The politics of knowledge: Knowledge management in informal settlement upgrading in Cape Town
Loading...
Date
2015
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Springer
Abstract
t In situ solutions, participatory practices and the inclusion of community
knowledge have become key ingredients in urban upgrading policies across the world.
Knowledge, however, is not neutral, but value-laden, representing different and conflicting interests. Including community-based knowledge, therefore, is far from
straightforward. To understand the politics of urban development interventions, a
deeper conceptualisation of the relationship between knowledge and power is required.
This article tries to contribute to this conceptualisation through an empirical analysis of
informal settlement upgrading. Specifically, it interrogates the role of community
knowledge in urban development through a study of two informal settlements in
Cape Town. Findings from this qualitative research contradict the notion of a unified
community whose ‘community knowledge’ can be engaged with. In both settlements,
knowledge politics have resulted in tensions within the settlement, creating new interest
groups and knowledge alliances, showing the complex interconnectedness of knowledge, power and mobilisation.
Description
Keywords
Urban governance, Urban development, Housing, Informal settlements, Cape Town
Citation
Jacobs, F. et al. (2015). The politics of knowledge: Knowledge management in informal settlement upgrading in Cape Town . Urban Forum, 26(4), 425–441. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12132-015-9258-4