(D)urban vortex : South African city in transition

Durban is a remarkable place in which to test propositions about the significance of the city and the significance of change. New urban literature tends to divide very sharply between the problems faced by cities with major resources at the center and the problems faced by cities at the periphery. Many South African cities are simultaneously the site of both kinds of phenomena. These cities have strong traditions of forceful planning from above with considerable capacity to finance change. They witness industrialization, but they are also the site of massive squatter settlements and populations that fall outside the functioning of the "formal" economy. This book highlights the role of networks and the co-operation for survival by Durban's newer citizens as they make space for themselves. In an era of fundamental power shifts, the constant need for re-invention and adaptation to social and economic change, Durban is a genuine social vortex. Through the work of writers from a range of disciplines, this book focuses on the transition since the 1970s and explores contemporary challenges facing Durban.… (more)