Thesis is submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Town and Regional Planning)
to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2017 / Focusing on Zimbabwean migrants in Johannesburg, this thesis engages the ways
in which diverse groups and individuals construct and negotiate spaces in the city.
I have looked at how Zimbabwean migrants spatially respond to the regulatory
and socio-economic environments within which they lead their everyday lives in
Johannesburg. I emphasize the theme of heterogeneity, specifically highlighting
the differentiated nature of Zimbabwean immigrants living in South Africa and
discuss their movements and spatial identities. Theoretically, I have combined de
Certeau's conception of space as represented by the schema of “strategies” of the
powerful and the “tactics” of the subordinate with Bourdieu's concept of
“habitus”, which operates within a field of social forces that are responsible for,
and the result of, its emergence. Following my empirical engagements within the
context of Johannesburg, I observe that, the initial decision by Zimbabwean
migrants to move to South Africa, be it in search of work opportunities or forced
by political circumstances, enable a structure that predisposes them (migrants) to
continued mobility. Firstly, as transnational migrants who engage in frequent
short term and long term movements between Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Secondly, as transient residents of Johannesburg who frequently change
residential addresses yet remain largely within the same spaces where they first
arrive. Thirdly, as de Certeau's ordinary man who walks the city while engaged in
everyday activities such as, shopping, going to places of employment, to places of
education, etc. I theorise mobility as a way of making do and an inhabited space
that migrants mobilise in contestation with the broader strategic entities such as
the City of Johannesburg's regulatory platforms, South African citizens and other
migrants. I also argue that, for migrants to engage in different mobility cycles and
deploy mobility as a tactical resource, particular dispositions are necessary. I refer
to these dispositions as the transnational migrant habitus, which operates within a
transnational social field constituted by socio-cultural factors in both South
Africa and Zimbabwe. Both, the transnational habitus and the transnational social
field are hybrid social formations that are not reducible to either the Zimbabwean
or the South African contexts that are responsible for their genesis and ongoing
reconstitution. Methodologically, I employed a mixed methods research design,
which refers to a procedure by which the researcher mixes two or more methods
with different meta-theoretical assumptions in a single study in order to
understand a research problem. I used mixed methods because I needed sufficient
breadth to explore the diversity of Zimbabwean migrant experiences and spatial
decision-making, but also sufficient depth to uncover the reasons for behaviours
and decisions. / MT2018
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/24198 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | Moyo, Khangelani |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | Online resource (288 leaves), application/pdf, application/pdf |
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