{"id":34287,"date":"2024-03-01T11:43:46","date_gmt":"2024-03-01T10:43:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/?p=34287"},"modified":"2025-08-22T11:57:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T09:57:15","slug":"local-officials-and-the-struggle-to-transform-cities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/en\/blog\/2024\/03\/01\/local-officials-and-the-struggle-to-transform-cities\/","title":{"rendered":"Local Officials and the Struggle to Transform Cities - A view from post-apartheid South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Claire B\u00e9nit-Gbaffou<\/a>, UCL Press, published on 27 February 2024, 494 Pages<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n
\n
\n

Why are even progressive local authorities with the 'will to improve' seldom able to change cities? Why does it seem almost impossible to redress spatial inequalities, deliver and maintain basic services, elevate impoverished areas and protect the marginalised communities? Why do municipalities in the Global South refuse to work with prevailing social informalities, and resort instead to interventions that are known to displace and aggravate the very issues they aim to address?<\/p>\n

Local Officials and the Struggle to Transform Cities<\/em> analyses these challenges in South African cities, where the brief post-apartheid moment opened a window for progressive city government and made research into state practices both possible and necessary. In debate with other 'progressive moments' in large cities in Brazil, the USA and India, the book interrogates City officials' practices. It considers the instruments they invent and negotiate to implement urban policies, the agency they develop and the constraints they navigate in governing unequal cities. This focus on actual officials' practices is captured through first-hand experience, state ethnographies and engaged research. These reveal day-to-day practice that question generalised explanations of state failure in complex urban societies as essential malevolence, contextual weakness, corruption and inefficiency. It is hoped that opening the black box of the workings of state opens paths for the construction of progressive policies in contemporary cities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Available from the publisher UCL Press and in open access<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Claire B\u00e9nit-Gbaffou, UCL Press, published 27 February 2024, 494 Pages Why are even progressive local authorities with the 'will to improve' seldom able to change cities? Why does it seem almost impossible to redress spatial inequalities, deliver and maintain basic services, elevate impoverished areas and protect the marginalised communities? Why do municipalities in...<\/p>","protected":false},"author":180,"featured_media":34288,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,24],"tags":[59],"class_list":["post-34287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ouvrage","category-publications","tag-a-la-une"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLocal Officials and the Struggle to Transform Cities - A view from post-apartheid South Africa - Mesopolhis<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/en\/blog\/2024\/03\/01\/local-officials-and-the-struggle-to-transform-cities\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Local Officials and the Struggle to Transform Cities - A view from post-apartheid South Africa - Mesopolhis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"De Claire B\u00e9nit-Gbaffou, UCL Press, publi\u00e9 le 27 f\u00e9vrier 2024, 494 Pages Why are even progressive local authorities with the \u2018will to improve\u2019 seldom able to change cities? Why does it seem almost impossible to redress spatial inequalities, deliver and maintain basic services, elevate impoverished areas and protect the marginalised communities? Why do municipalities in…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/en\/blog\/2024\/03\/01\/local-officials-and-the-struggle-to-transform-cities\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mesopolhis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-03-01T10:43:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-22T09:57:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/jpg_rgb_1500h.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"999\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Vanina Beauchamps-Assali\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Vanina Beauchamps-Assali\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mesopolhis.fr\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/01\\\/local-officials-and-the-struggle-to-transform-cities\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mesopolhis.fr\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/01\\\/local-officials-and-the-struggle-to-transform-cities\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Vanina Beauchamps-Assali\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mesopolhis.fr\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3e53aff9a8381ce635a1495990625278\"},\"headline\":\"Local Officials and the Struggle to Transform Cities – A view from post-apartheid South Africa\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-03-01T10:43:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-22T09:57:15+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mesopolhis.fr\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/01\\\/local-officials-and-the-struggle-to-transform-cities\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":254,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mesopolhis.fr\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mesopolhis.fr\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/01\\\/local-officials-and-the-struggle-to-transform-cities\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mesopolhis.fr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/jpg_rgb_1500h.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"A la une\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Ouvrage\",\"Publications\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mesopolhis.fr\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/01\\\/local-officials-and-the-struggle-to-transform-cities\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mesopolhis.fr\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/01\\\/local-officials-and-the-struggle-to-transform-cities\\\/\",\"name\":\"Local Officials and the Struggle to Transform Cities - A view from post-apartheid South Africa - Mesopolhis\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mesopolhis.fr\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mesopolhis.fr\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/01\\\/local-officials-and-the-struggle-to-transform-cities\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mesopolhis.fr\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/01\\\/local-officials-and-the-struggle-to-transform-cities\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mesopolhis.fr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/jpg_rgb_1500h.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-03-01T10:43:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-22T09:57:15+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mesopolhis.fr\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/01\\\/local-officials-and-the-struggle-to-transform-cities\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/mesopolhis.fr\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/01\\\/local-officials-and-the-struggle-to-transform-cities\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mesopolhis.fr\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/01\\\/local-officials-and-the-struggle-to-transform-cities\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mesopolhis.fr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/jpg_rgb_1500h.