation of all the sections and the whole of the common property. The expropriated property is then sold under policies of the Better Buildings Programme. Whilst the benefits of the Better Buildings Programme include an improved quality of life for new tenants and property owners, existing tenants who are evicted as part of the expropriation process are not provided with alternative accommodation and are left homeless. Evicted residents from expropriated buildings are forcibly removed into the streets by the city?s Wozani Security force. The results of this violent action are demeaning and result in a loss of dignity and respect and ultimately criminal exploitation in the streets. Another problem associated with bad buildings is the lack of recognition for informal trade as a viable means of income if regulated and implemented in a controlled manner. Uncontrolled informal trading in residential buildings ultimately leads to the destruction of the building mainly because of a lack of infrastructure for dealing with the activity and its associated waste. Furthermore, the criminilisation of informal trade limits earning potential and therefore limits housing options to sub-letting and poor housing practises. 64 Citizenship via the Bedroom and Chicken eating Cops We do have a police farce, I mean force, after all! One, which can muster force & muscle! One which, despite rumour to the contrary - is a force to be reckoned with . . . but only when It feels It wishes to act. & fee foe fum - it wishes to act 'at the smell of an alien' (Yeoville Resident, 17 January 2007). The Pakistanis in Yeoville appear to control the furniture business, in particular the sale of beds and other essentials, but in most cases beds are the only items invested in by arriving residents as houses are shared with other bed users and in most cases there is limited space for anything else. Indeed the bedroom has become an important site in the struggle for citizenship as many immigrants fall pregnant as having a baby can secure South African citizenship. Parents of South African children are not likely to be forcibly separated from their offspring on the strength of a deportation order. The strategy of falling pregnant to obtain citizenship is a desperate measure for arriving immigrants who don?t have a sense of social capital or belonging. A new family not only obtains citizenship but a new hope for a better life of belonging. Some immigrants have permanent illegal status and live a life of continual deportation. For them, citizenship via the bedroom provides an easy alternative to obtaining the necessary identity documentation. The influx of foreigners and transient nature of life is a popular subject of discussion in the streets of Yeoville: It seems in the past year or so, there's a lot more people that have come into Yeoville to live here. And it concerns me a little bit, because some people seem to have found their niche and are contributing to society, and some people seem to be ambling about, and not necessarily settled or contributing. (Yeoville Resident) Harassment by the police and by local residents has contributed to the mistrust and transient nature of life in Yeoville. Popular strategies of survival from police harassment include the falsification of identification documents which is a thriving business in Yeoville. Other strategies for survival include the speaking of Zulu by Zimbabwean residents. Most Zimbabweans claim to come from Kwa-Zulu Natal as a strategy for survival. If I call you in my language and you don?t answer, we are going to spin! (I will rob you)? (Interview, gang member, 05 September 2006). 65 On Wednesday June 28 2006 an African foreigner, asked four police officers inside the Chicken-Licken outlet in Raleigh Street for help. The man had apparently just been mugged but the policeman waved him away and told him they were busy eating. The Yeoville residents are growing tired of the lack of positive action by the police and are concerned about police corruption. Many residents have fallen victim to police who have confiscated their personal possessions. Innocent people are arrested by the police who rip up or ?lose? identity documents or passports. In most cases, bribery is the only recourse against a corrupt police force. 4.4.3 Informal Trade and Formal Business networks Informal street trade is not recognised by the city as a viable income generating activity and is therefore outlawed. The reality is that informal trade makes a viable contribution to the country?s economy and in many cases it is the only available income generating activity available to the urban poor. Despite this, the city continues to prioritise and recognise the needs of formal businesses as the city as they are seen as stakeholders who are able to make financial contributions to the effective running of the area. However, to the urban poor living in Yeoville, large retail businesses are perceived as negative actors in the social networks as they are responsible for exploitative employment and environmental practices. Checkers Residents continue to complain about the poor service being offered at the local Shoprite-Checkers on Rockey Street: I waited in a queue for 25 minutes with my 3-year-old son. Only four tills were open even though there was a high volume of customers. No one complained including me. It seems that some companies deliver service unequally. They know that poor people don?t feel they have the right or privilege to complain, so they give poor service. (Yeoville Resident, 17 May 2006). 