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2.4 Case Studies
There are 4 central mechanisms which cities, FIFA and the event organizers adopt, all of which are geared towards the maximization of profits for sponsors as well as an exclusion of anybody who is not. Firstly, the government structure at the municipal level is altered by adding the structure of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC). Second, government must sign Host City Agreements and FIFA by-laws, legitimizing gentrification and beautification projects. Third, decisions are made in an even more unilateral manner than usual, whereby channels of negotiation and social dialogue are increasingly difficult to infiltrate. Lastly, government structures are complicated even further by adding more interest groups, all of whom pass the buck and blame other groups for the woes of the poor and marginalized. The 2010 tournament was held in 10 stadia across 9 cities in South Africa, each of which has a host of different
examples and scenarios where evictions, removals and exclusions took place. As a legacy of apartheid’s architecture for cities, South African cities have a notoriously bad and inefficient
‘form’. This is owing to fact our cities have a very low urban density, where poor people are located at the geographical periphery (Borraine, 2010). As a result, there is a situation where a majority of state resources and expenditure is geographically located to service a minority of the population, whilst the majority is located peripherally, where they are starkly
underdeveloped and under-resourced. This pattern of resource distribution as well as labour and capital flows is illogical and unsustainable to say the least. In order to create compact, efficient and equitable cities it is imperative that poor people have access to and reside closer to the employment opportunities that are usually found in the city centres and economic hubs.
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The gentrification and urban renewal programs that characterized the world cup reinforced and exacerbated this socio-spatial dilemma through evictions, removals and TRAs.
For the purpose of this study the primary focus will be on South Africa’s 3 largest cities, namely;
Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban as these cities have subtle differences which a) allows several different factors and scenarios to be analyzed, thus making this paper more useful for cities seeking advice on hosting Mega-Events in the future, and b) Analyzing these three cities in depth allows us to identify the social and economic factors and consequences of both
‘exclusions’ and ‘evictions/removals’.
A: Johannesburg
Located in Gauteng province, Johannesburg is South Africa’s biggest and most populace city.
Johannesburg is also home to two of the country’s most popular & successful football teams, both of whom call Soweto township home, thus making this the city most saturated by football fans. The country’s national football stadium (FNB/Soccer City) is also located in Johannesburg and so any attempt to understand and appreciate the socio-economics of South African football and the World Cup cannot but start with Johannesburg. As with politics and socio-economics of the country, South Africa’s football culture is also deeply entrenched in class and racial divisions.
In years gone by, rugby and cricket were the sports of choice for the white, middle and ruling classes whilst football was considered fit for the black under-classes. To maintain a
segregationist, classist ideology these beliefs were taught and entrenched in the youth. Today, of course, these beliefs are not explicitly purported but the demographics of the sports have not changed much in the 20 odd years since democracy. As a result, cricket and rugby are still
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managed and funded by predominantly white organisations, maintaining their elitist status and far superior facilities etc. Football on the other hand has remained the sport of choice for the masses but continues to function with limited resources. The state of affairs in South African football is so poor that the middle classes, even those of colour, who can afford cable TV and internet connections etc., are far more interested in English and European football than our local brand. On any given Saturday afternoon you can rest assured that there are far more people in their lounges and bars watching a top flight English League game than there are fans filling all the stadiums or watching local match-ups on TV across the country. Of course, the ever-increasing popularity of European football internationally, coupled with its superior quality makes for an easy understanding in this regard. A lack of interest in local football from those with the capital and resources to develop the sport means that all things football in South Africa, especially leading up to the 2010 tournament, were severely under-resourced, ill-planned and ill-managed. This includes stadia and training facilities, means of access like transportation, as well the facilities and amenities associated with the sport (hence why the informal sector is so closely affiliated with football in the country). “The use of football to forge and maintain an inclusive national identity would have to overcome the profound divisions that have
characterized the game’s history and culture in South Africa” (Fletcher, 2013; 32)
Leading to and during the World Cup, Johannesburg was also arguably Africa’s wealthiest and most opportune city, making it a mecca for poor opportunists from other parts of South Africa and the whole continent of Africa, who dreamt of a better life and financial opportunities. As with most places rumored to be the greener grass on the other side, opportunities for
employment are often few and etching an existence is difficult, particularly for unskilled,
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working class folk. Up until the fall of apartheid in the early 1990s, the Johannesburg CBD was legally a ‘whites-only’ area in which Africans and people of colour could not reside or visit but could only enter with a permit and for the purpose of menial labour. When segregationist policies were abolished and people were afforded freedom of movement, there was an influx of Africans and other previously marginalized groups into the city. This phenomenon caused paranoia amongst the white citizens leading to what was called ‘white-flight’ (IRIN, 2010).
