Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 1 

 

 

 

The Interface between the Middle-

Class Neighbourhood and the Local 

State: A Case Study of the Melville 

Precinct Plan, Johannesburg 
 

 

By 

Denver Mark Hendricks 

Student number: 586971 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Research Report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, 

University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. MUS, Research Methods, ARPL7040A, 

Supervisor, Prof Philip Harrison 

 



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 2 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

To my wife, Marina for her undying love and support,  
my kids for keeping me inspired.  

 
In loving memory of Christo Bothes. 

 
  



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 3 

 
 
Abbreviations  

 

ANC - African National Congress 

COF - Corridors of Freedom 

COJ - City of Johannesburg 

DA  - Democratic Alliance 

IDP - Integrated Development Plan 

JDA - Johannesburg Development Agency  

MPP - Melville Precinct Plan  

MRA - Melville Residents Association  

MSI - Melville Security Initiative  

RAU - Rand Afrikaans University 

SABC - South African Broadcasting Corporation  

SAF -Strategic Area Framework 

SDF - Spatial Development Framework 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Key words/phrases 

political discursive process, political culture, class inequalities, policy, liberal political theory, 

democratic theory, civil society activists, community participation, community engagement/ 

citizen participation, middle class collective action, community-based politics 

 

 
  



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 4 

Index 

Index ............................................................................................................................................................................... 4 

Figure List ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 

Chapter 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 8 

1.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................... 8 

1.2 Problem Statement .................................................................................................................................... 11 

1.3 Background .......................................................................................................................................... 12 

1.4 Rationale ........................................................................................................................................................ 13 

1.5 Objective ........................................................................................................................................................ 14 

1.6 Research Questions ................................................................................................................................... 14 

1.8 Methodology ............................................................................................................................................... 14 

1.9 Conceptual Framework ............................................................................................................................ 15 

Chapter 2 Literature Review ............................................................................................................................... 16 

2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 16 

2.2 Community Participation ......................................................................................................................... 17 

2.3 Benefits of Community Participation .................................................................................................. 19 

2.4 Challenges and Limitations of Community Participation ........................................................... 20 

2.5 The Rise of a New Political Culture ..................................................................................................... 23 

2.6 The Middle-Class Elite and Neighbourhood Associations ......................................................... 24 

2.7 Sanitation and Purification of the Urban .......................................................................................... 26 

2.8 Paradox ........................................................................................................................................................... 27 

2.9 How the State and Engaged Citizens are Perceived ..................................................................... 28 

2.10 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................. 29 

Chapter 3 Reflecting on the Melville Context ............................................................................................. 31 

3.1 introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 31 

3.2 Physical Context .......................................................................................................................................... 31 



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 5 

3.3 Architectural Heritage ............................................................................................................................... 32 

3.4 Social, Cultural and Diversity Context ................................................................................................ 34 

3.5 The Formation of the Middle Class ..................................................................................................... 37 

3.6 Representative Groupings ...................................................................................................................... 40 

3.7 Ward Councillor Engagement ............................................................................................................... 40 

Chapter 4 Urban Policy Context ....................................................................................................................... 44 

4.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 44 

4.2 Spatial Policy Frameworks ...................................................................................................................... 45 

4.3 SPLUMA and GDS 2040 ........................................................................................................................... 46 

4.4 IDP process ................................................................................................................................................... 46 

4.5 COF .................................................................................................................................................................. 47 

4.6 Precinct Plan ................................................................................................................................................. 48 

4.7 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................... 49 

Chapter 5 Case Study, Melville Precinct Plan .............................................................................................. 51 

5.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 51 

5.2 Project Definition and Tender ............................................................................................................... 53 

5.3 Initial Community Briefing Meeting: 27 Boxes ................................................................................ 57 

5.4 Workshop 1 and the Community Responses .................................................................................. 58 

5.5 Urban Issues Raised by the Residents ................................................................................................ 60 

5.6 What Unfolded in Workshop 1 ............................................................................................................. 62 

5.7 Community Participation Workshop 2 ............................................................................................... 63 

5.8 Community Participation Workshop 3 ............................................................................................... 64 

5.9 Sub-committee Groups ............................................................................................................................ 65 

5.10 Presentation of All Sub-committees’ Ideas and Projects ......................................................... 66 

5.11 Testing the Interventions ...................................................................................................................... 67 

5.12 Changing of Consultants ...................................................................................................................... 68 



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 6 

5.13 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................. 68 

Chapter 6 Reflecting on the MPP .................................................................................................................... 70 

6.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 70 

6.2 Breaking the MPP Down .......................................................................................................................... 72 

6.3 Scope and Intention of the Project ..................................................................................................... 73 

6.4 Who Participated: Depth and Breadth ............................................................................................... 74 

6.5 What the Precinct Plan Delivered ........................................................................................................ 76 

6.6 The Local Scale ............................................................................................................................................ 77 

6.7 Lessons Learnt ............................................................................................................................................. 78 

6.7 Recommendations ..................................................................................................................................... 80 

Chapter 7 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 81 

7.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 81 

7.2 Summary ........................................................................................................................................................ 81 

7.4 Future Research .......................................................................................................................................... 84 

7.5 Final Comments .......................................................................................................................................... 84 

Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................................. 86 

 
  



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 7 

Figure List 
Figure 1: Stakeholders at the Melville Precinct Plan Community Engagement Session, 2017…………………………………….8 

Figure 2: Melville’s location and population (https://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/798015091).............................12 

Figure 3: Structured engagement, Head (2017:445)…………………………………………………………………………………………………18 

Figure 4: A typical Corner Shop in Melville that still stands today (Läuferts and Mavunganidze, no date)………………33 

Figure 5: Organogram of the council structure……………………………………………………………………………..………………………..42 

Figure 6: The Role of the NSDF within the ‘Family’ of Strategic and Sector Plans of Government (South African 

National Government, 2018)……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………44 

Figure 7: Urban Development at varying scales (Dinath, 2017)………………………………………………………………………………..49 

Figure 8: Study area in the project  document for the MPP…………………………………………………………………………………….51 

Figure 9: Tender advertisement  2016…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….52 

Figure 10:  Melville adjacent to the COF project with feeding routes into the corridor……………………………………………..53 

Figure 5: Calls for participation posted on social media, emails and WhatsApp groups………………………………..………..55 

Figure 12: Co-facilitator and JDA representative introducing the MPP……………………………..…………..………………………..57 

Figure 13: Structure of the first community design participation……………………………………………….…………………………….57 

Figure 14: Participants in Workshop 1……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……..61 

 

  



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 8 

Chapter 1 Introduction  

1.1 Introduction 

 
Figure 1: Stakeholders at the Melville Precinct Plan Community Engagement Session, 2017 

“This will not be another Hillbrow!” 
This slogan above was touted by a Melville resident who was also a Melville Residents 

Association (MRA) committee member during the Melville Precinct Plan (MPP) community 

participation workshop in 2017. The resident attempted to discredit the MPP project because 

he believed that a new vision for Melville would encourage undesirable densification. The MPP 

project was conducted as a participatory design – a dialogue between a middle-class 

community and the State that was commissioned by the Johannesburg Development Agency 

(JDA), a project implementation agency of the City of Johannesburg (COJ). The MPP forms part 

of a larger progressive regional project called the Corridors of Freedom (COF), an ambitious 

project initiated by the then-city mayor, Tau Parks. The COF intends to address Johannesburg’s 



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 9 

fragmented post-apartheid city pattern and to transform the socio-spatial structure of the city 

(Harrison et al., 2019). It is a new paradigm to create a new city vision of sustainability, 

efficiency and support for economies through concentrated nodes and corridors (JDA 

Corridors of Freedom to Change City, 2013). 

 

Some of the terms used to describe this process that have become mainstream (Head, 2007; 

Cornwall, 2008; Ballard, 2008) in the last three decades include civic engagement, public 

participation and community engagement. The political discursive nature of communities on 

policies, sustainability and urban development has become synonymous with ideas of liberal 

states, democracy and equality. Since the democratic government came into power in 1994, 

citizen voices and broader inclusion, especially for the black poor who were previously 

economically disenfranchised, were constitutionally embedded, and have become an integral 

part of the political discourse. Ballard (2018:172) reminds us that South African community 

engagement is distinctive due to its unequal nature and that its participation inherently means 

delivery. However, the complexity of community participation has been the focus of scholarly 

debate (Arnstein, 1969; Akkerman, Ballard, 2008, Hajer and Grin, 2004; Fernandes, 2004; Innes 

and Booher, 2004; Harriss, 2007; Head, 2007; Zérah, 2007; Kamath and Vijayabaskar, 2009; 

Tunstall, 2016; He, 2021) due to the increased challenges present in our political, socio-cultural, 

historical and spatial context. There is a paradox in community participation for the intention 

of participation can broaden democracy, increased participation could expand inequality as 

Ballard (2008:169) points out how the eThekwini municipality in 2002 and 2003 successfully 

engaged ordinary citizens to develop their Integrated Development Plan (IDP). This is contrary 

to the shift in engagement in which the voices of the wealthier and the politically connected 

are more dominant than others and could erode democratic production. 

