Contesting the edge: analysing environmental decision-making as it is represented in the media

Abstract

Media representations of environmental issues can provide insight into decision-making in complex contexts. Analysing different framings of an environmental problem can reveal the underlying biases and values that determine environmental decisions. This paper presents a case study of the conflict around proposed changes to the urban edge and its implications for the Philippi Horticultural Area in Cape Town, South Africa. An analysis of media representations of this contested environmental decision reveals the roles that framing, knowledge, power relations and public participation play in environmental decision-making. Drawing on principles of discourse analysis as a means of analysing the media, two opposing framings of the issue are described: ‘balancing complex needs to address housing and poverty’, and ‘Philippi, Cape Town's breadbasket’. Balancing the complexity of conflicting needs, supported by claims of expert, institutional knowledge characterise the framing adopted by decision-makers. In contrast, opponents emphasise food security concerns and scientific knowledge, and rely more heavily on the written policy than do decision-makers. These differing positions are upheld by separate groupings of actors, largely due to their dependence on very different knowledge bases. A lack of explicit acknowledgement of alternative frames and their associated value sets limits the possibility of effectively debating such issues, and of making effective and inclusive decisions in these complex policy situations.