Realist depictions of bad housing are pervasive in the canon of twentieth-century American literature. Insufficient abodes crisscross the literary map of the United States, appearing regularly in settings from New York to Los Angeles and from Alaska to Florida. This dissertation examines three case studies that themselves crisscross the map, and represent the diverse contexts of this common thematic concern. Anzia Yezierska writes of the deplorable housing in New York’s East Side tenements, Richard Wright tells of life in South Side Chicago’s kitchenettes, and N. Scott Momaday depicts dark and cold apartments in Los Angeles as well as emptying homes on the reservation. What is shared by all three writers is their use of realism to depict abject housing, their clear engagement with public discourses about living spaces, and the way their works expose the production of space by social, economic, and legislative factors. All three published works that were widely received by the reading public and thereby contributed to the discourses in powerful and surprising ways. All three literary authors of this dissertation register a sense of space that is produced by power. Yezierska, Wright, and Momaday provide fictional, narrative modes of engagement that employ a particularly material-spatial register to depict spatial injustice. In order to read the production of space in these texts, I draw on the work of the theorists Henri Lefebvre, David Harvey, and Edward Soja to help explain the wider circumstances causing disenfranchisement, exploitation, and disempowerment that all three authors investigate. What is at stake here is a more complete picture of social crisis. By illustrating how bad housing is a result of political, economic, and social powers rather than the result of an individual’s laziness or lack of character, Yezierska, Wright, and Momaday add another perspective to prominent social discourses about housing in the twentieth century. The literary houses they depict uncover a history of systematic inequality in which prevalent national attitudes led to policy that put lower-classes and minority populations in bad housing and consequently foreclosed their potential to partake in the supposed full possibilities of citizenship. / 2020-11-07T00:00:00Z

This dissertation explores Johannesburg's inner-city precinct of Joubert Park. It intends to bridge the gap between the everyday community of the park and the extraordinary heritage and memory of the site. Through a grassroots investigation of 1he existing community, the project looks to empower the everyday person and create a platform for their development, specifically focusing on economy and education in the city. The project makes use of the theories of spatial justice as a tool to analyse and understand the community's relationship with the space they occupy and the social environment in which they exist. Architecturally, the project seeks to use this socio-spatial understanding as a guideline of how to create a spatially just and empowering environment in the inner city. Additionally, looking to establish a model for the development of the existing inner-city fabric that begins to foster a relationship between building, street edge, andl pedestrian. Exploring not just the physical upliftment of the fabric, but the well-being and of the existing community and their needs, goals and aspirations. / Die verhandeling ondersoek die Johannesburg se middestad buurt van Joubertpark. Dit beoog om die gaping tussen die alledaagse gemeenskap van die Park en die buitengewone erfenis en geheue van die omgewing te oorbrug.Deur 'n voetsoolvlak ondersoek van die bestaande gemeenskap, is die projek se doel die bematigi111g van die alledaagse persoon en behels 'n platform vir die ontwikkeling daarvan,daar is n spesifike fokus op die ekonomie en onderwys in die stad. Die projek maak gebruik van die teoriee van ruimtelike geregtigheid as 'n 1instrument om te ontleed en te verstaan wat die gemeenskap se verhouding is met die ruimte wat hulle bewoon en die sosiale omgewing waarin hulle bestaan. Argitektonies, beoog die projek om hierdie sosio-ruimtelike begrip te gebruik as 'n riglyn om 'n ruimtelik net en bemagtigende omgewing te skep in die middestad. Daar word oak beoog om 'n model te vestig vir die ontwikkeling van die bestaande middestad konsepte om 'n verhouding te bevorder tussen die geboue, straat rand, en voetgangers. Ondersoek van nie net die fisiese opheffing van die struktuur nie, maar die welsyn van die bestaande gemeenskap en hul behoeftes, doelwitte en aspirasies. / Mini Dissertation (MArch (Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Architecture / MArch (Prof) / Unrestricted

The purpose, of this mini dissertation is to understand South Africa as a country in a spatial crisis that leads to the entrapment of the black body in a social, political, economic and legally depressed state. The crisis describes and is as a result of the multiple upheavals and ruptures that have shaped the post-colonial, particularly African, landscape, and experiences of its people. Particular to the post-colonial landscape is that these ruptures are largely defined by the history of extraction, exclusion and violence by the white elite against the black poor. The nature of the crisis is that it continues to support and re-enact the same colonial oppressive outcomes, ensuring the black poor continue to exist in a state of marginalisation. The spaces in the crisis also work to physically push out and keep marginalised black people in informal spaces away from economic activity. But additionally, the intangible elements of space mean that black people carry the consequences and definitions of these spaces with them which define how they are interpellated, ensuring that in and out of the physical space they are viewed as sub-human. In this dissertation I am particularly interested in how transformative constitutionalism can proactively facilitate spatial justice for the historically and presently marginalised in ameliorating the effects of the crisis. Spatial justice, in my understanding would mean the removal of the abyssal line and simultaneity between those interpellated as human and sub-human. / Mini Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Jurisprudence / LLM / Unrestricted