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mesopolhis.fr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/jpg_rgb_1500h.jpg\",\"width\":999,\"height\":1500},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mesopolhis.fr\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/01\\\/local-officials-and-the-struggle-to-transform-cities\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Accueil\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mesopolhis.fr\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Local Officials and the Struggle to Transform Cities – A view from post-apartheid South Africa\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mesopolhis.fr\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mesopolhis.fr\\\/\",\"name\":\"Mesopolhis\",\"description\":\"Centre m\u00e9diterran\u00e9en de sociologie, de science politique et d'histoire\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mesopolhis.fr\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mesopolhis.fr\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mesopolhis.fr\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Mesopolhis\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mesopolhis.fr\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mesopolhis.fr\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mesopolhis.fr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/Logo_MESOPOLHIS_Quadri.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mesopolhis.fr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/Logo_MESOPOLHIS_Quadri.png\",\"width\":264,\"height\":69,\"caption\":\"Mesopolhis\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mesopolhis.fr\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mesopolhis.fr\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3e53aff9a8381ce635a1495990625278\",\"name\":\"Vanina Beauchamps-Assali\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8e7e5ecf5aa681da156994c882c6caeef7b34b999cf708109f96a17d57132e8f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8e7e5ecf5aa681da156994c882c6caeef7b34b999cf708109f96a17d57132e8f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8e7e5ecf5aa681da156994c882c6caeef7b34b999cf708109f96a17d57132e8f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Vanina Beauchamps-Assali\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mesopolhis.fr\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/vaninabeauchamps\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Local Officials and the Struggle to Transform Cities - A view from post-apartheid South Africa - Mesopolhis","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/en\/blog\/2024\/03\/01\/local-officials-and-the-struggle-to-transform-cities\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Local Officials and the Struggle to Transform Cities - A view from post-apartheid South Africa - Mesopolhis","og_description":"De Claire B\u00e9nit-Gbaffou, UCL Press, publi\u00e9 le 27 f\u00e9vrier 2024, 494 Pages Why are even progressive local authorities with the \u2018will to improve\u2019 seldom able to change cities? Why does it seem almost impossible to redress spatial inequalities, deliver and maintain basic services, elevate impoverished areas and protect the marginalised communities? Why do municipalities in…","og_url":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/en\/blog\/2024\/03\/01\/local-officials-and-the-struggle-to-transform-cities\/","og_site_name":"Mesopolhis","article_published_time":"2024-03-01T10:43:46+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-08-22T09:57:15+00:00","og_image":[{"width":999,"height":1500,"url":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/jpg_rgb_1500h.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Vanina Beauchamps-Assali","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Vanina Beauchamps-Assali","Estimated reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/blog\/2024\/03\/01\/local-officials-and-the-struggle-to-transform-cities\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/blog\/2024\/03\/01\/local-officials-and-the-struggle-to-transform-cities\/"},"author":{"name":"Vanina Beauchamps-Assali","@id":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/#\/schema\/person\/3e53aff9a8381ce635a1495990625278"},"headline":"Local Officials and the Struggle to Transform Cities – A view from post-apartheid South Africa","datePublished":"2024-03-01T10:43:46+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-22T09:57:15+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/blog\/2024\/03\/01\/local-officials-and-the-struggle-to-transform-cities\/"},"wordCount":254,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/blog\/2024\/03\/01\/local-officials-and-the-struggle-to-transform-cities\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/jpg_rgb_1500h.jpg","keywords":["A la une"],"articleSection":["Ouvrage","Publications"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/blog\/2024\/03\/01\/local-officials-and-the-struggle-to-transform-cities\/","url":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/blog\/2024\/03\/01\/local-officials-and-the-struggle-to-transform-cities\/","name":"Local Officials and the Struggle to Transform Cities - A view from post-apartheid South Africa - Mesopolhis","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/blog\/2024\/03\/01\/local-officials-and-the-struggle-to-transform-cities\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/blog\/2024\/03\/01\/local-officials-and-the-struggle-to-transform-cities\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/jpg_rgb_1500h.jpg","datePublished":"2024-03-01T10:43:46+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-22T09:57:15+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/blog\/2024\/03\/01\/local-officials-and-the-struggle-to-transform-cities\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/blog\/2024\/03\/01\/local-officials-and-the-struggle-to-transform-cities\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/blog\/2024\/03\/01\/local-officials-and-the-struggle-to-transform-cities\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/jpg_rgb_1500h.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/jpg_rgb_1500h.jpg","width":999,"height":1500},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/blog\/2024\/03\/01\/local-officials-and-the-struggle-to-transform-cities\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Accueil","item":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Local Officials and the Struggle to Transform Cities – A view from post-apartheid South Africa"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/#website","url":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/","name":"Mesopolhis","description":"Mediterranean Centre for Sociology, Political Science and History","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/#organization","name":"Mesopolhis","url":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Logo_MESOPOLHIS_Quadri.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Logo_MESOPOLHIS_Quadri.png","width":264,"height":69,"caption":"Mesopolhis"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/#\/schema\/person\/3e53aff9a8381ce635a1495990625278","name":"Vanina Beauchamps-Assali","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8e7e5ecf5aa681da156994c882c6caeef7b34b999cf708109f96a17d57132e8f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8e7e5ecf5aa681da156994c882c6caeef7b34b999cf708109f96a17d57132e8f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8e7e5ecf5aa681da156994c882c6caeef7b34b999cf708109f96a17d57132e8f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Vanina Beauchamps-Assali"},"url":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/en\/blog\/author\/vaninabeauchamps\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/180"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34287"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34287\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37758,"href":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34287\/revisions\/37758"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mesopolhis.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}