Current Institutional Affiliation
Professor, Public Policy, University of Western Cape
Award Information
International Dissertation Research Fellowship 2000
Institutional Affiliation (at time of award):
Geography & Environmental Engineering, Johns Hopkins University
Commodified Water, Race and Social Justice in South Africa: A Study of Three Privatisation Experiences in Post-Apartheid South African Municipalities, 1990--2000
The proposed study will identify, compare and map changes in urban infrastrµcture delivery and local socio-political configurations. It seeks to understand the meaning and impact of water privatization for urban life, justice and citizenship participation. My thesis is that geographic differentiation in the level, quality and quantity of water and sanitation services will reconfigure geographies of difference and conflict. I investigate whether precipitous privatization may cement old-style apartheid and class geographies, and further reinforce discriminatory aspects of infrastructure distribution that characterized apartheid SA, making a meaningful transition to a more egalitarian social structure less likely.