Voices of Liberation: Ndabaningi Sithole

A forgotten Founding Father

One of the few authoritative publications on violence in South Africa, this collaborative volume contributes to an understanding of the different forms of violence prevalent in South Africa today and lays the foundation for the formulation of prevention strategies. The significant data it contains makes it a valuable resource.

Community meetings seldom lead to significant change in urban policies, and have been accused of being sterile, sedative, or manipulative. This book starts from a simple question: why do people then continue to participate in these meetings, sometimes massively, and on a regular basis? Authors from a variety of disciplines explore the multiple roles of these �invited� spaces of participation. From consolidation of individual social status and networks, to the construction and framing of the local �community�, the display of political or group loyalties and maintenance of clientelist exchange, access to information, rumors or gossip but also forms of education on who and what is the state, invited spaces of participation are also, crucially, places of emergence of collective awareness, through shared expressions of frustration, that can lead to political mobilisation and other, less institutionalised forms of participation. This book, unpacking community politics and rethinking the complex articulations between ��invited� and invented� spaces of participation, is of relevance for international and national audiences interested in urban governance and local democracy.

Since 1994, local government in South Africa has become more important than ever before. It has been described as the 'hands and feet' of government, and is expected to play a key role in development.

But to what extent does local government support women's empowerment and gender equity? Do integrated development plans (IDPs), which give strategic direction to the work of a municipality, benefit gender equity or women's rights?

The use, management and regulation of urban space comes under the spotlight in this occasional paper that highlights a new kind of global urban form, 'postmodern urbanism'. The author uses two aspirant world-class cities, Johannesburg and So Paulo, to describe the spatial fragmentation of the urban landscape.