SPATIALITIES OF SOCIAL JUSTICE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT TRANSITION: NOTES ON AND FOR A SOUTH AFRICAN SOCIAL JUSTICE DISCOURSE

Abstract

ABSTRACT Drawing on theoretical debates encouraging the engagement of empirical investigation into the morality of specific places, the paper considers two key periods in the re-conceptualisation of the South African city and its bearing on the interpretation of the social justice concept during the transitional period 1994–2000. The research demonstrates that at the intersection of what these cities are interpreted to be and what they could be, multiple understandings of social justice were in evidence. It is found that these interpretations of social justice are not only constructed through very particular interpretations of South African urban history and its geography but also reveal conceptualisations of this concept less prevalent in contemporary geographical moral discourse. The paper concludes with remarks regarding the implications the research holds for understanding and investigating different types of social justice interpretations in South African cities.