White flight in the early and mid-1990s meant that a vast majority of white residents, white investors and white-owned business packed up and abandoned ship almost overnight and moved to the suburbs. This created a situation where the increasing amounts of poor and destitute people flooding into the city were met by abandoned apartment blocks, hotels and high-rise buildings where ‘landlords’ overcrowded the facilities with the urbanizing Africans. It goes without saying that these peoples quickly commandeered and occupied these abandoned spaces which became run-down, slum-like establishments governed by crime. Prior to this, Johannesburg was already home to massive, sprawling townships and slums which are remnants of the bygone segregationist regime, and although that regime is obsolete, the ramifications and consequences of their actions very much stand today. As a result, the inhabitants of the townships and slums of Johannesburg remain poor, unemployed,
disenfranchised black Africans who, despite political liberty, are still very much economically constrained, with little opportunity for upward mobility. If one considers this in addition or relation to the ‘big city pull factor’ mentioned beforehand then it is not hard to imagine just how many people in Johannesburg are unemployed &/or engaged in informal activities, as well as the vast number of people who are homeless, squat illegally or reside in substandard living
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conditions. It is with the above context in mind that we need to appreciate evictions and removals in the city of Johannesburg before and during the World Cup.
In the months and years leading to the World Cup, individuals and representative groups in Johannesburg were notably more vocal and active in protesting against World Cup policies, decisions and activities than people perhaps were in other cities. The enthusiasm and
persistence of the disenfranchised in protesting and seeking legal recourse stood them in good stead as several cases against removals, exclusions and prejudicial treatment were heard and won by disenfranchised and aggrieved groups, leading to concessions and allowances that would ordinarily not be made. This is of high significance because it shows that although FIFA regulations try to undermine ones sovereignty whilst the government/LOC simply succumbs to demands, civil protest and threats of disrupting the event may be the only way for the
disenfranchised to gain franchise. An example of this is the concession to allow informal traders the right to trade at certain select spots at Soccer City stadium, although this concession
followed many months of aggressive strikes, protests and the ignoring of bans by vendors, inevitably leading to their arrests and harassment (Cottle, 2010)
However, despite a few shallow victories for marginalized groups, the general sentiment for most did not bode well. The city of Johannesburg had undertaken a project of urban renewal since 2001. This project had identified 235 ‘bad buildings’ (old hotels and apartment blocks) in the inner city, 125 of which had seen the removal and eviction of Johannesburg’s poorest and most vulnerable by 2010. The years and months preceding the World Cup saw the most aggressive and enthusiastic enforcement of evictions and removals in the CBD, with landlords,
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owners and investors, some of whom had not been heard of in 10 or 15 years, suddenly resurfacing and laying claim to property and the rights thereof. This, of course, is a highly complex and delicate situation as South Africa’s constitution protects squatters, particularly those that have been in a place unbothered for a substantial amount of time. The number and scale of evictions grew exponentially in the build-up to the tournament as part of the city’s attempt to reach or, at very least portray the image of itself as a world-class city. Whilst it is difficult to ignore the fact that previous landlords and owners perhaps still have a right to their properties, or the fact that, theoretically, urban development and renewal is necessary and supposed to be positive, what we certainly cannot ignore is that gentrification projects of this manner almost always target the poorest, most vulnerable people in a society and almost never provide them with adequate or sustainable alternatives and options, thus rendering them homeless and/or cutting them off from their places of employment and means of earning a livelihood. Furthermore, it is frightfully obvious that, as evidenced by renewed capitalist interest in the build up to the 2010 event, renewal projects are seldom embarked upon for the betterment of human lives or social cohesion which they claim, but are almost always for neoliberal capitalist intentions encouraged and encapsulated by events such as the FIFA World Cup. In March 2006 the Johannesburg High Court again showed the power and use of the legal system in combatting what appear to be unlawful evictions when they agreed that indeed the evictions were unconstitutional. This decision was a morale-building, albeit short lived victory for squatting communities of abandoned buildings in the CBD as it temporarily put all evictions on hold in the region. I say ‘temporary’ and ‘short-lived’ because the City council took the case to the Supreme Court of Appeals where judge Louis Harms eventually ruled against the
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squatters, making evictions and removals legal, allowing those that wished to develop in time for the World Cup to do so. In defense of Judge Harms, he did state in his judgment that evictions were permissible on condition that adequate alternative accommodation had been guaranteed. This judgment gave rise to the infamous Temporary Relocation Areas (TRA) which sprung up throughout the country. With this loophole in mind, cities and investors established what were supposed to be alternative places of living for evicted and removed peoples but unfortunately these facilities often resembled refugee camps or slums where the number of people sardined in was far more than the place was designed for. Furthermore, not only were TRAs seldom ‘temporary’, they were always established on the outskirts of the city, where no World Cup tourists would be subjected to the eyesore, thus further excluding the poor from event whilst simultaneously separating people from their income. (Irin News, 2007; Bolsmann, 2011)
The most significant changes and developments ushered in by the World Cup for residents of Johannesburg was infrastructure, particularly the two stadiums that were upgraded at a cost well into the hundreds of millions of dollars, and the transportation system upgrades exceeding the billion dollar mark. These developments brought both tears and joy to the poor people of Johannesburg. Let us first consider the transport infrastructure. As part of FIFA’s requirements and the Host City Agreements, cities are expected to develop safe, integrated public
transportation networks and systems. With that in mind, the reader must appreciate that, like everything else, ‘transport’ & means thereof is a racialized and socio-economic concern. Simply put, in South Africa those that can afford a car or some sort if privately organized transport, will always exercise their ability to do so. Public transport in South Africa is primarily used to
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transport poor, working class masses from their peripheral places of residence to the cities and hubs where they can earn a living. The use of public transport is often dangerous and always stigmatized. If one can marry this thought with an understanding of Johannesburg’s (and other cities) social-geography (upper-middle class cores & working class peripheries) then their understanding of how and where transport infrastructure in the name of the World Cup failed or truly benefitted the people will be heightened.