66 The Shoprite-Checkers supermarket has also been criticized for stocking old food and for dumping unwanted waste behind the store: I have noticed that there are people (squatters) sleeping behind the supermarket along Hunter Road. I couldn't help one day as I drove past the place (behind Checkers - Hunter Rd) I had to stop and see what was happening. As I stepped out of the car, the smell of Urine and Human waste almost made me dizzy. I had to quickly rush back to the car as I noticed that I will end up suffering from a terrible headache. (Yeoville Resident, 17 May 2006). As a result, most residents prefer shopping at the more upmarket Eastgate Shopping Centre and it only those less mobile residents who are forced to shop locally at the Yeoville Shoprite-Checkers store. Residents who don?t feel a sense of citizenship often feel like they don?t have the right to complain and simply accept the conditions presented. Figure 23: Shoprite-Checkers staff on strike (2005). Fuelling the argument has been complaints from staff who feel exploited by the large supermarket chain too: I used to work there 2003/4 earning R300 a month. People are just tired of being played by ShopRite. Toyi Toyi could be a solution but I think we need to take it up with the bigger bosses. (Yeoville Resident, 17 May 2006). In August 2005, staff members at the Yeoville Shoprite-Checkers went on strike. The disgruntled staff members barricaded the main entrance of the store and urged customers not to support the store because of its exploitative practises. Yeoville residents supported the disgruntled employees by boycotting the store. 67 New investment on Rockey Street After pulling out of Yeoville some time ago, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) has opened a new branch on the corner of Bedford and Rockey Streets. While some people may not welcome this particular brand of fast food, it may indicate the beginning of a new investor confidence in Yeoville. However, the KFC has replaced an old family owned business, which relocated because of financial pressures in the current location on Rockey Street. Now is the time for us to decide on the kind of Rockey Raleigh St we want so that local business can take advantage of any economic development that takes place (Maurice Smithers, YSF). The YSF has made a submission to the City of Joburg?s Regional Spatial Development Framework (RSDF) in which a renewed call was made asking for a clear development strategy based on celebrating the cultural diversity of Yeoville. Informal Traders ? Entrepreneurs or Criminals? Council is waging a relentless campaign against black entrepreneurship in areas previously occupied by whites. The law in Yeoville, where there is pressure from white commercial property owners, is different to the law in Soweto. This is blatant racism, enforced by a group of non-elected bureaucrats. (Informal Business Forum (IBF), 08 August 2005). Since the late 1990?s, Joburg city has embarked on a plan to establish markets for informal traders to remove them from the streets. The newly developed markets have been described as: One tool of ensuring that informal traders have access to environments that are well established and better equipped. Even when these markets are in place, legal and controlled street trading will be allowed in the city. (Interview, Lonwabo Mgudlwa, specialist economic facilitator responsible for hawking in the city, 23 October 2004). The Yeoville market was an early experiment by the post-apartheid city government at providing formal market facilities for hawkers. However, since inception, the Yeoville Market has been a site of huge controversy. According to the Metro Trading Company (MTC), the regulatory management company, the Yeoville market controversy centered on the issue of non-payment of rentals. However, traders accuse the MTC of failing to meet the needs of hawkers: 68 Walls are cracking and falling and nothing has been done. The roof leaks when it rains and our goods get damaged. MTC is not ploughing back and helping traders. Interview, chairperson of the Yeoville Traders Association, 13 August 2005). Fuelling the argument has been an inability of the MTC regulatory body to communicate with traders and this has led to a rent boycott by traders: "We want to meet them but they are too bi g to talk to us, the company chased us out like dogs when we wanted to talk to them. We wrote a letter wanting a meeting but they never