A city walkable is about re-imagining spatial justice through access and public space in North End, East London, South Africa. The research questioned the state of East London's public space, its inner-city decay, and its vehicular dependency. East London lacks good quality public space that is walkable and accessible. A city walkable has streets that are comfortable, safe, interesting and offer choice. The urban environment must foster walkability. Before Apartheid, North End was a mixed-race community that was spatially integrated with the city because of its proximity to the CBD and its urban fabric. North Enders never needed to own a vehicle to access amenities. People could access their everyday amenities on foot and felt safe walking day or night. North End was a walkable, mixed-use neighbourhood. However, due to the Group Areas Act of 1950, people were forcibly removed from the city and relocated to what is now known as townships. Due to this removal people are forced to rely on public transport or private vehicle for mobility. Townships are not mixed-use, and streets do not foster walkability. By removing people from the city, Apartheid removed walkability. The fundamentals of living in a city are access to the convenience of amenities and work. Denying access to the city is a spatial injustice. This denial has resulted in a lack of walkable streets, unsafe public spaces, and car dependency. Since the forced removals of 1950' North End has been rezoned as a light industrial area. The research aimed to unlock the potential for walkability in East London. North End is re-imagined not only a walkable neighbourhood, but as a neighbourhood that is integrated with both township areas and the CBD. The links used to create linkages are a series of urban mixed-use corridors. Thus, creating a city that is spatially just. This makes North End a strategic place in the city which has the potential to become East London's 'knuckle'. Through various interventions, spatial strategies, and framework a more just, walkable city is envisioned.

Border delineations and walls have been used to protect cities and towns throughout history. In the present age of modern surveillance and advanced military technology however, physical walls have much less significance for the protection of present-day states and nations and have become artifacts of mostly symbolic significance. In an increasingly connected world with the potential for becoming more compassionate, the symbolic significance of the border wall, barrier, and delineation demands to be reassessed and reapproached. This opens the possibility of designing a new binational border typology with functions of business, tourism, cultural education, hospitality, and public assembly that can mutually benefit bordering regions. The site of this thesis is the 1949 Armistice Agreement, or Green Line, on the perimeter of the West Bank of Palestine – a prolonged border conflict of our time and a powerful example of spatial injustice. Through a combination of ancient and modern materials, this thesis explores the potential of hospitality through the design of a roadside inn to recognize the history of its place and create a physical and symbolic bridge for future cooperation. In addition to lodging for travelers, the program incorporates a museum, artist workshops, dining areas, gift shops, and gathering spaces. Straddling the Green Line along the Dead Sea shoreline, it is designed to carry the memory of the land, but also to symbolize a future that joins divided communities. / Master of Architecture / This thesis looks at the problem of border delineations and walls within a modern context and proposes the use of borders for functions supplementary to border control and security – such as local commerce, cultural spaces, tourism, hospitality, and public gathering places. Border delineations and walls have been used to protect cities and towns throughout history. In the present age of modern surveillance and advanced military technology however, physical walls have much less significance for the protection of present-day states and nations and have become artifacts of mostly symbolic significance. In an increasingly connected world with the potential for becoming more compassionate, the symbolic significance of the border wall, barrier, and delineation demands to be reassessed and reapproached. This opens the possibility of designing a new binational border typology with functions of business, tourism, cultural education, hospitality, and public assembly that can mutually benefit bordering regions. Spatial justice involves the fair and equitable distribution within a space of resources and opportunities. The site of this thesis is the 1949 Armistice Agreement, or Green Line, on the perimeter of the West Bank of Palestine – a prolonged border conflict of our time and a powerful example of spatial injustice. Through a combination of ancient and modern materials, this thesis explores the potential of hospitality through the design of a roadside inn to recognize the history of its place and create a physical and symbolic bridge for future cooperation. In addition to lodging for travelers, the project's program, or scope of work, includes a museum, artist workshops, dining areas, gift shops, and gathering spaces. Straddling the Green Line along the Dead Sea shoreline, it is designed to carry the memory of the land, but also to symbolize a future that joins divided communities.

