Abstract
Local economic development (LED) research and policy grapple with the informal economy and township transformation. While most current thinking centres on firms, this paper argues that non-firm worlds of work and their spatiality are not adequately understood. Representations of the places where poor people work remain abstract and incomplete. The paper reports on a survey of 320 low-income Sowetan residents and in-depth interviews with 20 workers about their work roles in the urban space economy. The findings, which show poor workers engaging with diverse sectors and locations in complex ways, challenge the dominant spatial narratives about isolated poor residential areas. Poor workers deliberately create their own social capital in work realms. This being the case, a more finely tuned conceptualisation of these workers and their roles in urban space is essential to sharpen LED discussions so that policies can be based more on real rather than imagined spatiality.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.