 

 It is because of this, that progressive social and urban geography theorists are using a critical 

lens to bring the area of community participation into sharp focus and are developing new 

approaches to thinking about this hotly debated topic in democratic theory. Furthermore, the 

engagement processes at the neighbourhood or precinct level are complex for both the State 

and middle-class communities. It is time-consuming and risky and requires careful negotiation 

between diverse stakeholders with varying degrees of ideals and values. In addition, a 

neighbourhood or precinct plan must be guided by over-arching spatial frameworks, policies 



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 10 

and approval processes. At the neighbourhood scale communities can make tangible 

decisions that shape the identity of the neighbourhood. This can be a contentious phase in 

urban development.  

 

In this report, I explore the complexity of state-community engagement relationally. From the 

perspective of the State, engagement is part of the democratic discourse, it is legally required 

for planning, and makes practical sense for getting buy-in for the implementation of City 

visions. For communities or neighbourhoods, engagement has a lot to do with protecting 

interests. Faced with deteriorating infrastructure, for example, communities may use 

engagement to put pressure on the State to perform as it should. Engagement may also be a 

tactic to resist state intentions such as urban densification which is seen as threatening to local 

interests.  

 

Community leaders facilitate engagement with the local State using different forms of 

engagement with the State, including cultivating relationships with State officials and making 

direct and public demands on the local State to deliver basic services. They represent the 

interests of the dominant social grouping within a neighbourhood which, in middle-class 

areas, is generally rate-paying homeowners.  

 

 However, a crucial part of effective urban development in a democratic State is the inclusion 

of other voices (Healey, 2009). On the other hand, the State must serve the people, and having 

a cooperative community deepens meaningful engagement and creates a sense of working 

and learning together to create a harmonious precinct, city and region. This study examines 

the State-community engagement of the MPP in 2017. It analyses roles and actions within 

political discursive processes such as the MPP. It further intends to understand how the two 

entities respond to and engage in effective urban development by mapping the MPP process, 

its objectives, ideals and development. 

 

I am an architect, a lecturer at the University of Johannesburg and a resident of Melville. I was 

part of the architectural consultant team along with engineers, planners, economists and 

community liaison officers who facilitated the MPP. Functional neighbourhoods make liveable 

cities (Marinova and Hossain, 2014) and middle-class neighbourhoods are compromised and 



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 11 

threatened by a lack of State delivery or misalignment of their vision. I am interested in this 

subject because my participation in my neighbourhood directly affects the quality of my 

immediate environment and that of my family.  

 

1.2 Problem Statement  

Community engagement forms part of a larger body of democratic theory (Head, 2007) and 

has been a strong feature in developing liberal countries in the last 30 years. Ballard (2018:168) 

states that participation at the local level is it is not only a useful informative process about 

community needs, but also how the community would like those needs to be met.  However, 

" community " is “notoriously vague and value-laden” (Head, 2007:441). Often used in 

grassroots applications, the term can be abused by the State, city officials, ward councillors 

and consultants to incentivise communities to participate and to create a contrived sense of 

harmony (Head, 2007:441) to meet their objectives, despite real differences in interests. 

Therefore, the term ‘community’ can be misleading because communities like Melville have 

diverse and competing interests. Melville is a multifaceted community of residents, institutions, 

businesses, sporting community, visitors to the area, and the displaced, young and old. They 

can often have “varying interests or varying levels of interest” (JDA Representative, 2022:0:10). 

It is optimistic to equate community with “harmony and cooperation” (Head, 2007:441).  

 

According to some academics such as Head (2007:442), citizens tend to fall into two main 

categories: the elites who have attracted negative attention, versus active citizens “who 

participate in a range of policy or institutional settings” (2007:442). Some Melville community 

members are active in residency groups, security initiatives, social work, cleaning-up 

programmes, and so forth. Lathouras (2016) introduces us to the term “Critical Social Work” – 

a crucial approach to active citizenry engagement that “upholds traditional values and social 

order despite of inequities and injustice” (Lathouras, 2016:32). However, it is not always clear 

when activists are being elitists or not. When are individuals active because of their social 

concerns and when because of their interests in defending middle-class life against outsiders, 

for example? The phenomenon of using active citizenry as a vehicle to drive a particular urban 

culture and agenda to undermine democracy is one of the core preoccupations of this study. 

 



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 12 

In addition, the South African post-apartheid State finds itself in the precarious situation of 

being untrustworthy (JDA Representative 2022: 0:15:42) because of the approach to prior 

urban development projects, service delivery failures and corruption. This is a problem when 

trying to make good on progressive and democratic spatial transformation policies. The 

challenges of corruption, failing infrastructure and political factionalism aggravate citizens by 

portraying an agenda that is counter-productive to the broader ideals. City officials and 

voluntary community leaders work together in highly charged, low-trust, environments with 

community leaders engaging for narrow interests and State officials hamstrung by perceptions 

of incompetency and corruption.  Participation processes can become conflictual, alternatively, 

they may be reduced to a tick-box exercise (Ward Councillor, 2022:0:15:10) without deep and 

meaningful engagement – a way of avoiding the difficult real issues.  

 

1.3 Background  

Melville is a predominantly middle-class neighbourhood 3 km from the Johannesburg city 

centre. It covers 1.73  km2 and in 2011 (the latest available census) it had a population of 3 355 

people of which more than half were white, with one-third black Africa, with an average age 

of 25 to 35 years. It contained 1,608 households, with an average of only 2.1 persons per 

household  (Stats SA, 2022). It is a low-rise suburban neighbourhood with a rich mix of 

residential, business, schools, faith-based and other organisations and a porous street 

network. Apart from its residential areas, it has two business strips, the entertainment focussed 

7th Street, and mixed-activity Main Road. Melville borders both middle-class (Westdene and 

Auckland Park) and upper-class neighbourhoods (Westcliff). The area is bordered by 

significant national institutions such as the Universities of Johannesburg the Witwatersrand, 

and the South African Broadcasting Corporation. On two edges are main arterial access routes: 

Empire Road, which connects the CBD with a large township and the site of the COF project; 

and a major route to the sprawling northern suburbs. Melville sits adjacent to a geologically 

significant nature reserve often used for leisure, education and cultural practices. Due to its 

location, Melville is a prime site for urban development because it has access to prime local 

sites of importance.  



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 13 

  

Figure 2: Melville’s location and population (https://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/798015091) 

1.4 Rationale  

Spatial transformation has been one of the main features of the post-1994 national 

government’s agenda, and democratic rights mean that citizens have the freedom to voice 

their opinions and influence the process of making their cities. However, it is immensely 

complex and constrained (Harrison, et al., 2019:462). Civic engagement is a crucial part of the 

democratic repertoire. Since the post-1994 democratic elections, the constitution requires 

citizens’ voices to be included in shaping their communities. It has become increasingly 

important to address the various levels of challenges experienced by different 

neighbourhoods. A lot of published urban geography research focuses on the challenges of 

lower-income communities and their relationship to the State in terms of a ‘lack of’ 

infrastructure. This research focuses on the effects of ‘not having’. However, there is not a lot 

of research done specifically on the challenges of ‘the haves’, the functioning middle-class 

neighbourhood where the core challenges are concerned with safety, maintenance of existing 

infrastructure and the prevention of urban development. This case study intends to unpack 

the engagement of an active and mobilised middle-class community that seeks to maintain 

and protect their neighbourhood against failing services and ‘negative transformation’ of the 

neighbourhood due to ‘living rough’, student residences,  the effects of businesses such as 

noise, and processes such as densification. This research also hopes to contribute towards an 

understanding of the role of spatial practitioners within neighbourhoods who are engaging 

the State through these processes. In the COF and the MPP not only were practitioners from 

the neighbourhood leading the projects, but they were also intricately involved in the process 

as stakeholders.  



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 14 

 

1.5 Objective 

The objective of this research is to analyse and review local community activity engagement 

trends at the neighbourhood level. The intention is to develop a deeper understanding of the 

complex relationship dynamics between local State actors (officials and elected 

representatives) and middle-class Melville community members through a case study – the 

community participation project known as the MPP.  

 

1.6 Research Questions 

The main research question is: What is the nature of the engagements between the local State 

and community leaders in the neighbourhood of Melville, Johannesburg?  

 

Sub-questions: 

1. What community engagement platforms are undertaken by either the State or the 

neighbourhood to engage each other over effective urban development? 

2. What are the real intentions of State and Community in engaging in participatory 

processes? 

3. How efficient or helpful are these engagement platforms and what results do they 

yield? 

4. What strategies do the State and communities undertake to achieve their real 

intentions? 

5. What is the role of spatial planning in community participation? 

 

1.8 Methodology 

This research employed a mixture of empirical and non-normative qualitative research 

methods. Primary data collection focused on reflecting on interviews conducted with 

individuals involved in the MPP, including a JDA representative, the Ward Councillor and other 

stakeholders. The primary data includes my personal notes, emails and documents as a 

consultant of the project. The secondary data involves a survey and analysis of publicly 

available documentation such as literature reviews, newspaper articles, reports, meeting 



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 15 

minutes and government policy documents. The MPP project was also comprehensively 

documented by a videographer, which is a valuable source of data.  

 

Researching the interface between the middle class and the State forms part of a larger body 

of work, but due to the scope set out by the institution for this thesis, the extent was cropped. 

