Informal practices in settlement buildings in Bekezela Johannesburg

Abstract

Inner city Johannesburg residents of occupied buildings experience systematic neglect and exclusion, living without access to services including water, electricity, sanitation, and waste management. Targeted for eviction instead of support and labeled as criminal areas, these communities are left to navigate precarious living conditions without formal state support. Still, residents actively resist exclusion and they self-organise to sustain their daily lives using informal governance structures. This study analyses the lived experiences of Bekezela residents, an occupied building in Johannesburg, to explore how they survive in the absence of formal state support. Using Insurgent Governance as a theoretical framework, this study examines how residents resist exclusion, organise to access resources, and create informal leadership structures. Through qualitative research methods, specifically in-depth interviews, the study uncovers the agency, resistance, informal governance mechanisms and collective self-organisation sustaining life in occupied environments. Findings show that although these insurgent governance strategies enable survival, residents remain vulnerable to legal precarity, infrastructure problems, and systematic neglect. This study contributes to debates on inclusive urban governance, advocating for policies that recognise informal governance structures rather than criminalising them. Ultimately, the study provides some insights in re-imagining urban governance in ways that are more inclusive, participatory, and responsive to inner city marginalised communities of Johannesburg.