responded. They don't want to have meetings with us, they want our money," (Interview, chairperson of the Yeoville Traders Association, 13 August 2005). Figure 24: Inside Yeoville Market (2004) The small capacity of the Yeoville Market is also of concern. The unprecedented growth of the informal sector has placed much strain on trading infrastructure and has led to unfair competition. Traders selling fruit and vegetables from within the market compete with street traders that sell similar items, but don?t have the added overhead expenses. There are an estimated 10 000 traders in the inner city and only about 10% of these can be accommodated in markets. (IBF Spokesperson) The increased street trading capacity has led to innovative partnerships between informal traders and formal businessman. There is a symbiotic relationship between formal and informal sector with street traders that sublet shop fronts. This relationship 69 ensures safety from police persecution whilst providing surveillance to the formal businesses. For most street traders however, the concern of By ? Law enforcement is a constant problem. Since the establishment of the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) in 2001, intensified raids on street traders have led to the criminalising of trading activities and the use of excessive force in arresting traders and the impounding of goods. On the 5th of July 2005 at around 10h30 in the morning the JMPD conducted a raid on Rockey Street, sending people scattering with their produce, and sometimes without it. One middle-aged woman was clutching her cabbages and tomatoes to her chest, with frightened eyes glued to a policeman on the pavement. These raids have devastating consequences for networks. In subsequent days, more raids by the notorious Wozani Security, better known as the "red ants", on the many spaza shops in Rockey Street, has led to the end of subsistence economic activity for many residents of Yeoville. Metal-cutting and demolition equipment were used in the closure of illegal structures composed of spaza shops, telephone booths, repair or spray-painting shops as well as shebeens. We welcomed the swoop as it was beneficial to its objective to rejuvenate the inner city as an economic node as well as to rid the city of crime. (Johannesburg City Council spokesperson, Mbangwa Xaba, The Star) Instead of strengthening informal trade networks so that they can become more regulated, the city has adopted a blue print planning approach which does not recognize the value of the informal economy: The city's strategic objective of creating a world-class city continues to be undermined by persistent perceptions of lawlessness, lack of safe and healthy environment and lack of sustainable by-law enforcement. It is in that context that we welcome the pronouncements of the court and the actions of the sheriff. (Sol Cowan - mayoral committee member, The Star). A statement released by the informal Business Forum countered the mayoral committee statement saying: Spaza shops are an accepted norm in most areas, providing service and convenience to millions of South Africans. (Edmund Elias - IBF Spokesman, 08 August 2005) 70 In negotiating a new vision for the city, It is often the economically disadvantaged who feel marginalised by the decision-making, because the new vision is not theirs. In Yeoville, negotiations with street traders have not produced a compromise. A newly instituted improvement district, funded by the JDA has ensured a permanent security presence on Rockey Street. This intervention has not reduced over trading on Rockey Street but has changed the nature of trading activity. Today street traders limit their stock thereby reducing the risk of losing large amounts of stock due to confiscation by the police. Figure 26: Active unregulated street trading on the corner of Bedford and Rockey Streets (2004). The immediate challenge is for the two parties, traders and the city, to reopen channels of communication as there is a complete breakdown in communication between the traders and the council. Until early this year, the street traders and council representatives sat on the "Inf ormal Trading Forum". There is a need for either the revival of this structure or the establishment of a similar forum. Informal traders require administrative and infrastructural backing as well as effective services and amenities such as waste management programmes and storage facilities. Storage spaces need to be identified close to economic opportunities and innovative waste and drainage facilities need investigating. An assessment of the social capital resources in Yeoville shows that there are a number of positive cultural activities, which require state support and capacity building. But rather than building on existing strengths, the city continues to develop new infrastructure without much consideration for the management and programmatic challenges of space. 