22 research outputs found
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Environmental justice and conceptions of the green economy
Green economy has become one of the most fashionable terms in global environmental public policy discussions and forums. Despite this popularity, and its being selected as one of the organizing themes of the United Nations Rio+20 Conference in Brazil, June 2012, its prospects as an effective mobilization tool for global environmental sustainability scholarship and practice remains unclear. A major reason for this is that much like its precursor concepts such as environmental sustainability and sustainable development, green economy is a woolly concept which lends itself to many interpretations. Hence, rather than resolve long-standing controversies, green economy merely reinvigorates existing debates over the visions, actors and policies best suited to secure a more sustainable future for all. In this review article, we aim to fill an important gap in scholarship by suggesting various ways in which green economy may be organized and synthesized as a concept, and especially in terms of its relationship with the idea of social and environmental justice. Accordingly, we offer a systemization of possible interpretations of green economy mapped onto a synthesis of existing typologies of environmental justice. This classification provides the context for future analysis of which, and how, various notions of green economy link with various conceptions of justice
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Social polarisation and migration to Gauteng
The manufacturing sector, once a major source of urban employment and consisting of a large percentage of skilled and semi-skilled, middle-income jobs, has declined, while the service sector, predominantly comprising either high-skill, high-pay or low-skill, low-pay jobs, has grown. Jacqueline Borel-Saladin argues that the decline of manufacturing and the growth of the service sector does not result in a more polarised occupational structure.
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Social polarisation and migration to Johannesburg
Migrating out of Poverty Research Programme Consortium; Working paper 11The manufacturing sector once a major source of urban employment and consisting of a large percentage of skilled and semi-skilled, middle-income jobs has declined, while the service sector comprising predominantly either high-skill, high-pay or low-skill, low-pay jobs has grown. Consequently, it has been argued, that the decline of manufacturing and the growth of the service sector are to result in a more polarised occupational structure. Growing numbers of low-wage, low-skill service sector jobs are also said to attract poorly educated, unskilled immigrants from rural areas and/or developing countries. The contention is that these migrants become trapped in the low-skill, low-wage service sector jobs, thereby exacerbating social polarisation. An alternative argument is that there is a trend towards professionalisation, with a general upgrading of skills among the employed workforce and a growth of non-manual clerical, sales, technical, professional and managerial jobs. Consequently, unskilled migrants experience a skills mismatch and are likely to be unemployed rather than employed in low-skilled jobs. Household survey and population census results for the Johannesburg region of South Africa from 1980 to 2007, were used to explore the relationship between migrants and social polarisation. The results show that migrants have a very similar occupation and education profile to natives and that their presence does not cause social polarisation but supports growing professionalisation instead
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Promises and pitfalls of the green economy
The green economy is an important feature of policy discussions around the world. It is portrayed as part of the solution to the global economic crisis, and as an innovative, efficient means of advancing the climate change agenda. It promises a targeted economic stimulus to launch the transition to a low carbon economy and spur long-term prosperity based on radical new technologies and improvements in resource efficiency. Clearly, this is a seductive idea worthy of careful scrutiny by social scientists.
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The theory and reality of urban slums: pathways-out-of-poverty or cul-de-sacs?
This article explores two contrasting perspectives on the role of informal settlements in urban labour markets. One proposes that they help to lift households out of rural poverty and onto a path to prosperity through affordable access to urban opportunities. The other suggests that the debilitating conditions confine residents to enduring hardship and insecurity. South Africa is an important test case because of the extent of social and spatial inequalities, and the policy ambivalence towards shack settlements. Preliminary evidence indicates that employment rates are much closer to formal urban areas than to rural areas, but conditions of employment are noticeably worse. Other forms of data are required to assess the magnitude and timescale of economic progression
for households.
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Backyard shacks and the urban housing crisis: stopgap or prototype solution
The number of households living in backyard dwellings increased by 55% during the previous decade, while the number living in free-standing shacks decreased by more than 120 000. For policies to effectively deal with the rapid growth in backyard shacks it is necessary to get behind the social processes at work, write Jackie Borel-Saladin and Ivan Turok.
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Is urbanisation in South Africa on a sustainable trajectory?
Urbanisation is an important but contested process because of its far-reaching social, economic and environmental implications. The paper explores the relationship between urbanisation and living conditions in South Africa over the last decade. The central question addressed is whether population growth in the main cities has been accompanied by improved living standards, housing and public services. One finding is that employment growth has tended to coincide with demographic trends, which is necessary to reduce poverty. In addition, the provision of urban infrastructure has outstripped population growth, resulting in better access
to essential services and reduced backlogs. In contrast, the provision of affordable housing has not kept pace with household growth, so more people than ever are living in shacks. A more comprehensive assessment is required before one can be sure that urbanisation is on a sustainable trajectory.
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Census 2011 reveals boom in backyard shacks
The 2011 Census revealed some unexpected patterns and trends. One of the striking findings was the sharp growth in backyard shacks in the major cities. Jackie Borel-Saladin and Ivan Turok discuss the positive and negative aspects of this phenomenon.
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Continuity, change and conflict in South African cities
Twenty years after domocracy, there is evidence of both continuity and change in the way South African cities have developed. The bold mandate of the metros was to promote socio-economic and spatial transformation, but circumstances have been difficult following the country's re-entry into a more competitive global economy, its skewed income distribution, the complexity of institutional consolidation and transformation, and vested interests in land, property and the economy. There have been notable achievements in some respects, but progress has stalled in others.