Gatekeeper politics and urban planning research in the contested space of an emerging settlement: reflection on experiences in Hopley farm settlement, Harare

ABSTRACT

Urban planning research usually requires researchers to undertake fieldwork. This fieldwork is frustrated or enabled by gatekeepers who can influence effective data collection. Traditionally, gatekeepers are perceived as monolithic, neutral, and static individuals, yet they are complex individuals with varying needs and expectations from the researchers. For novice researchers, especially postgraduate students, dealing with and handling gatekeepers may be a mammoth task. This study focuses on gatekeepers inherent in contested spaces and uses a reflective approach to analyze the gatekeeper politics characteristic of informal settlements as contested spaces. Informed by literature and the author’s personal experiences, this study argues that gatekeepers are complex figures shaped by the socio-political context and ultimately influence the research process. This calls for researchers to effectively strategize before, during, and after data collection to avoid compromising ethical issues and digressing from the scope of the study.

KEYWORDS:

• Candid analyzers
• contested spaces
• gatekeeper politics
• phenomenology

Acknowledgments

The author would like to acknowledge the assistance of Professor Annette Wilkinson, who reviewed an earlier version of the manuscript and provided some critical insights. The review comments and suggestions from the editorial team and two reviewers are greatly appreciated.

Disclosure statement

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

Notes

1. Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle was the government’s response to Operation Murambatsvina that resulted in the demolition of illegal and informal structures in urban centres across Zimbabwe in 2005, the effects which were felt by approximately 700000 people who lost their homes and livelihoods (Tibaijuka 2005). In order to accommodate the vict1ms of the operation who were left homeless, the government introduced OGHK with the aim of providing housing for the victims.

2. Interview with an official from UDCORP, conducted by the researcher on 24 January 2018.

3. Ethical approval number UFS-HSD2017/0808.

4. Pseudonyms have been used throughout.

5. The Nyau culture is an often mystical cult that is associated with the Gure dance, where the dancers wear masks to cover their faces and are known to victimize people and in some instances may snatch your belongings in broad daylight.

6. Anyone who does not support or sympathise with the ZANU-PF party is considered a member of the Movement for Democratic Change, (MDC), affectionately known as Chinja (meaning ‘change’).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Abraham R Matamanda

Abraham R Matamanda lectures in the Department of Geography, University of the Free State, South Africa. His current research is on urban governance and planning, climate change adaptation, urban food systems, and medical geography. He has published at least 20 book chapters and 40 articles in urban planning journals including Land Use Policy, Urban Forum, Journal of Planning Education and Research and Politikon. His recent publication is a book he co-published titled Housing and Technology: Special Focus on Zimbabwe, published with Springer Nature.