Middle-class neighbourhoods in South Africa face a plethora of socio-economic, 

environmental and security challenges that can often culminate in either privatisation or decay 

of the urban environment. The Melville precinct itself has a long history of active engagement 

with the city including the proposal to pedestrianise 7th Street (Ndebele, 2010), the 27 Boxes 

development (Mason, 2013) and the Campus Square student residence housing project (MRA, 

2016). The COF is a regional project that has a significant impact on the way that the Melville 

community relate to the city. Furthermore, the JDA Representative (2022; 0:11:54.730) stated 

that the MPP was one of the first community participation projects in Johannesburg and many 

lessons have been learnt. As a result, the JDA has developed a new range of toolsets and 

mediums to expand on their community participative methods. Therefore, the study of middle-

class and State engagement has substantial capacity to inform our understanding of this work. 

 

1.9 Conceptual Framework 

The conceptual framework shows how community participation that is guided by its policies 

is instituted at the neighbourhood scale. The MPP is not only a demonstration of how the State 

navigates challenges of process and democracy but also how the community through its 

invited and invented (Miraftab, 2004) spaces participates and guards against “looming 

vulnerabilities and practical opportunities” (Forester, 2008:447). Stakeholders use their 

professional skills and knowledge to plot a roadmap through the processes. They also rely on 

representative bodies to create a ‘collective’ such as the MRA or MSI. Spatial practitioners, 

academics and consultants also engage in public participation projects and provide a critical 

and useful voice of reason.  

  



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 16 

Chapter 2 Literature Review 

2.1 Introduction 

This literature review intends to broaden our theoretical understanding of the community 

participation of middle-class civil society within the political and democratic theoretical 

context. Through empirical research, several authors (Arnstein, 1969; Akkerman, Hajer and 

Grin, 2004; Fernandes, 2004; Innes and Booher, 2004; Harriss, 2007; Head, 2007; Zérah, 2007; 

Kamath and Vijayabaskar, 2009; Tunstall, 2016; He, 2021) find that there is a positive step 

towards broadening democracy in newly established liberal countries as more communities 

become involved in participation concerned with the urban policy and restructuring. The 

literature reveals several trends relating to a new political ‘elitist’ culture that is posing a risk 

to the very objective of community participation. The new political culture is emerging within 

a specific social group known as the elite middle class located at the neighbourhood scale. 

This review will document how community participation is defined, its purpose, benefits, 

limitations and pitfalls. It will then review the middle class as a structural group and the motives 

for its emerging establishment. It will finally consider how the State and the middle-class elite 

are seen by each other, as well as the contradictions of the middle-class elite objectives.  

 

Although there is a plethora of contemporary academics who have been theorising democracy 

in community participation since the 1990s, seminal theoretical literature dates to the late 

1960s and early 1970s. The foundational work of Arnstein (1969) sets out the initial analysis of 

the community participation framework already highlighting the poignant issues of power, 

tokenism, and paternalism. Arnstein (1969) and Pateman (1970) briefly discuss the dynamics 

of decision-making the pitfalls of power and the exclusion of the poor. More recently, in the 

last three decades, many scholars like Fernandes (2004), Harriss (2007), Head (2007), Zérah 

(2007) and Kamath and Vijayabaskar (2009) have developed the theory with most of the case 

studies emanating from Asian countries. As the case studies began to emerge in the late 2000s, 

we look to Fernandes (2004), Innes and Booher (2004), Harriss (2007), Zérah (2007) and Kamath 

and Viyayabaskar (2009) who have conducted in-depth case studies of third-world local-level 

democratic politics to understand the nuances of these new shifts in neighbourhood political 

culture. 



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 17 

2.2 Community Participation  

Citizen-state community participation is becoming more prevalent at the local neighbourhood 

scale in liberal states, but there is not enough scholarly reflection on the cross-section of 

democracy at the local scale (Bénit-Gbaffou, 2008:3). The voices of tax-paying nationals have 

started to be included more often in urban decision-making processes since the 1990s (Head, 

2007:441). As (Zérah, 2007:61) puts it, “Cities have become strategic places … and play a role 

in the reconfiguration of the territorialization process … the objectives of political and 

administrative decentralization as well as increased participation are pursued by national 

organizations and national governments” This means that cities are becoming key role players 

and agents for change in practices of democracy. This decentralisation progress funnels more 

power to local administrative structures, giving more power to people ‘on the ground’ who 

have previously been ignored (Zérah, 2007:61). 

 

So, what is the reason for the increase in community participation? What is the State’s interest 

in developing a more engaging deliberative dialogue with its citizens and stakeholders to 

make improved decisions about urban development in the last three decades? Head 

(2007:442) and Zérah (2007:61) state that there are three main reasons: firstly, there is an 

uptake of liberal qualities, tolerance and overall and general inclusion of others as society has 

liberalized over time (although noting recent regression with the rise of right-wing populism); 

secondly, due to global processes, there is an increase in and more direct access to information 

and communication with new ICT technologies facilitating the engagement between state and 

citizens; and finally, socio-environmental problems are becoming more complex, and it 

requires transdisciplinary knowledge and skills to solve them. 

 

Harriss (2007:2716) offers contributions to thinking about the theory of democracy and its 

applications by stating that the term ‘governance’ is conceptually more far-reaching than the 

term ‘government’ … ”and thinking about what is required for effective governance embraces 

arguments not only about the reform of institutions of government itself, but also about the 

possible role of market mechanisms in the efficient delivery of services, and about community 

deliberation and action as a means whereby people may develop the ‘voice’ that they need in 

order to improve the accountability and the efficiency of governance”. He goes on to develop 

foundational ways of thinking about civic engagement by stating that community discursive 



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 18 

dialogues and their applications … ”in the governance agenda are bound up with ideas about 

the importance of organisation in ‘civil society’ …” He argues that participation is a significant 

facet of empowerment – both as an application in urban development and as an stand-alone 

concept (Harriss, 2007:2716). Harriss develops a helpful contribution centred around the 

concept of empowerment. To be conscious is to be aware – aware of the transactional 

relationship. “The process of conscientization involves identifying contradictions in experience 

through dialogue and becoming part of the process of changing the world … It is through 

such a process of the transformation of individual selves – their empowerment, or liberation 

from ‘disempowerment’ – that society will be transformed” (Harriss, 2007:2716). 

 
Figure 3: Structured engagement, Head (2017:445) 

However, Head (2007:441) guards against the terminology of ‘community’, suggesting that 

the term indicates a phoney and deceptive impression of unity, collaboration, and inclusivity 

and that it does not acknowledge the diversity of that group. The term can often be used in 

ominous ways to gain buy-in or trust. He echoes the assertion by Mendes (2018:211) that the 

term ‘community’ has its limitations because the term is “false and misleading” and that it 

creates a false “sense of identity, harmony, cooperation and inclusiveness”. It ignores 

economic, cultural, and social differences. Furthermore, the term is often used to manipulate 

the State (Head:441). Head quotes several scholars such as Adams and Hess (2001) and 

(Reddel and Woolcock, 2004) who cite a variety of community typologies. A pertinent aspect 

of the establishment of problematic abuse of the term community is that it is often 



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 19 

implemented in spaces where communities are in development, i.e., at a grassroots level 

(Head, 1997:442). 

 

2.3 Benefits of Community Participation  

In the pursuit of understanding the benefits of community participation, its main objective is 

to increase democracy – “participation of the governed in their government is, in theory, the 

cornerstone of democracy” (Arnstein, 1969:216). Head (2007:441) states that one of the 

reasons that liberal states transitioned into democratic ideology was to avoid the failures of 

communism. He goes on to state that the purpose of community participation is “building 

institutional bridges”, and that “the importance of building effective capacity for citizens and 

all non-government organisations (NGOs) to participate is emphasised” Head (2007:441). 

Zérah (2007:63) further unpacks the advantages into three criteria. She states that its role is 

firstly to expand social relationships, secondly, to strive for better policies, and finally, to 

expand democracy (Zérah, 2007:63). Bénit-Gbaffou (2008:3) argues that there is “greater 

potential to enhance participatory democracy than do wider scales of government” because 

of the direct relationship between the State and its citizens and accountability to engage and 

to deliver. It has therefore been highlighted in various ways that the existence of the dialogue 

between the state and its citizens is crucial to democracy. It has a direct impact on the everyday 

experience of stakeholders to consult with them on urban development matters about them, 

their neighbourhoods, their streets, and their homes.  

 

Community participation offers a variety of modes of community engagement through a 

“political discursive process” (Fernandes, 2004:2416) to curate the urban environment. Head 

(2007:4423) sees community participation as being comprised of a triangulated relationship, 

i.e. government, business and citizens. Furthermore, if community participation is a significant 

tool to solve complex social, infrastructure and capacity problems, this relationship needs to 

take a variety of forms. Head (2007:4423) considers three main types of engagement: firstly, 

state-led where the government either extracts information from citizens, or delegates and 

empowers groups and experts; secondly, citizen-led in the form of protests, lobbying or self-

articulated projects; and finally, iterative process that occurs over time with various 

stakeholders and is often associated with generating new urban information and knowledge 



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 20 

through dialogue. According to most scholars, a by-product of the latter process is the 

development of a ‘community’ and all parties go through a learning process. Harriss 

(2007:2716) articulates that “… arguments about community deliberation and action in the 

governance agenda are bound up with ideas about the importance of organisation in ‘civil 

society’, and the potential of participation by citizens in and through such organisations for 

improving the functioning of political institutions and of the state. ‘Participation’ in this sense 

is seen as an important aspect of the ‘empowerment’ of people which is sought both as a 

means to development and as an objective in itself“. Harris argues that community deliberation 

is synonymous with the arrangement of civil society (Harriss, 2007:2716) and establishment of 

empowerment is important in terms of "the expansion of assets and capabilities of poor 

people to participate in, negotiate with, influence, control and hold accountable institutions 

that affect their lives"; and it includes, as practical requirements, four key elements: access to 

information; inclusion and participation; accountability; and organisational capacity, all of 

which have a synergistic relation with each other” (Harriss, 2007:2716). 