With regards to World Cup inspired infrastructure, the Gautrain was undoubtedly
Johannesburg and the entire country’s crown jewel. The Gautrain is the country’s, if not the continent’s first hi-speed or rapid transit rail system, and so from the perspective of modernity and development then it is a welcome addition to the country’s infrastructure. Although its development would have eventually taken place, the project was very much part of the World Cup budget and plans so there is no doubt that the World Cup bid elevated the train’s
importance and guaranteed that it be completed timeously. Although the train became a beacon of pride and a show of 1st world progressiveness and modernity, it is imperative to note just who, in terms of demographic, the train would serve. Although the very long term plan for the train network is to reach and service many parts and regions of the city, it is currently still conspicuous for its exclusivity and limited reach. As mentioned above, although millions of South Africans rely upon public transport, those that can afford not to almost certainly never do.
However, those that do use public transport and require upgraded networks are the working class and unfortunately the Gautrain represents another avenue of World Cup related inaccessibility. Firstly, the location of the stations and the routes the train runs exemplify the train’s middle-class agenda inasmuch as the train runs from the airport to the hugely affluent
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northern suburbs and other middle-class neighbourhoods (where people own cars and are not likely to use public transport). Secondly, with average Gautrain tickets of about R100/US$10 (more than many informal workers earn in a day) as opposed to the less than R10/US$1
average for a ride in a minibus taxi, it is obvious that poor, working class people would have no practical use for the network. It is easy at this juncture to label the train’s development as using the World Cup name to fund exclusionary practices and infrastructure, or to accuse it of
impracticality and a lack of sustainability. However, there is a positive and practical light at the end of this tunnel. Unlike in New York, London or even Taipei, the use of public transport in South Africa is a matter of need and lack of options as those that can, will drive. This has obvious congestion and pollution ramifications amongst many others, hence building a middle-class rail network that meets the comfort, safety and convenience standards of the middle classes is perhaps more inclusive, insightful and sustainable than not addressing the matter at all. The fact that pre-tournament estimates were somewhere between 4 and 5000 people a day but the reality saw over 13000 people a day, highlights how the train and public transport in general is being embraced the middle classes and just how bright a future the network may have (Prinsloo, 2010). On the other hand, the city of Johannesburg developed a new bus network under the auspices of World Cup development. Based on price and routes covered, this development is far more inclusive and practical for poor people and their needs.
Furthermore, this network is considered far safer than the notoriously dangerous minibus taxis most Africans use. As a result, not only did this network service countless fans and tourists during the tournament but it still proves to be a mode of transport that the middle-classes would at least consider. What is perhaps exclusive about these networks, as was characterized
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by the sometimes violent protests from minibus taxi associations, is the fact that this World Cup development did nothing to include those taxi associations, and actually undercut them in many ways. Minibus taxis are the traditional means of transport for the masses, with the routes and territories covered by different drivers and associations highly contested. I would also argue that minibus taxis are a part of the informal economy. The introduction of an advanced bus network of this nature certainly undercut the subsistence drivers that operate taxis. A socially responsible project that was more inclusive and considerate of poor people and the informal economy should have more carefully considered this. Perhaps to alleviate some of that pressure, they could have devised a recruitment plan whereby informal taxi drivers are trained and employed to drive busses, not only for the World Cup but thereafter too, as this would be a more sustainable, inclusive use or benefit of the event.
In Cape Town and Durban, for example, football, a working class sport, was repackaged and delivered by the LOC & FIFA almost exclusively for middle and upper-class consumption in social and economic spaces that are inaccessible to the population mean. In Johannesburg, hosting was more positive and inclusive in some ways. As was mentioned in the opening chapter and will be elaborated upon later in this chapter, stadiums and facilities in Durban and Cape Town were built in areas with no football history or culture and fan parks etc. were established in
In Cape Town and Durban, for example, football, a working class sport, was repackaged and delivered by the LOC & FIFA almost exclusively for middle and upper-class consumption in social and economic spaces that are inaccessible to the population mean. In Johannesburg, hosting was more positive and inclusive in some ways. As was mentioned in the opening chapter and will be elaborated upon later in this chapter, stadiums and facilities in Durban and Cape Town were built in areas with no football history or culture and fan parks etc. were established in