Public spaces—particularly buses, which often carry a larger proportion of low-income to middle class individuals and people of color—serve as shared places for recreation, travel, and labor, and are theoretically created with the intention of being an “omnibus,” or a public resource for all. While buses have been the sites of intense state control and segregation across the world, they have also been places in which groups have organized bus boycotts, commandeered control of transportation, ridden across state lines, and taken over spaces that allow them to express power by occupying a significant area. Buses have become spaces of exchange and power for the people who have, in some cases, been marginalized by ruling private interests and institutionalized racism to ride in masses on particular routes. From the turn of twentieth century to 1968 in Mexico, the Civil Rights movement in the mid twentieth century United States, to the contemporary era in the U.S. and Mexico, public spaces have been historically reclaimed as key instruments in social movements. By analyzing these moments, this thesis explores the complex relations over power on buses for riders—university students in in Mexico, and African Americans in the U.S.—and show how they have been both key vehicles in mobilization and resistance against state oppression and the sites of targeted violence and racism.

Les stations de sports d’hiver sont des lieux touristiques à part entière dont les dynamiques d’aménagement ont été étudiées depuis plusieurs décennies. Si les stratégies de développement du système touristique dans des lieux jugés aptes à pouvoir soutenir cette activité sont un des enjeux principaux de certaines économies locales, cette thèse ne souhaite pas questionner le tourisme au prisme de l’économie ou de l’aménagement, mais de celui de la distinction. La distinction, concept à l’interface de la géographie sociale et d’autres sciences humaines comme la sociologie, permet de questionner l’ensemble du système touristique, tant dans son caractère urbain, économique que social. L’intérêt de cet angle d’approche est également de replacer l’individu, son identité et ses pratiques, au sein de ces lieux qui tendent à intégrer différents groupes socio-économiques en leur sein. Pour ce faire, nous proposons de questionner la place des clientèles issues des catégories socio-économiques supérieures, des habitants permanents et des travailleurs saisonniers, ces deux derniers groupes disposent de profils hétérogènes au sein des stations de sports d’hiver haut de gamme. Nous approcherons ainsi la distinction à travers deux angles : celui des lieux touristiques au sein même du marché des stations de sports d’hiver et celui des catégories sociales dans ces lieux qui tendrait à faire abstraction de toutes considérations relevant de la hiérarchie sociale. Recherche géographique avant tout, cette thèse abordera la distinction au regard de deux notions fortes : la ségrégation et l’entre-soi, en questionnant l’accessibilité propre à chacun au sein de l’espace urbain des stations de sports d’hiver, entendu comme le pouvoir spatial. Nous proposons de mener cette étude dans dix stations de sports d’hiver haut de gamme, localisées en Autriche, en France et en Suisse dans le massif alpin. Cette diversité de configurations nationales permettra également de questionner les stratégies de distinction au regard des législations en vigueur dans chaque pays. Sur la base des cadres conceptuels présentés dans la partie 1 (chapitre 1 : état de l’art de la ségrégation et de l’entre-soi pour construire une géographie sociale du tourisme; chapitre 2 : échantillonnage des stations étudiées et approche méthodologique ; chapitre 3 : questions de recherche), nous aborderons les stratégies de distinction à travers plusieurs approches : l’héritage touristique et les formes urbaines singulières qu’il a produites (chapitre 4), la mise en scène de l’espace urbain à des fins touristiques (chapitre 5) et les régimes de visibilité des catégories socio-économiques dans le paysage urbain de la richesse (chapitre 6). Cette deuxième partie permettra de mettre au jour l’existence d’interfaces de la distinction présentes au sein des stations de sports d’hiver haut de gamme : les seuils, dont les modalités de production, tant sociales, symboliques que matérielles et les contraintes spatiales qu’ils induisent seront respectivement traitées dans les chapitre 7 et chapitre 8 (partie 3). Au final, cette thèse propose une géographie sociale du tourisme, plus qu’une géographie des pratiques touristiques. / Winter sports resorts are tourist places where the dynamics of arrangement were studied for several decades. If the strategies of development of the tourist system in places considered capable of being able to support this activity are one of main stakes in certain local economies, this thesis wishes to question not the tourism in the prism of the economy or the arrangement, but in the prism of the distinction. The distinction, the concept in the interface of the social geography and the other human sciences as the sociology, allows to question the whole tourist system, both in its urban, economic and social character. The interest of this angle of approach also is to replace the individual, in its complete identity within these places which have to tend to integrate the various socio-economic groups which are located there. In order to achieve this goal, we suggest questioning the place of the clienteles from superior socioeconomic categories, from permanent inhabitants and from seasonal workers, both in the heterogeneous profiles within top of the range winter sports resorts. We shall approach the distinction through two angles: the one within the tourist places market and the one within social categories in these places, who would try to disregard any considerations under the social hierarchy. Geographical research before any, this thesis will approach the distinction with regard to two strong notions: the segregation and the “entre-soi”, by questioning the accessible place by each one within the urban space of winter sports resorts, considered as the spatial power. We suggest leading this study in ten winter sports resorts top of the range, localized in Austria, in France and in Switzerland. This state diversity will also allow to question the strategies of distinction with regard to legislations in force in every country. From the abstract frames presented in the part 1 (chapter 1: state of the art of the segregation and the “entre-soi”; chapter 2: sampling of the studied stations and the methodological approach; chapter 3: research questions), we shall approach the strategies of distinction through several angles of approaches: the tourist inheritance and the singular urban forms which he produced (chapter 4), urban space staging in tourist purpose (chapter 5) and the regimes of visibilities of the socioeconomic categories in the urban landscape of the wealth (chapter 6). This second part will allow to bring to light the existence of distinction of interfaces present within the winter sports resorts top of the range: thresholds, among which the modalities of production, so social, symbolic as material and the spatial constraints which they lead will be respectively handled in chapter 7 and chapter 8 (part 3). Finally, this thesis proposes a social geography of the tourism, more than a geography of the tourist practices.