 

Literature suggests that one of the primary goals of community participation is to build bridges 

between citizens and the government through meaningful and in-depth discourse and to 

develop a public-private partnership in which the parties can work cooperatively (Arnstein, 

1969; Butler and Robson, 2001; Head, 2007; Coelho and Venkat, 2009; Kamath and 

Vijayabaskar, 2009). Community participation needs to be active and ongoing as opposed to 

a transactional and paternalistic relationship (Koo, 1991; Head, 2007; Schuermans, 2016). 

However, Head (2007:4423), goes on to develop this idea of discursive engagement and 

records that his third typology of ‘partnering’ requires engagement with “various types of 

partnership, delegated powers and, ultimately, citizen control”. This briefly encapsulates the 

current mainstream engagement objectives of liberal states. However, according to the 

literature, although one would assume that community engagement would have encouraging 

results, there are many challenges and limitations.  

 

2.4 Challenges and Limitations of Community Participation 

An important aspect of understanding community participation is to understand the different 

typologies. Head (2017:445) revises Arnstein’s (1969:217) seminal ladder of participation into 



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 21 

a succinct and contemporary list and omits the non-participative groupings. Head (2017:445) 

develops a table of “Levels of public participation and empowerment” with sub-group 

explanatory listings of “inform; consult; involve; collaborate and empower”. Harriss’ (2007) 

philosophical literature on ‘empowerment’ is a strong feature in the work of Head (2017). Head 

(2007) offers a comprehensive overview of community participation and probes very important 

questions that open enquiry and analysis from other scholars such as Fernandes (2004), Zérah 

(2007), Kamath and Vijayabaskar (2009). Head’s 2007 paper title asks: “On whose terms”? and 

develops a brief but succinct anecdotal summary of the State-citizen relationship. According 

to Head’s (2017) formulation, the State benefits because they have an opportunity to share 

the responsibility but still steer and control the process; and citizens are empowered as they 

get to participate equally. For example, non-government organisations can have a voice that 

can lead to increased revenue while businesses can influence policy that can develop easier 

bylaw criteria for easier operations and attracting more patrons (Head, 2007). 

 

Head continues to argue that although the State’s intentions are noble, it is commendable 

because “… it must be acknowledged that many governments and public agencies have taken 

a systematic approach to provide guidance (both for officials and other participants) 

concerning the purposes of public participation and the modes of community engagement 

about policy and program issues” (Head, 2007:447). However, one of the concerns is that this 

community participation has to be in the best interest of the State to ensure value for tax-

payers money. Therefore the State has to maintain its dominance, uphold a low level of trust, 

and carry out any desired “detailed reporting compliance obligations”. The reason for not 

meeting consensus or a formal shared vision could be attributed to several reasons from either 

of the participating parties in the State-citizen relationship. Therefore power, trust, capacity 

and confidence become a strong sub-theme within the literature (Arnstein, 1969:217; Head, 

2007:449). State-funded forums can either become contrived by technocrats or paternalism, 

or they may face the danger of being captured by fractions of the community. These processes 

documented in the literature describe the antithesis of partnership and empowerment. 

Fernandes (2004:2416) argues that “state practices are engaged in political processes of spatial 

purification and the production of a new middle-class-based vision of the Indian nation” where 

leaders painted pictures of a new ‘civic culture’ that is a new aesthetic “vision of tree-lined 

boulevards, fountains, and playgrounds. There will be no slums. The streets will be clean with 



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 22 

wide pavements unencumbered by hawkers. People will stroll through pedestrian plazas. This 

is an important factor of purification in the politics of forgetting, creating privacy” (Fernandes, 

2004:2421). 

 

As urban governance becomes more progressive, and more citizens influence the process, 

scholars cast more doubt on the process because there are other factors that can affect 

democracy and civil society. Head (2017): reveals in his reflections such as can the state govern 

effectively; can effectively entrust civic society to make their own decisions; nebulous state 

processes; the inability to effectively measure the impact; confidence in the state capacity to 

carry out the project; lack of coordination and including a comprehensive inclusion of voices. 

Head (2017:442) also mentions the aspect of the “inherent elitism of professional 

bureaucracies and representative government”. Head (2017:450) questions the clarity and 

designation of the roles and responsibilities, suggesting a degree of scepticism about the 

intentions of the government and implying serious limits on the potential influence of the 

citizenry and community groups (Head, 2007:441). 

 

We can learn important lessons from community participation, such as creating joint goals, 

fostering trust and building relationships, regulating control, and sharing headship (Head, 

2007:441). Community participation is uplifting and is an important part of civic nature. One 

the most important benefits of this process, according to Head (2007:441), is that citizens will 

achieve “better informed” decision-making, through facilitating deeper involvement by 

stakeholders. However, many scholars in this review have drawn attention to the risks posed, 

not by the State, but by the citizens themselves. We are learning that there is a new culture 

emerging that poses a significant risk to democracy. Deep analysis of case studies can be in 

the writing of Fernandes (2004), Zérah (2007) and Kamath and Vijayabaskar (2009). By way of 

introduction to neighbourhood elites, about the sharp contrast between active citizens and 

elitism, Zérah (2007:62) stated “… we shall question the relationship between participative and 

representative democracy based upon the actions of those neighbourhood associations: do 

we witness a renewed shape of elite capture or a process of re-legitimising the political system, 

and in fine, representative democracy?” This question addresses an additional argument of 

whether elites are ‘capturing’ or constantly developing spheres of ‘influence’. 

 



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 23 

2.5 The Rise of a New Political Culture 

One of the ubiquitous arguments found in most of the literature is the rise of the middle-class 

elite at the local neighbourhood scale (Akkerman, Hajer and Grin 2004; Fernandes 2004; Innes 

and Booher 2004; Harriss 2007; Head 2007; Zérah 2007; Kamath and Vijayabaskar 2009; 

Tunstall 2016; He 2021). The actual nature and size of the middle classes vary greatly 

(Fernandes, 2004). The middle class is not homogenous, and this social grouping has a 

significant range in ideologies, politics and urban vision (Fernandes, 2004:2418; Kamath and 

Vijayabaskar, 2009:372). Authors have warned that the makeup of the middle class is not a 

single typology. “The limitation to this formulation is that it assumes that the elites ... form a 

homogeneous group whose interests are represented in self-evident ways in civil society. The 

trend of decentralisation of local spatial politics is occurring in parallel with a global lifestyle 

change in the middle class. Fernandes (2004), Kamath and Vijayabaskar (2009) and Zérah 

(2007) state that there is a new pattern of lifestyle and consumption occurring for example in 

India predominantly in the middle class. “This middle class is not new in a structural sense … it 

refers to particular segments of the professional middle classes, particularly those associated 

with new economy jobs such as the services sector and information technology” (Fernandes, 

2004:2418). Fernandes continues that new social and cultural behaviours seem to validate the 

way this socio-economic class is represented in public culture. In other words, there is evidence 

by the scholars in this review that consumption and the effects of globalisation are reinforcing 

sub-classifications and inequality – elevating a new group to a middle-class elitist sub-

category. “The invention of the new Indian middle class … is part of a broad process of cultural 

and economic globalisation that has been set in motion through the economic policies of 

liberalisation in the 1990s” (Fernandes, 2004:2424). This emergence is creating a new kind of 

inequality and distinction from the poor. According to Fernandes, there is a direct relationship 

between the rise of consumption in the liberalising economy of the early 1990s and the new 

“cultural characteristics marked by attitudes, lifestyle and consumption practices associated 

with commodities” (Fernandes, 2004:2415). The result is that the emerging politics of the new 

middle class has broader political significance for the identity formation of Indian middle 

classes (Fernandes, 2004:2418). 

 

Middle-class elites are preoccupied with urban restructuring. Harriss states that “in Bangalore, 

the upper stratum, of highly professional associations, has been very much concerned with the 



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 24 

problems of the urban environment” (Harriss, 2007:368). Fernandes (2004:2415) says that the 

middle class did not arise from its reference instead it was interictally tied to the production 

of the restructuring of the urban space. “The exercise of state power in this context does not 

take an external form that is protecting or catering to a predefined set of interests of the 

middle classes. Rather, it is inextricably engaged in the production of the new Indian middle 

class, a social category that is materially produced through the restructuring of urban space in 

contemporary Mumbai (Fernandes, 2004:2424). Kamath and Vijayabaskar (2009:365) go on to 

mention that “the invention of the new middle-class lifestyle has been increasingly interwoven 

into the creation of an urban aesthetics based on the middle-class desire for the management 

of urban space based on strict class-based separations”. Chatterjee's (2004) conception rests 

on an assumption of a naturalised identification between civil society, elite middle-class 

expression (voice), and the representation of a homogeneous set of middle-class interests. In 

effect, such a notion conflates dominant conceptions of elite or middle-class identity ... with 

the broader and highly differentiated group that constitutes the middle class” (Kamath and 

Vijayabaskar, 2009:368). Thus Fernandes (2004:2418) states because they contain the promise 

of access, the emerging middle class’s limits are flexible.  

