Where is the periphery even? Capturing urban marginality in South African human rights law

This article questions the usefulness of the notion of an ‘urban periphery’ for efforts to capture and ameliorate urban marginalisation and exclusion through human rights-based litigation. Focusing on South Africa’s Gauteng City Region, the article argues that the notion of an urban periphery fails to capture the nuances of marginal urban life and the interests of poor, marginalised urban residents in accessing the city. In the specific context of the right of access to housing, the article then grapples with South African judicial engagements with the spatial dimensions of urban marginalisation. It finds that, despite the fixation of human rights litigators, activists and commentators on housing location and the ‘urban periphery’, courts are adopting a more nuanced and balanced approach to urban marginality. It accordingly identifies interests that should be accommodated by such an approach and points to legal concepts which may more constructively respond to these. 本文质疑“城市边缘”概念对努力通过基于人权的诉讼来遏制和缓解城市边缘化和排斥现象的有效性。围绕南非的豪登城地区，文章指出，城市边缘的概念无法捕捉到边缘城市生活的细微差别以及边缘化的贫穷城市居民进入城市的权益。然后，本文在住房获得权的具体语境中，考察了南非在城市边缘化空间层面的司法干预。文章发现，尽管人权诉讼者、活动家和评论家关注住房位置和“城市边缘”，但法院对城市边缘化采取了更加细致和平衡的方式。文章相应地确定了这一方式应迎合的利益，并指出了可能更有建设性地回应这些利益的法律概念。