Structural violence and the subversion of participatory planning—the struggle for the Warwick Market in Durban, South Africa

Abstract

Deprivation, poverty, inequality, forced displacement, psychological harm, lack of public participation in planning and benign neglect are examples of structural violence in cities. In the case of benign neglect, public facilities are deliberately neglected in terms of maintenance and provision of basic facilities—a form of ‘slow violence’. Drawing from qualitative data sources that included participant observation, consultations with legal advisors and court hearings, this paper analyses the different forms of structural violence that were used in early 2009 in the city of Durban to try to replace the century old Early Morning Warwick Market which catered for the poor working class, with a mall. The Municipality’s participatory and consultative approach to upgrade the Warwick Avenue Triangle in the first democratic decade (1994–2004) is contrasted with the subversion of participatory planning in the second democratic decade (2004–2014), as Durban prepared for FIFA 2010. The mall development would have resulted in the loss of an important part of Durban’s history, heritage and culture. A key contention of this paper is that the fatally flawed neoliberal planning fiasco in Warwick Avenue was driven by a top-down process which favoured private corporate interests. The mall project was presented as a public–private partnership. However, in such partnerships local democracy is compromised as the fiscal prospects of local governments become dependent on the business decisions of the private sector. There were serious contradictions evident in the juxtaposition of large-scale public-private partnerships such as the mall, and the threats to displace low-income traders, a process which David Harvey called ‘accumulation by dispossession’. The historical and political processes of accumulated and incremental neglect and stigma which encapsulate ‘slow violence’ contributed to the decay and decline of the Early Morning Market. Attempts to displace traders and replace the market with a mall was basically a political decision, aided and abetted by some senior members in the ruling ANC government hierarchy—a shameful period in Durban’s democratic history. The threats to displace the traders in the Early Morning Market was a form of structural violence, which was reminiscent of the apartheid era. The structural violence of apartheid-capitalism continues at the level of outcomes (non-participation and displacement) even under a changed political structure (democracy), as the ANC government pursues a neoliberal agenda.

Keywords:

• public participation
• structural violence
• traditional markets
• displacement
• Durban
• South Africa

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 iTrump is an acronym: the inner Thekwini Regeneration and Urban Management Programme.

2 TCRD, Physical Environment Service Unit Report for Committee, Greater Warwick Avenue and Grey Street Project, November 1995, 5.

3 Physical Environment Service Unit, November 1995, 4.

4 Physical Environment Service Unit Report, November 1995, 5.

5 Physical Environment Service Unit Report, November 1995, 5.

6 Physical Environment Service Unit, Report for the Committee, Greater Warwick Avenue and Grey Street Urban Renewal Project, May 1997, 13.

7 Statement by RDP spokesperson, Mandy Jean Woods (Daily News, 23/2/96).

8 Central Council Minutes, 14/6/96 (Greater Warwick Avenue and Grey Street Project: Brief Background and Key issues to be addressed).

9 http://www.durban.gov.za/City_Government/Administration/Area_Based_Management/Pages/iTrump (accessed 20 November 2013).

10 http://www.co.za.ad/UserFiles/File/2008_04_ABRIL/20080430_VS_Prize08_En.pdf

11 Endorsement of the book, Working in Warwick (Dobson and Skinner 2009).

12 Email from Julie May-Ellingson, Head, Strategic Projects Unit and 2010 Program, eThekwini Municipality, to Carlos Correia from the Warwick Mall Inc. 21 August 2008. Source: LRC Court Records.

13 ibid. Added emphasis as this was dropped later on.

14 Ethekwini Municipality Strategic Projects Unit and 2010 Program Confidential Report to Committee—Proposed Warwick Mall Development, 18 September 2008.

15 Report from Strategic Projects Unit and 2010 Program, Proposed Warwick Mall Development, 24 February 2009.

16 Report from Strategic Projects Unit and 2010 Programme, Proposed Warwick Mall Development, 27 April 2009.

17 Report from Strategic Projects Unit and 2010 Program, Proposed Warwick Mall Development, 24 February 2009.

18 Report from Strategic Projects Unit and 2010 Program, Proposed Warwick Mall Development, 24 February 2009.

19 Report from Strategic Projects Unit and 2010 Program, Proposed Warwick Mall Development, 24 February 2009.

20 Report from Strategic Projects Unit and 2010 Program, Proposed Warwick Mall Development, 24 February 2009.

21 Warwick Junction Developments and EarlyMorningMarket Facts, eThekwini Communications Department, 07 July, 2009.

22 Warwick Junction Developments and EarlyMorningMarket Facts, eThekwini Communications Department, 07 July, 2009.

23 Remant Alton was a Black economic empowerment company.

Additional information

Funding

This study was conducted with financial support from the UK Government's Department for International Development and the International Development Research Centre, Canada. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of these organisations.

Notes on contributors

Brij Maharaj

Brij Maharaj is a geography professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa. Email: [email protected]