 

2.6 The Middle-Class Elite and Neighbourhood Associations  

At the core of this review lies evidence of a new type of politics that is concerned with exclusion 

and local-scale spatial production. A large proportion of the literature is dedicated to the 

structural antonym of the middle class. Kamath and Vijayabaskar (2009:368) state that “the 

exclusive approach highlights the nature of middle class versus the poor” while it talks about 

the social groups in a more pronounced way – that social groups marginalise. Fernandes 

(2004:368) draws …” implicitly on Chatterjee’s (2004 distinction between ‘civil’ and ‘political 

society’, such dominance, they point out, tends to exclude the voices of the poorer sections, 

i.e., members of the political society”. Furthermore, to describing elitist attitudes, Fernandes 

describes them as “a cultural characteristic that is marked by attitudes, lifestyles and 

consumption practices associated with commodities made available in India’s liberalising 

economy” (Fernandes, 2004:2415). The literature over-emphasises this emerging new pattern 

of activity. One of the aspects of this emergence is the origin:” the public cultural 

representations of this social class appear to be borne out of a new social and cultural practice” 



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 25 

(Fernandes, 2004:2419). “[T]he category urban ‘middle class’ privileged in studies on collective 

action is too homogeneous to account for the multiple locations, interests and concerns, and 

varied access to power of different sections. … [W]hile some sections of the middle class are 

more critical to advancing the urban reform agenda, others are less so, and some even oppose 

the progress of reforms“(Kamath and Vijayabaskar, 2009:369). This outspoken middle-class 

identity is expressed in a variety of cultural and social contexts, including public discourses, 

the creation of new urban aesthetics, outspoken claims to public urban space, and the 

establishment of new civic and community organisations (Fernandes, 2004:2416). Fernandes 

(2004:2418) states that “such transformations in the cultural identity of the middle classes, in 

turn, have specific material and political consequences that set into motion the politics of 

forgetting of those social groups that are marginalised by economic liberalisation”. 

 

Fernandes’ (2004:2417) analysis focuses on the distinct boundaries of between the state and 

civil society. She points out that “the invention of the new Indian middle class … is part of a 

broad process of cultural and economic globalisation that has been set in motion through the 

economic policies of liberalisation in the 1990s” (Fernandes, 2004:2424). The production of “a 

new form of cultural citizenship … is linked to the changing relationship between state and 

capital in the context of economic restructuring” (Fernandes, 2004:2416). A unique 

characteristic of this type of politics is that it is not concerned with services or infrastructure. 

Instead, it has everything to do with aspects that create discomfort for these middle-class 

elites. This is a new form of politics … “built up around voluntary organizations in civil society 

rather than political parties, around new social movements” (Harriss, 2007:2717). Fernandes 

argues that this middle-class social culture of exclusion stems from the transnational 

commodity culture of capitalistic lifestyle changes. There is a sense of maintaining a new 

agenda and the sense of protection and guarding of real estate, and lifestyle. In this emerging 

dismissive consumptive culture, the middle class distances itself from the poor. Fernandes 

(2004) states these are new manoeuvres around state processes to develop a non-

acknowledging approach to urban restructuring in what she calls the “politics of forgetting” 

(about the poor). Fernandes (2004:2424) argues that “the result is that the conception of a 

politics of forgetting cannot be viewed merely as a process where particular localities are 

excluded from globalisation, but as an active political process that involves processes of 

exclusion and purification”. Such transformations in the cultural identity of the middle classes, 



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 26 

in turn, have specific material and political consequences that set into motion the politics of 

forgetting of those social groups that are marginalised by economic liberalisation. Fernandes 

(2004:2416) reflects that this concept is not only an activity where omission occurs but “an 

active political process that involves processes of exclusion and purification” and the 

“dynamics of this politics of forgetting in contemporary India unfold through the spatial 

reconfiguration of class inequalities and distinctions at the local level” (Fernandes, 2004:2428). 

 

2.7 Sanitation and Purification of the Urban 

The literature has so far framed this emerging “cultural citizenship” (Fernandes, 2004:2417) as 

being influenced by contemporary processes of globalisation and having a distinct agenda to 

use the neighbourhood associations to preserve the urban condition. However, Schuermans 

reminds us that although the literature is based on empirical studies of sole case studies, that 

not all middle-class neighbourhoods subscribe to this application (Schuermans, 2016:190). The 

politics of forgetting theme is linked to an additional theme: the vision of the urban 

environment and ‘doing away’. This is a “…political project that seeks to produce a sanitised 

vision of the economic benefits of Globalization” and a “sanitised vision of the economic 

benefits of globalization” (Fernandes, 2004:2416). According to Fernandes (2004:2421), the 

‘purification’ and the politics of beautifying stems from an ideal of society advancement and 

aspirations.  

 

I would like to argue that this act of urban ‘purification’ and ‘sanitisation’ bears a similarity with 

urban attitudes of fortification, enclave, and telescopic urban strategies. I argue that the 

concerns against the urban poor and the fear of urban decay due to economic forces are 

similar. The differentiating factors are that gated communities have physical boundaries to 

reinforce their concerns while the middle-class elite are using the state to create and maintain 

its buffers. Enclave urbanism uses boundaries as divisive mechanisms and to facilitate 

groupings’ ideals and it also “allows the privileged to choose with whom they interact in their 

everyday lives” (Schuermans, 2016:183). A curated vision of the middle-class elite 

neighbourhood means “… to exercise unprecedented control over their experience of the city 

in terms of to whom, how and when social encounters are made” (Schuermans, 2016:183). 

Schuermans (2016:186) continues to unpack the analysis by stating that middle-class elite 



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 27 

culture is also preoccupied with dimension and distances in physical space:” The sense of 

proximity and distance among urban strangers is not only affected by the dynamics of face-

to-face encounters but also by the aesthetic of the built environment, the sensory feel of a city 

and the visibility of different groups in public space” (Schuermans, 2016:184).  

 

Who are the middle-class elites? What are the characteristic patterns of identity? Tunstall 

(2016:770) stated that neighbourhood trends should remain case-specific and that there are 

limitations in generalising community participation patterns as an application to all middle-

class neighbourhoods. Scholars like Kamath and Vijayabaskar (2009:368) stated that the elite 

middle-class is a social group that share the same ideals, ideologies or ideals that resonate 

with conservatism “… consisting primarily of retired or older middle and higher-level 

bureaucrats and formal sector employees, located in stable, older, core areas which have not 

experienced much growth and where there is no problem of basic amenities. They typically 

tend to focus their collective action efforts on local cultural and religious programmes” 

(Kamath and Vijayabaskar, 2009:368). 

 

2.8 Paradox 

This theme identifies the paradoxical implications of the middle-class expression. Several sub-

themes emerge in the contradictions. Firstly, according to Zérah (2007:67), neighbourhood 

associations portray the idea that they are interested in “defending the public good and 

general interest, neighbourhood associations emerge as an interest group mobilised on an 

exclusive vision of the city” but they are merely one of the many actors in the neighbourhood 

– and most of the time the minority is touting the ideas of community participation (Fernandes, 

2004:2418). Harriss (2007:2717) states that “on the one hand there are organisations, 

concerned mainly with issues of urban governance and the interests of consumer-citizens, that 

are quite elitist, run by upper-middle-class people, mostly brahmins. These are organisations 

that adopt the formal language of ‘citizenship’ and speak of participation in budgeting, and 

of transparency and accountability in local government”. Secondly, Kamath and Vijayabaskar 

(2009:370) recorded that “… in less affluent areas of these localities, upwardly mobile middle-

class residents have built up their plots, in violation of planning norms and procedures, to take 

advantage of the burgeoning rental market. Elite residents with larger plots by contrast are 



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 28 

more concerned about their quality of life, which they argue, is deteriorating due to the 

‘unauthorised’ construction by the less affluent middle class in the neighbourhood”. Thirdly, 

within this new political landscape of sanitised vision, the contradiction is that the political 

issues are no longer about rights, beliefs, and ideals, but about collective identities. It is no 

longer about what we believe but instead a politics of association. Zérah (2007:67) states that 

“…a similar ambiguity characterises the political discourse of placing citizens at the core of a 

‘new political culture’, as it favours consensus over dissensus and carries a defiance towards 

traditional parliamentary politics. Nevertheless, this is an appealing dimension for some 

members of neighbourhood associations who deem it possible to combine political 

engagement with political defiance.” 

 

2.9 How the State and Engaged Citizens Are Perceived 

In this final theme, we reflect on literature that pertains to how the State and citizens are 

perceived. We turn to Zérah (2007:64)  who states that there is generally a poor and distrustful 

image of the State. In her case study of neighbourhood associations in India, she recorded 

that ward councillors are sometimes bypassed because they have a strong belief that there is 

limited power at the local level. This, in turn, facilitates a false impression of power …”and 

politics has become a business involving large, unaccounted investments with multiple returns 

anticipated in a patronage-based, unaccountable, centralised governance” (Zérah, 2007:64). 

