Overcoming the disjunctures: competing discourses on informal settlements in South Africa

Informal settlements are an undeniable feature of developing cities. Activists, governments, community groups, academics, artists, international funders, built-environment professionals and entrepreneurs all find the challenge of informality an important project and intriguing frontier for practical and conceptual intervention. This paper unpacks four discourses which frame understandings of informal settlements and how they should be addressed. Technology and design discourses, institutional discourses, rights-based discourses and structural discourses all come to bear on the framing of the debate and the propositions for change. Within the sector, the various actors and stakeholders continually struggle to acknowledge the contributions of other discourses. This paper unpacks these discourses and identifies the possible contributions and limitations each has to offer. The paper draws on empirical evidence from South Africa, providing insights relevant both to and beyond this context. In conclusion, it is argued that a generous, multi-scale, interdisciplinary discourse is needed in South Africa and beyond.