Peripheralization as a Mode of Territorial Production in Johannesburg

Keywords: peripheralization, extended urbanization, territory, centrality, perihpery, johannesburg, gauteng city-region, south africa
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

It is becoming broadly accepted in the field of urban studies that we must increase our scales of analysis, if we are to comprehend the complex regions that extend far beyond city centers today. Johannesburg, the vibrant city at the heart of the Gauteng City-Region (GCR) of South Africa, is a paradigmatic example of such extended urbanization, where centralities and peripheries produced through mining and apartheid are continually rearticulated. This paper describes ongoing processes of urbanization in the GCR based on a decade of empirical research, in particular how a “peripheral mesh” between the centers and peripheries of the urban fabric have become the primary sites of peripheralization in the post-apartheid era. This contrasts with urban centralities, which remain the site of the struggle for people to access the resources and opportunities of the city. In addition, the paper describes how “popular centralities” can arise from the peripheral mesh, in response to state-led peripheralization. It concludes that while peripheralization is a distinctive mode of territorial production in the GCR, this process resonates with the challenges facing many other urban contexts around the world, particularly those with histories of mineral extraction and colonization.