This statement reveals challenges of the role of the state as well as the issues concerning large 

logistical projects like community participation as” neighbourhood associations consider that 

most councillors are inefficient, corrupt and biased in favour of poorer sections of the 

population whose votes they rely on” (Zérah, 2007:64). However, she goes on to recall that the 

state has the power to make demands on the process through performance mandates like 

consultants. Secondly, Zérah (2007:64) highlights the role of networking with strategic 

designations to benefit unfairly. (Zérah, 2007:64) stated that ”some of the most dynamic 

neighbourhood associations started interacting with the local politicians to garner support for 

some of their initiatives and activities … sometimes they bargained with their support even 

though they also mostly were at loggerheads with corporators who often support”. Bénit-

Gbaffou (2008:4) articulates this fickle relationship between the Ward Councillor and the 

residents (and by nature in this case the residents association). She states that residents 



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 29 

engage the ward councillor when holding them accountable, however, need to bypass the 

ward councillor if issues are brought against the ward councillor creating an imbalance of 

bottom-up structure and a sense of clientelism. 

 

This demonstrates that middle-class associations enter into complex and double-standard 

relationships with the State. This resonates well with the reformers’ emphasis on outsourcing 

tasks to private consultants because local governments are deemed incapable of performing 

them, and together reveal a lack of faith (nimbyism) in the local government, especially in 

politicians. “The exercise of state power is an important political force in this political project. 

At one level, the state is often fragmented and conflicted as it oscillates between responding 

to the organised demands of middle-class communities on the one hand and workers’ 

organisations such as hawkers’ unions on the other. At another level, the State actively 

participates in attempting to produce a middle-class-based vision of a beautified, globalising 

city in which signs of poverty can be forgotten in both spatial and political terms.  

 

Reciprocally residence associations are also perceived to demonstrate challenges. Kamath and 

Vijayabaskar (2009:369) recorded that the resident associations “are marked by fragmentation, 

a lack of secondary tier leadership, a distrust of democratic modes of functioning, and weak 

associational participation largely driven by crises”. Despite the positive role associations can 

play in empowering citizens, middle-class elite associations have significant limitations to their 

operations.  

 

2.10 Conclusion 

Through the literature review, several elements become clear regarding the relationship 

between the state and the middle class through community engagement. The review of 

literature sheds light on important aspects of the middle-class identity and the relationship to 

the through community involvement. It firstly highlights that the middle class can play a 

significant elitist role, however, it is not a homogenous group. Rather it is a mix of different 

subgroups with their own identities and goals. This diversity in the middle class makes it 

challenging for them to come together and engage with the government effectively. In 

addition, the use of social movements or organisations can be tools for achieving particular 



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 30 

agendas, but these collectives are reacting to change as opposed to being driven by a 

collective vision. This fragmentation arises from scepticism towards democratic processes and 

limited participation that often occurs in response to crises rather than being sustained over 

time.  

 

 

  



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 31 

Chapter 3 Reflecting on the Melville Context 

3.1 introduction  

This chapter intends to develop a contextual understanding of the local civic-to-state activity 

in the Melville neighbourhood. This section of the thesis is concerned with the material nature 

of what civic society engages the South African state with and vice versa at the neighbourhood 

level. It is therefore important to get a broad understanding of the physical, social, political, 

policy context and structure of the neighbourhood – its stakeholders and organisations – both 

legitimate and illegitimate  (Arnstein, 1969; Head, 2007). Developing an understanding of who 

is engaging is significant to the “transformative power of dialogue” (Innes and Booher, 

2004:428) because if the intention is to expand the democracy, it is key to ensure which voices 

are included, which are excluded, and how they are engaged.  

 

3.2 Physical Context 

Melville is well located three kilometres northeast of the Johannesburg city centre. It is 

surrounded by two public tertiary institutions, i.e. University of Johannesburg and WITS 

University, the SABC media house, various schools, faith-based organisations, and retail, and 

encompasses a high street while maintaining a low-rise suburban form by nature. It is located 

on a north-facing slope of a valley with views to the north. Melville is located between Ward 

B 69 with Westdene and Rossmore where the average household income is R29 400 and Ward 

117 where the average household income is R230 700, with Victory Park, Parktown North, 

Parkwood, Rosebank and Saxonwold. Melville is a permeable neighbourhood and offers 

transport links in an east-to-west direction. There is a main arterial east to west from the CBD 

to one of the largest townships called Soweto. On the eastern boundary, Main Road facilitates 

transport south-to-north from the CBD to Randburg, while Empire Road on the southern edge 

facilitates the COF that encompasses the Rea-Vaya Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) system. Melville 

Koppies on the northern edge is a public nature reserve with significant flora, fauna and 

geology (Lucas, 1965; Carstens, 2014). Melville is attractive because it is suitably located for 

access to the CBD, educational public institutions, leisure and sporting spaces, has access to 

the surrounding areas, and a bustling high street and heritage architecture all while holding 

reasonable prices for the property market. 

 



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 32 

Public safety is a major feature in Melville because it experiences a threat of crime in terms of 

mobile phone snatching, armed robbery, break-ins and hijacking (The Star, 2020a). Melville 

has a permeable grid road layout and this has both advantages and disadvantages. On the 

one hand, it provides ease of access; on the other hand, it facilitates a culture of quick getaway 

crime. The building form of Melville is mainly low-rise single-storey with specific application 

to residential. Residential properties range from 250 m2 to 750 m2, but the average is 500 m2. 

Due to its proximity to the regional institutions and the social culture on 7th Street, Melville 

has a high transient population that results in a large number of tenants who rent homes and 

backyard cottages. In terms of land use, residents often complain about illegal building 

development with specific reference to the risk posed by student residences. Slum lording is 

a real threat to Melville because it not only infringes on land use, but it has cascading impacts 

on the load it places on service infrastructure, noise and traffic. For example, all private 

property has a three-storey height limit with applications required for furthering the bulk and 

coverage (COJ, 2018). What is a suburban condition with low-rise free-standing houses with 

high walls could become a dense fabric that could transform the current character of the 

neighbourhood (ESRI, 2022) and thereby threaten its heritage and overall desirability.  

 

3.3 Architectural Heritage 

Melville has a significant architectural heritage. The business strip along 7th Street was built at 

the beginning of the 20th century and still stands today. Cast-iron sidewalk canopies with 

decorative broekie-lace post-to-roof details, and ornate timber-framed shopfronts with a 

recessed glazed timber door are characteristic of that time. Corner block conditions had 

shaved corners that responded well to the intersections and created a mutual architectural 

response to each of the other three corners. Post-1930s reinforced concrete technology gave 

way to framed structures and the opportunity to create multi-storey buildings, which often 



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 33 

exhibited the Art Deco style. Melville’s distinct architectural character has rendered it a ‘village’ 

(Tsumele, 2021) and it is the subject of many architectural historical tours (Mason, 2013).  

 
Figure 4: A typical Corner Shop in Melville that still stands today(Läuferts and Mavunganidze, no date) 

In a study completed by Ntsika Heritage Consultants (Läuferts and Mavunganidze, no date), 

the historical streetscape was documented and its significance was analysed. Ntsika 

consultants advise that the urban environment is threatened and that the streetscape should 

be protected and preserved. There are two recommendations for the protection of the 

heritage of 7th Street:  

1. Heritage Area – section 31 of the National Heritage Resources Act (NHRA)  

2. Protection of specific buildings in the area and the direct surroundings, 
Structures – section 34 of the NHRA  

Both options are processed through the Provincial Heritage Resources 
Agency Gauteng Office (PHRA-G) (Läuferts and Mavunganidze, no date:81) 

 

Apart from the General Heritage Protection Act that requests owners to apply for approval to 

the Provincial Heritage Resources Authority Gauteng (PHRAG) that deals with building 

applications, the MRA is an additional ‘gateway’ for approvals for building plans over sixty 

years with heritage application. The preservation of Melville’s streetscape is not only an asset 

for the neighbourhood but also for the city and the tourism industry. Currently, there are no 



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 34 

special overall heritage protection strategies for 7th Street in Melville and the architectural 

character is therefore threatened. 

 

3.4 Social, Cultural and Diversity Context 

Melville forms part of Ward 87 and includes suburbs like Greenside, Parkview, Westcliff, 

Parktown, Richmond and Forest Town. Melville has a mixed population of 3355 over 1,73 km2, 

which equates to a low density of 2000 people per km2. In terms of demographics 56% of the 

neighbourhood is white, 33% Black African and the balance is a mix of coloured, Indian, Asian 

and other (Frith, 2016). According to the ward profile (Wazimap profile: Ward 87 (79800087), 

City of Johannesburg, Gauteng, 2011) politically 16 257 i.e. 62.6% of the ward registered to 

vote. The DA holds the bulk of the voters at 78% to the ANC’s 8%. The median age is 32 

although most of the population are 20–29 and the second largest age group is 40–49 years 

old. The racial make-up of the ward is 47% white, 38% black African, 9% Indian, 3% coloured 

and 2% other. Fifty percent of the neighbourhood speaks English as their home language, with 

Afrikaans and black African languages making up the balance and with most residents being 

South African and born in the country. The gender split is half. The average household income 

is R115 000.00 (2011). Most people are employed, have internet access and have either a 

secondary or tertiary (undergraduate or postgraduate) degree. 

