Includes bibliographical references. / For geographers concerned with understanding the social dynamics of space, an investigation of leisure patterns and processes is vital. Studies of leisure will provide geography with a powerful focus for deconstructing the social forces operative within the urban landscape, and thus the construction of a detailed understanding of socio- spatial dialectics. This thesis analyses the state of leisure geography and identifies the issues central to theoretical development within this field. Of primary importance in this study is the contention that geographers have seldom been concerned with issues within the realm of leisure, and that their insights have been limited, given that these are frequently based on conservative discourses. A structuralist paradigm is advocated as the foundation for formulating a progressive framework for leisure studies. Such a framework, however, must be sensitive to the complex dialectics of agency and broader social constraints if it is to move beyond the determinism of past structuralist analyses of leisure. By attending both to issues of structural control and the importance of individual agency, it is possible to challenge the focus upon resource distribution that has dominated geographical enquiries in the realm of leisure. With reference to the history of South African recreation experiences and the broad principles of apartheid policy, it is shown that investigations of leisure need to include an appreciation of resource utilisation. In this way, the efforts and energies of communities can be recognised. The advantage of this is that a more empowering critique of leisure patterns and processes can be established. In order to demonstrate the value of such an approach, the thesis ends with a case study of leisure opportunities within a low-income residential area in Cape Town. More traditional, conservative analytical frameworks would have been unable to make visible the dynamics of resistance and control that are identified here. This thesis is informed by the wish to link academic enquiry to practical interventions into the sphere of leisure. The dialectics of control, resistance and transformation are manifested in both tangible geographical space and in intangible issues of resource utilisation. The implications of this reality are explored with reference to state, capitalist and community agendas.

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