71 Yeoville?s marginalised people are not going to be beneficiaries of the JDA?s revitalisation programme. It seems the failure to assess the impact of the new developments on existing social capital resources is not of importance to the JDA as it continues on its infrastructure driven mandate. The city recognises formal businesses as valuable stakeholders in area upgrading but the reality is that large retail businesses are central to the dysfunctional networks of Yeoville. Research has shown that large retail stores participate in dysfunctional employment and environmental practices. Contributing to the dysfunctional urban environment in Yeoville is inconsistent urban management which is frustrating rate paying residents who demand consistent services on par with the more affluent neighbouring suburbs. Furthermore, the criminalisation of informal street trade is limiting residents earning potential and limiting accommodation options to sub-letting as the only affordable option. At the root of the problem is the immigrant population?s struggle for citizenship and employment, which is not helped by further persecution by a corrupt police force who also appear to be central to the dysfunctional criminal networks in Yeoville. 72 Chapter 5: Conclusion The primary objective of the Yeoville Regeneration Programme is to make the area attractive for private investors. The benefits of the regeneration programme will only be felt by those who already command a greater economic advantage. The Yeoville BID feasibility study (2005) has proven that the current property and business owners do not have the capacity for running an improvement District and the study has called for the development of a community owned urban management system. Despite this, the JDA has persisted with establishment of an interim improvement district, which consists of a private security force on the streets. A positive result of an improvement district is the surge in property prices in the area as a result of proper management. However, this has no benefit to the poorer residents who are engaged in ?criminalised? informal economic activities on the sidewalks. Public participation in the Yeoville context has proven to be a legitimising device for a pre-existing regeneration plan. Despite great work being done by the newly instituted YSF, failure to change plans in a meaningful manner has led many to questioning the legitimacy of the organisation. The Yeoville regeneration plan represents another case study of a top down style project associated with low risk and high profit potential associated with physical infrastructure delivery In the meanwhile, the disrupted construction of Yeoville Park has meant that it remains in a dug up state. The park provided the diversity of Yeoville?s residents with a range of social facilities and provided children with access to play equipment and swimming activities at the adjacent public pool. The delay in development has come at a dear cost to the social networks of Yeoville as a lack of space to operate from has led to the termination of activities and a breakdown of a number of social networks. The wider analysis of Yeoville reveals a rapidly declining urban fabric. Residential buildings are characterised by dysfunctional practises and the sidewalks are over traded as informal trade provides the only viable income opportunity for the ever- increasing resident population. The link between the growing informal economy and accommodation problems seem to contribute to bad buildings as the criminilisation of informal trade limits earning potential and therefore limits options for accommodation to the single option of sub-letting of rooms and overcrowding. 73 The city?s strategy for dealing with bad buildings is focussed exclusively on the expropriation and redevelopment of buildings under the Better Buildings Programme. Whilst the benefits of the Better Buildings Programme include an improved quality of life for new tenants and property owners, existing tenants who are evicted as part of the expropriation process are not provided with alternative accommodation and are often left homeless. The struggle for citizenship has led to desperate strategies for survival. Harassment by the police and by local residents has also contributed to mistrust and a culture of non-belonging. Contributing to the problem is a lack of planning for immigrant cultures leaving criminal practices as the only option for survival. In negotiating a new vision for the city, it is often the economically disadvantaged who feel marginalised by the decision-making, because the new vision is not theirs. The vision shared by the JDA for the High Street to be transformed back into the ?symbolic heart? of Yeoville with clubs and restaurants vying for street space is not the vision shared by all residents, Who?s vision needs to be accommodated? The ethical response is that a shared vision needs to be pursued but the reality is that the vision of place is narrowly defined along profit lines only. In January 2007, construction activities at Yeoville Park