 

Melville has played a significant role in the city because it was a melting pot of cultures, races, 

and ages. With the proximity to institutions, media houses and NGOs it has always attracted a 

range of people. 7th Street has played a significant role in this because the type of retail 

facilitates a 20-hour commercial cycle from early-morning bakers, and day traders to late-

night restaurants and bars. This range attracts a diversity of people from residents to tourists, 

day visitors to students, from one day to years. 7th Street is the heart of Melville, which has an 

open, eclectic and vibrant culture are run and managed by the multiple business owners. This 

range has been the thing that makes Melville well-known for its social life and culture, but this 

diversity has also been a feature that residential households have rejected. An ongoing tension 

between business and residential interests is a feature of Melville.  

 



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 35 

The Melville neighbourhood undergoes constant seasonal economic fluctuations. A good 

indicator of a productive economy is when well-known restaurant owners fully occupy 7th 

Street. Its quirkiness is well established because “Melville recently listed as one of the world's 

coolest top 30 streets by global magazine Time Out” (Cox, 2021). However, the neighbourhood 

also has its challenges with active citizens at the forefront of various groups volunteering their 

time and resources. “Sarah Hudleston, a resident, said the suburb has issues with homelessness 

and crime, but this had, funnily enough, brought our suburb together with a common purpose 

of not letting Melville become Hellville! ... The community is rallying together to do volunteer, 

regular clean-ups, monitor security and to improve the area.” (Cox, 2021). Melville has always 

been a neighbourhood of opportunity. Historically, other white areas “are not popular because 

of a conservative attitude among existing owners” (Bähr and Jürgens, 2006:202). In the early 

1990s, the whole West Rand (e.g., Roodepoort), the north-western suburbs of Johannesburg, 

as well as Randburg (The Star, 21.10.1992) and Boksburg (the stronghold of the former 

Conservative Party), that revived micro-Apartheid at the end of the 1980s was affected by this. 

Suburbs, such as Melville, Greymont and Westdene, which saw an inflation of property prices 

due to white ‘gentrifiers’ have also seen minimal black influx (Bähr and Jürgens, 2006:202). 

 

Melville is a place of experimentation. In the early 2000s, a pilot project called 27 Boxes was 

designed and built in Faan Smit Park in the heart of Melville. It was the country’s first container 

shopping centre (Cox, 2015) – a local shopping centre made of old recycled shipping storage 

units to create a local and international destination for victors. The intention was to offer space 

to “[o]ver 100 traders with goods ranging from clothing to coffee; food, furniture and fashion; 

decor to doughnuts; biltong, bikes, bags, bistros and bus tours; art to architects and galleries 

to gardening for kids.” (Cox, 2015). Derelict land allocated to parks and recreation contained 

four overgrown tennis courts and a run-down public toilet located in the heart of Melville and 

“residents complained that the park was not being used and was being overrun by 

‘undesirables’. In 2008, the park was officially and permanently closed” (Cox, 2015). In the late 

1990s, the Faan Smit Park, which was managed by City Parks, changed hands to the 

Johannesburg Property Company. It was then long leased to Citiq – a private company. The 

lease to Citiq happened in 2012 and the container project was built. It was not met well by the 

tenants and the MRA set up a specific portfolio to engage the facility in the event of 

neighbourhood disruption. The project’s enthusiasm was curbed a few years later and it 



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 36 

underwent a desperate renovation in the bid to revive it and to create a wave of excitement 

to draw customers. According to Mason (2019), the residents on the local Facebook page 

expressed their anger in response to the rumour that the owners were going to turn it into 

“low-cost student housing, which Melville homeowners universally despise”. Today, the retail 

centre is unsuccessful and struggles to attract foot traffic and tenants.  

 

Residents of middle-class Melville are very vocal when any negative events impact the middle-

class neighbourhood. Krouse (2012) noted in his article that a Melville restaurant owner and 

resident of Melville was on the organising committee for the annual music festival called Fête 

de la Musique and there was a string of “letters from angry residents about negative trends in 

the commercial activities of the shopping strip” and that there was a “general petition launched 

by members of the public aiming to stop Saturday’s festival” (Krouse, 2012). Community 

members from the MRA are very clear that they do not want Melville to be associated with 

getting inebriated and that the MRA is working closely with landlords to be selective over 

tenants while the MRA are “fighting to close down and control about 50 liquor outlets that did 

not comply with the law” (Krouse, 2012). The MRA claimed that they were against the hosting 

of the festival only because they were not aware of it. The organising resident exclaimed that 

not knowing was no reason to decline the festival, instead to learn more about it and assist in 

creating a harmonious cultural global participative event would bring another dimension to 

Melville (Krouse, 2012). 

 

The night-time entertainment of a variety of bars, restaurants and pubs on 7th Street brings 

diversity to Melville for young students because of its proximity to the university and the 

student residences that are located close to the institutions. It “offers the suburb a youthful 

and bohemian feel” (Cox, 2021). The range of its offerings is diverse enough for a variety of 

age groups and interests. Crime has a significant impact on Melville and its image. Apart from 

the weekly phone-snatchings, hijacking, robberies and mugging it was particularly subjected 

to a series of violent crimes which involved the deaths of patrons in 7th Street. A series of fatal 

shootings occurred over the years. Firstly, on New Year’s Eve of 2019, a vehicle drove by a bar 

shortly after midnight and opened fire, killing two people and injuring several (The Star, 

2020b). A Ghanaian national was allegedly stabbed on 17 August 2015 by a family member 

(51) who was also his employer at one of the suspect’s businesses, Wee-Pub and Restaurant, 



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 37 

in Melville”(Nkwashuglaciern, 2015), and recently there was an incident at a pharmacy in Main 

Road (The Star, 2020a). 

 

3.5 The Formation of the Middle Class 

The establishment of the middle class in Melville is synonymous with the historical, spatial and 

economic evolution of Johannesburg. The literature presents two influential periods that 

account for the most noteworthy change towards the constitution of the middle class in 

Melville and its surrounding areas – the initial structuring of Melville and the 1970s.  

 

The first influencing factor is the size of the stands. In 1896, in the establishment of Melville, 

850 stands were sold on public auction. The properties were relatively smaller in size than what 

would eventually be developed and sold in the northern suburbs. The average size of Melville 

properties is 500 m2, which is conservatively small. The initial attraction to the suburb was the 

elevation of the topography with a north-facing view of the forests and a high street that made 

it more appealing. It was only in 1905 that the area was formally laid out and registered by the 

government surveyor, Edward Harker Vincent Melville, after whom the suburb was named 

(Läuferts and Mavunganidze, no date). Secondly, the properties were sold at a competitive 

price, which made the area attractive to lower-income groups. Deed office registration records 

show that most of the properties were initially registered under leasehold tenure. It was 

declared a freehold township by 1921. According to Läuferts and Mavunganidze (no date), 

British soldiers who fought in the Anglo-Boer War from 1899 to 1902 were among the new 

owners as Melville experienced an economic boom during a time of depression in 

Johannesburg. 7th Street was the economic backbone of Melville and still today plays a vital 

part in the neighbourhood. The streetscape supported diversity by having a butcher, baker, 

greengrocer, general dealer and cinema. This ‘village’ style concept is something that Melville 

residents still refer to today (Tsumele, 2021). Business owners worked in the shop during the 

day and retreated into their homes at the back of the shops at night. 7th Street also had a 

tram line with a tram station (Läuferts and Mavunganidze, no date; Mason, 2013). The second 

factor relates to the geographic development and location. The mining industry created two 

distinct class groups since the inception of Johannesburg: the poorer African working class 

related to providing mining labour in the south, and the middle class in the north of the CBD 



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 38 

… and post-World War II class and racial differences deepened for three decades thereafter 

due to ‘Fordist expansion’ but it was not as severe as during the 1970s. 

 

Kracker and Heller (2010:176) state that “racially inscribed residential patterns remained 

unchanged as the introduction of official apartheid during this period maintained and 

reinforced the racial divide” up until today and Melville was part and parcel of that initial 

structuring. It is also important to note the maintenance of such class spatial logic because in 

the 1950s the Johannesburg CBD began expanding south and north reinforcing the scale of 

extremes. A third factor in sustaining the middle class is the “move from manufacturing 

employment to a service economy [that] drives an increasingly polarized class structure” 

Kracker and Heller (2010:176). This means that while the working class moves to service the 

upper classes, the middle class can migrate into a “growing professional class” (Kracker and 

Heller, 2010:176). During the 1970s there was a diffusion of racial polarities in the middle class 

resulting in the State being forced to educate Africans into State white-collar service jobs 

further resulting in the white middle class ‘climbing the professional ladder’ to even higher 

and more prestigious jobs. According to Kracker and Heller (2010:180), this created sub-

stratification of the middle class that included professionals with uncommon skills who could 

appreciate the stature, higher income and authority that came with them.  

