South African cities in an urban world

Abstract

South African geography has been historically inhibited by an inward focus and an underlying assumption of national idiosyncrasy. Recently, however, there has been a broadening as some South African geographers and other spatially directed scholars have placed their study of South African cities in a comparative perspective, especially, but not only, in relation to other cities in the global South. This shift, although still partial, is bringing South African geography closer to what Jennifer Robinson, Colin McFarlane, Eugene McCann, Kevin Ward, and others, have termed the ‘new comparative urbanism’. In our review article, we will explore the trend towards comparative urbanism in South African geography and urban studies, indicating the various ways in which scholarship on South African cities answers the questions – What is particular about South African cities? In what ways do South Africa’s cities reveal of wider urban processes? The review article will also explore the extent to which scholarship on South African cities has addressed the relationality of urban space. We will argue that, although there is now a stronger focus on comparability, exploration of relationality is still embryonic although there is some consideration in the literature of migrant and economic linkages, and growing attention to policy mobility. In our conclusion, we take the cue from Kevin Ward in calling for a ‘relational comparative approach’.

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