resumed after a lengthy tender process. After delays of more than 6 months, most of the networks which operated from the park have been destroyed. The new park is set to open in June 2007. Current city press releases emphasise the success of the new park development by highlighting the new facilities available for the use of Yeoville residents. However, the city is providing infrastructure which is insensitive to the existing needs and activities of residents by imposing a park design developed without any meaningful consultation. The Yeoville Regeneration project has been a collection of tragic misses. The city has missed the well-established networks in the area. They have missed providing opportunities to strengthen the initiatives of those who are committed to Yeoville. By focussing on a narrow conception ?low risk and high profit? development, the city has missed the opportunity to develop a regeneration programme which could be shared by the urban poor. In February 2007, a JDA press release revealed that the agency 74 is withdrawing from Yeoville after the completion of the park. Again, local government misses the meaning of sustainable urban development. 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UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Sciences Research Report for the Degree of Master of Arts By Coursework and Research Report Supervisor: Dr. Teresa Dirsuweit The Network Approach to Urban Regeneration The Case of Yeoville ?A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Geography?. - Johannesburg 2007 Human Research Ethics Committee: Protocol number: 41104 Declaration I declare that this thesis is my own unaided work. It is being submitted for the degree of Master of Arts in Geography at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. It has not been submitted for any other degree or examination in any other University. M. Ismail Farouk 15 March 2007 Acknowledgements My greatest gratitude goes to my supervisor Dr. Teresa Dirsuweit who has guided my research process through tough times over the past few years. Thank you to my Rat and Max for all your sacrifices and for putting up with me during the extended research report writing stage ? I am forever indebted to you. I would also like to thank the participants in this research for their time. Finally, Thanks to my parents, thanks to Fazila, Mohammed, Adam and last but not least Sadia ? thank you for your support during my extended academic career at Wits. - For Maxwell Abstract Yeoville presents a particular context of the inner city in decline and has been identified by the city as a suburb in need of regeneration. In 2004, The Yeoville Rockey/Raleigh High Street Development was conceived as the urban regeneration strategy for the upgrading of the suburb. The objectives of this strategy were to upgrade strategic public facilities and to improve urban management of the area over a period of five years. Through the prioritisation of a privatised urban management system, the aim was to attract a new middle class back into Yeoville (gentrification). However, the absence of a plan for dealing with the socio-economic challenges faced by the existing poorer residents has leads to cultural and class conflicts. International experience has shown that in order to achieve the long-term, strategic regeneration of poorer neighbourhoods, social networks and community development should be prioritised. An effective regeneration strategy should budget for capacity building from the outset and should involve citizens in the design and decision making process in order to ensure that the needs of all the local actors are met and that all possible resources are mobilised. At the forefront of this approach are alternative methodologies like social network analysis, which aim to reconnect the social, cultural and economic dimensions of society to rhythms of space and time. The focus on the mapping of existing social capital resources helps to pinpoint the opportunities, and constraints presented within neighbourhoods and ultimately guide the restructuring process in a meaningful and relevant way. Keywords: Urban Regeneration ? Gentrification - Social Networks - Rhythm Analysis Contents Chapter 1: Introduction 8 1.1 Development Context 12 1.2 A New Vision for Yeoville 13 1.3 Overview 14 1.4 Outline 15 1.5 Methodological Approach 16 Chapter 2: Literature Review 18 2.1 Locating the Theory 18 2.2 Urban Restructuring ? Early Debates 19 2.3 Urban Restructuring ? Recent Debates 22 2.4 Beyond the impasse: Complementing Approaches 25 2.5 The New Agenda for Urban Regeneration 26 Chapter 3: Urban Regeneration Policy and its impact on the Yeoville Precinct Plans 36 3.1 The Inner City Regeneration Strategy (2002) 37 3.2 BID Feasibility in Yeoville 39 3.3 Managing Risk 40 3.4 Profit Driven Project Definition 42 Chapter 4: Analysis of Findings 45 4.1 Park Management 48 4.2 Yeoville Recreation Centre 51 4.3 Yeoville Swimming Pool 52 4.4 Wider Networks 53 Chapter 5: Conclusion 72