Neither friend nor enemy: Planning, ambivalence and the invalidation of urban informality in Zimbabwe

Amin Y Kamete

Urban Studies, 2020, vol. 57, issue 5, 927-943

Abstract: Planning relies on the strict classification and disposition of things in space. Intended to establish and maintain order, planning’s classifying practices are reinforced by binarisms that revolve around legality/illegality. The article deploys Bauman’s notion of the ‘stranger’ to recast hostility to informality as a symptom of antipathy against strangerhood and ambivalence. Drawing from qualitative research in urban Zimbabwe, I posit that because informality cannot be pigeonholed as either ‘friend’ or ‘enemy’, it instils a sense of unease in planners. I argue that this is a failure of the pursuit of order through binary antagonisms and contend that fixation with binarisms spawns ‘spatial undecidables’ and fuels resentment against informality. I propose that the notion of strangerhood complements and extends the concept of ‘gray spacing’.

Keywords: planning; informality; Zimbabwe; ambivalence; strangerhood; binary antagonisms; spatial undecidables; 规划; é žæ­£è§„æ€§; 津巴布韦; çŸ›ç›¾å¿ƒç †; 陌生人; 二元划分; ç©ºé—´ä¸ å ¯åˆ¤æ–­æ€§ (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:57:y:2020:i:5:p:927-943

DOI: 10.1177/0042098018821588

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