No description available.

North-east of Braamfontein in Johannesburg lies what used to be an oppressive prison precinct which experienced almost a century of South Africa’s political history. Recently after the introduction of democracy it became a ‘beacon of hope’ what is more commonly known today as Constitution Hill. It hosts the highest court of our democratic nation, the Constitutional Court. A stone’s throw away, Hillbrow. It is a stigmatized neighbourhood plagued by crime and urban squatting and urban decay. This dissertation addresses the ongoing disparities within a continuum to achieve justice. It is assumed that by restoring this unwanted neighbourhood of Hillbrow, the light of Constitution Hill may enlighten this dark part of the city to become a part and productive a contributor to a just city. The Dispute Resolutions Centre will act as a mediator in resolving some of the injustices that face South Africa today, through the procedures of restorative justice. The intention of the project is to fulfill the virtue of justice within the area of the home of the constitution of our democracy. / Mini Dissertation MArch(Prof)--University of Pretoria, 2018. / WMS Architects / Architecture / MArch(Prof) / Unrestricted

The rapid pace of urbanization means that cities will play a crucial role in sustainable development all over the world. Housing shortages, increasing pressures on land resources and a deteriorating environment are some of the challenges that need to be dealt with for cities to develop sustainably. South Africa and Cape Town is facing great challenges with persistent injustices and an acute housing crisis. The aim of this study has been to investigate the effects the unjust geographical legacy of apartheid has on people in Cape Town and South Africa today, how it is experienced and how this is managed on a provincial level in the Western Cape, using the Fish Hoek Valley as a case study. This study has been influenced by ethnography with fieldwork such as observations and conversations combined with media articles and an official provincial document, with all data being analysed through a qualitative content analysis. The results show that the Western Cape Provincial Government is aware of the unsustainable development in the region, and it has great visions to change this. The reality in 'the Valley' show that the poor still experiences injustices related to the colour of their skin and where they live. People are expressing their frustration over broken promises and the relationship to the local government is weak. The environment is not a priority and efforts for change is insufficient. The neoliberal path the country has taken appears to be the cause behind the difficulties to address the injustices. The conclusion is that the effects of neoliberalism should be questioned on a political level for real change to happen. / Den snabba takten av urbanisering innebär att städer kommer spela en avgörande roll för hållbar utveckling världen över. Bostadsbrist, ökat tryck på landresurser och försämrad miljö är några av de utmaningar som måste hanteras för att städer ska utvecklas hållbart. Sydafrika och Kapstaden står inför stora utmaningar med ihållande orättvisor och en akut bostadsbrist. Syftet med denna studie har varit att undersöka hur det geografiska arvet från apartheid påverkar människor i Sydafrika och Kapstaden idag och hur detta hanteras på provinsiell nivå i Western Cape, med Fish Hoek Valley som fallstudie. Studien har influerats av etnografi med fältarbete i form av observationer och samtal kombinerat med media artiklar och ett officiellt provinsiellt dokument, där en kvalitativ innehållsanalys använts på samtliga datainsamlingsmetoder. Resultaten visar på att det provinsiella styret i Western Cape är medveten om den ohållbara utveckling som råder, och har stora visioner för att ändra på detta. Verkligheten i 'the Valley' visar att de fattiga fortfarande upplever orättvisor baserat på sin hudfärg och vart de bor. Människor uttrycker sin frustration över brutna löften och relationen till det lokala styret är svag. Miljön är inte prioriterad och insatser för förändring är otillräckliga. Den nyliberala riktningen landet tagit verkar ligga bakom svårigheterna att addressera orättvisorna. Slutsatsen är att det bör ske ett större ifrågasättande av nyliberalismens konsekvenser på politisk nivå för att förändring ska kunna ske.