Democracy Disconnected: Participation and Governance in a City of the South (Routledge Studies in Urbanism and the City)

Synopsis

Why is dissatisfaction with local democracy endemic, despite the spread of new participatory institutions? This book argues that a key reason is the limited power of elected local officials, especially to produce the City. City Hall lacks control over key aspects of city decision-making, especially under conditions of economic globalisation and rapid urbanisation in the urban South. Demonstrated through case studies of daily politics in Hout Bay, Democracy Disconnected shows how Cape Town residents engage local rule. In the absence of democratic control, urban rule in the Global South becomes a complex and contingent framework of multiple and multilevel forms of urban governance (FUG) that involve City Hall, but are not directed by it. Bureaucratic governance coexists alongside market, developmental and informal forms of governance. This disconnect of democracy from urban governance segregates people spatially, socially, but also politically. Thus, while the residents of Hout Bay may live next to each other, they do not live with each other. This book will be a valuable resource for students on programmes such as urban studies, political science, sociology, development studies, and political geography.

Copyright:

2018

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

ISBN-13:

9780429794292

Related ISBNs:

9781138541061, 9780367280857, 9780367280857, 9781138541054, 9781138541054

Publisher:

Taylor and Francis

Date of Addition:

03/21/20

Copyrighted By:

Fiona Anciano, Laurence Piper

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

Nonfiction, Earth Sciences

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.