Doctoral Dissertation Research: Urban Governance and Spatial Patterns of Public Investment

SES-1003632 Patrick HellerAmy KrackerBrown University种族隔离的结束为解决空间不平等的历史带来了前所未有的可能性，这种不平等是南非城市世纪以来的特征。有能力和资源充足的市政府在高度变革议程的推动下，率先努力实现更公平的资源分配。然而，最近的理论认为，在全球竞争的背景下，市政府越来越多地响应资本而不是公民的需求，从而限制了国家在纠正社会不平等方面发挥有效作用的能力。本研究的第一阶段是问在这种经济背景下，在多大程度上有开普敦和约翰内斯堡的政府能够创造一个更公平的分配公共产品，如学校，医疗设施，和家庭服务比种族隔离制度下存在的？将利用地理信息系统数据来审查每个城市这些公益物的空间分布变化，并评价以前处于不利地位的社区在获得公共资源方面的改善程度。初步证据表明，开普敦在这方面的努力比约翰内斯堡更为成功。因此，这项研究的第二阶段要问为什么开普敦比约翰内斯堡更成功。先前的研究表明，地方治理制度的特定配置有可能产生更公平的资源分配。然而，这项工作没有说明这些制度是什么样子的，以及它们可能减轻对资本需求的单一反应的具体机制。在开普敦和约翰内斯堡进行的初步访谈表明，对这两个城市治理制度的配置和组成进行比较，可以使人们深入了解开普敦比约翰内斯堡更公平地分配公共资源的具体特点。为了更好地理解地方治理制度与公共服务分配之间的关系，将采访市政府官员以及社区的主要知情人，了解每个城市的公共资源分配和社区需求制定过程。通过这两个城市的比较，目前的研究提出，以检查是否以及在什么条件下，市政治理配置可以影响模式的再分配的经济背景下，理论上破坏这些努力。更广泛的影响除了在城市和政治社会学领域的通知理论，目前的研究将有重要的实践意义。理解使公民需求合法化的力量而不是偏向资本需求的力量，可以提高城市居民与市政府互动的能力，从而更有效地让他们的宜居需求得到倾听和满足。此外，了解开普敦的政府行为者如何在强调经济增长的背景下更有效地满足居民的需求，可以深入了解如何建立更能满足公民需求的市政府。最后，这项研究的成果，包括利用地理信息系统生成的地图以及出版物和报告，将分发给开普敦和约翰内斯堡的研究机构、社区和市政府，以便每个城市的利益攸关方能够更好地了解公民的需求和地方政府为满足这些需求而开展的活动。

SES-1003632Patrick HellerAmy KrackerBrown University The end of apartheid brought with it unprecedented possibilities for addressing the history of spatial inequality that had characterized South African cities for well over a century. Efforts to create a more equitable distribution of resources have been spearheaded by capable and well-resourced municipal governments driven by a highly transformative agenda. However, recent theory has argued that in the context of global competition, municipal governments have become increasingly responsive to the needs of capital rather than citizens, thereby limiting the ability of the state to play an effective role in remedying social inequalities. The first phase of this research asks in this economic context, to what extent has the governments of Cape Town and Johannesburg been able to create a more equitable distribution of public goods such as schools, healthcare facilities, and household services than that which existed under apartheid? Geographic information systems (GIS) data will be used to examine changes in the spatial distribution of these public goods in each city and to evaluate the extent to which previously disadvantaged communities are seeing an improvement in access to public resources. Preliminary evidence suggests that Cape Town has been more successful in this effort than Johannesburg. Therefore, the second phase of this research asks why has Cape Town been more successful than Johannesburg. Prior research suggests that particular configurations of local governance regimes have the potential to generate a more equitable distribution of resources. This work, however, stops short of explicating what these regimes look like and the specific mechanisms by which they might mitigate a singular responsiveness to the demands of capital. Preliminary interviews conducted in Cape Town and Johannesburg suggest that a comparison of the configuration and composition of governance regimes in the two cities may provide insight into the particular characteristics that allow for a more equitable distribution of public resources in Cape Town than Johannesburg. In order to better understand the relationship between local governance regimes and the distribution of public services, municipal government officials as well as key informants in communities will be interviewed about processes of public resource distribution and community demand making in each city. Through a comparison of these two cities, the current research proposes to examine if and under what conditions municipal governance configurations can influence patterns of redistribution given an economic context that is theorized to undermine these efforts. Broader ImpactBeyond informing theory in the fields of urban and political sociology, the current research will have important practical implications. An understanding of the forces that allow for the legitimatization of citizens' demands in contrast to a bias toward the demands of capital can enhance the ability of urban residents to interact with municipal governments in a manner that more effectively allows their needs of livability to be heard and met. Additionally, an understanding of how government actors in Cape Town have more effectively met residents' demands in the context of an emphasis on economic growth can provide insight into how to create municipal governments that are more responsive to the needs of their citizens. Finally, the products from this research, including maps generated using GIS as well as publications and reports, will be distributed to research institutions, communities, and municipal governments in both Cape Town and Johannesburg so that stakeholders in each city may have a better understanding of the needs of citizens and the dynamics of local government that allow those needs to be met.