 

By the 1970s the CBD was well developed with retail and office blocks pushing development 

into Braamfontein, Braamfontein Werf and Auckland Park for “non-commercial or ‘soft’ 

precincts … across the railway track … into low-income white working-class area” (Beavon, 

2004:159). Northern linkages between the CBD and the northern suburbs were improved due 

to the increase of private cars and the establishment of five bridges to the north (Beavon, 

2004:160). Further creating affluence in the middle-class north was the growth in vehicle 

ownership with state investment into highways (Beall, Crankshaw and Parnell, 2021:49). The 

white middle class were rapidly developing large greenfield sites ranging from a minimum of 

1,000 m2 to anything up to 8 000 m2. In addition, the white middle class were “upwardly 

mobile” (Beall, Crankshaw and Parnell, 2021:49) benefiting from state residential subsidies and 

low-interest bonds. Civil servants like teachers, police and nurses were “obliged to own a house 

to maximise their employment benefits” (Beall, Crankshaw and Parnell, 2021:49). As the mining 

industry pace slowed during the 1960s (Kracker and Heller, 2010:176), the Afrikaans broader 



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 39 

bond were simultaneously looking to establish a strong white Afrikaans presence and a rival 

to the English-speaking University of the Witwatersrand (Wits)S university. RAU was therefore 

built between 1969 and 1975 with 100 000 m2 of academic space and 30,000 m2 of housing. It 

was a significant investment of R500m to start off with (Chipkin, 2008:316). As the northern 

suburbs grew into Sandton and Bryanston, the establishment of RAU and SABC re-attracted 

northern residents back to the area. Clarke (1987:215) highlighted that the fuel crisis created 

further incentives for employees of the institutions to gentrify Melville and the surroundings. 

 

As part of the decentralisation movement and the introduction to television, in the mid-1970s 

the headquarters of the SABC were established in Auckland Park with the employment of 2 500 

professionals with rare skills (Beavon, 2004:173). These investments were intended to be a 

symbol of Afrikaans “to be a manifestation of the Afrikaner’s foothold in the big city” (Chipkin, 

2008:316). Kirby and associates went on to design and build the Oppenheimer Life Sciences 

building 1977–1982, and the Chamber of Mines engineering block by Meyer Pienaar Smith at 

WITS 1985–1988 (Chipkin, 2008:321) further contributed to the establishment of institutional 

buildings on the edge of the city and the northern suburbs. Milpark also experienced 

development with the 22-storey Metal Box building in 1974 contributing to the 3.25 ha Milpark 

business campus precinct just off Empire Road that originally formed part of the Braamfontein 

Werf (Chipkin, 2008:406). Post-apartheid created another window of gentrification for what 

Beavon (2004) calls the “renewal of some of the older, more run-down sections of the inner-

residential suburb … like Melville”…” due to the lack of appeal of the CBD (Beavon, 2004:261). 

 

As a result of these developments around the 1970s, Melville, which was previously borderline 

between working- and middle-class gentrified and became a suburb for an established middle 

class with a professional orientation (academics, media workers). This was, however, not the 

end of the process. The political transition from the early 1990s had its impact. The 

transformation of RAU into the University of Johannesburg (UJ), for example, and the dramatic 

growth in the student population of UJ, saw increased demand for backroom accommodation 

in Melville, for example, and the suburb diversified and densified. Although Melville did not 

experience the same degree of change as suburbs such as Brixton and Yeoville, for example, 

there was also racial diversification and, by 2011, one-third of its population was black African. 

Although it maintained its visibly middle-class character, rental accommodation in backyards 



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 40 

especially, meant that there was a growing student and working-class population. The was 

also a grouping number of individuals sleeping rough in and around Melville. 

3.6 Representative Groupings 

Melville contains several formal and informal stakeholder groupings. The MRA is the only 

formally constituted stakeholder recognised by the city and its mandate and purpose is 

governed by policy (South African Government Gazette, 1996). Some stakeholders, like the 

Melville Business Association and Security Initiatives, are ‘invented’ entities. In other words, 

they are recognised by the Ward Councillor and they may be registered as NPOs, but they are 

not mandated by the state. Some stakeholders, such as faith-based groups and non-profit 

organisations, do not belong to any stakeholder groups, and it is more challenging for them 

to be included in participation processes because they are equally as important as other 

entities. There were five members of the MRA at the time of the MPP and they volunteered 

their time to represent the best interests of the community. Constituents are the residents, 

who are represented by a legitimate residents association. The MRA is very active and is 

concerned mainly about the experience of the residents association is in constant 

communication with the residents through email newsletters and their website, 

https://mra.ilovemelville.co.za/. The MRA holds regular meetings and responds to heritage 

applications, liquor licences, public safety and land use. 

 

3.7 Ward Councillor Engagement  

Community participation occurs in a multitude of ways and the intention is to broaden our 

understanding of political theory at the local level. It seeks to identify who the key role players 

are and what their roles are, understand their legitimacy, acknowledge what policies are at 

play and recognise how the various actors navigate in and around such policies. It also intends 

to understand what common social, environmental, economic and land use issues are 

surfacing, who is engaging them and through which forums. The City of Johannesburg 

Metropolitan Municipality (COJMM) manages the local governance for Johannesburg and is 

also known as “the council”. It is made up of 270 councillors from various political parties, the 

speaker of the council, the Chief Whip, section 79 committees, standing committees, executive 

business committees, the executive mayor and the mayoral committee. The purpose of this 

council is to debate “local government issues – involving both policy and bylaws – and 



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 41 

proposals are ratified or rejected”. It “focuses on legislative, oversight and participatory roles, 

delegating its executive function to the executive mayor and the mayoral committee. The 

council's principal role is as a lawmaker, with the other key role being to debate and discuss 

issues. The council approves bylaws, City policies, the Integrated Development Plan, tariffs for 

rates and service charges, and the City’s budget” (City of Joburg, 2022). The local municipal 

council forms a committee and is obliged to report to the City mayor. Ward councillors are 

voted in by the local council per municipality and are annexed by the “Act No. 3 of 2021: Local 

Government: Municipal Structures Amendment Act, 2021” (Local Government, 2021:18). The 

Gauteng region or Joburg council is divided into eleven metropolitan municipalities (i.e. ward 

regions) that manage their affairs in terms of service delivery. Ward Councillors can submit 

“motions to council and these can ultimately become bylaws. They also serve on Section 79 

committees and these bodies play an important oversight role in the operations of the various 

city entities” (Fourie, 2018). Melville is located in Region B, Ward 87.  

Our job is also to make sure that participation is robust and democracy is 
being exercised (Ward Councillor, 2022:16.06) 

 

A ward councillor is responsible for each ward. The main function of the ward councillors is to 

“represent the needs and interests of their constituents … they are responsible for building 

community involvement, with ward committees playing an important role in providing 

information on the needs and interests of local communities and ensuring that public voices 

are heard” (City of Joburg, 2022). They are accountable for the voices of the community within 

their ward and should build community development. Ward councillors form an important 

bridge between local government and communities so that their concerns and requirements 

are tabled at the council. A ward councillor is elected by their ward and are governed by a 

legislated Act that states that they must have a strong presence in the community, be 

accountable to them, report to the public regarding decisions of the council and the 

performance of the municipality (Local Government, 2021). This is the operational construction 

of the citizen-to-state organogram. The municipality, the ward councillor and the managing 

and implementing agents are responsible for development, maintenance and implementation. 

However, the ward councillor has a unique relationship to the neighbourhood. Firstly, the ward 

councillor has to be voted into power at the ward level. 



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 42 

 
Figure 5: Organogram of the council structure 

Head (2007:446) identifies “a closer relationship due to globalisation” and “improved 

technology” as causes for the increase in civic participation in the last several decades. In 2014 

a ‘WhatsApp’ chat application was established with 150 Melville residents, businesses and the 

Ward Councillor to develop an efficient communication platform. The ubiquitous 

neighbourhood issues related to technical services, and social and environmental issues are 

constantly arising daily and they require urgent attention, action and coordination. Through 

an analysis of the arising ‘WhatsApp’ communication of community issues, three things were 

clear. Firstly, the members of the group mobile chat were residents and business owners. 

According to Head (2007), the State, community groups and businesses have their unique 

benefits. The State wants to share responsibility and democracy, community groups want 

equity and development growth, while businesses want to increase their influence in policy-

shaping of bylaws (Head, 2007:448). Secondly, the Ward Councillor responded on a one-to-



Hendricks DM (586971, 2024) 43 

one basis with residents – the Ward Councillor responds proactively to issues raised and if 

additional resources were required to resolve the issues the Ward Councillor would either 

escalate the matter to the relevant department manager or provide further information for the 

residents to resolve the matter, such as logging a call. Finally, the theme of the matters raised 

included service delivery (related to electrical blackouts, refuse collection, and water), as well 

as social issues, road maintenance, public safety and noise pollution. It is evident by the 

Whatsapp chat discussions that the Ward Councillors both attempting to sympathise with the 

residents while emphasising the civic responsibilities of the municipality. For example, 

Mangena (2015) reported quoting the Ward Councillor that “until the City of Joburg (COJ) 

starts taking the problem seriously, residents are going to have to learn to live with the 

problem”. According to Head’s (2007) table of public participation, it falls within the category 

of ‘collaboration’. The Ward Councillor has a comprehensive understanding of the council 

services and has the power and knowledge to access and resolve social and technical matters 

by accessing the council networks.  

 

The COJMM (the council) has a collaborative and inclusive approach to how local policies and 

bylaws can be applied to the region. This is based on discourse and debate. However, ward 

councillors are concerned about items like illegal communes and additional load onto the 

service grid (Fourie, 2018), but law enforcement is lacking. Councillors also play a role in the 

communication of policy, and bylaws of emerging logistics. For example, in 2018 the Ward 

Councillors had to inform the community about the rising costs of sewerage and sanitation – 

this is an engagement of ‘informing’ according to Head’s (2017) table of engagement. The role 

of ward councillors is to oversee the functioning of the State in terms of its delivery is 

significant and they play a constant role in engagement. Ward c