In South Africa, spatial injustice holds profound implications for the democratic
transformation of society, the planning and development of inclusive towns and
cities, and the realisation of the constitutionally enshrined housing rights of
vulnerable and marginalised urban inhabitants. The post-apartheid state has enacted
an extensive housing law framework since 1994 aimed at giving substantive effect to
the right to have access to adequate housing in section 26 of the Constitution. In
practice, however, the implementation of this framework remains distorted and fails
to adequately respond to the country’s complex housing crisis. A deep disjuncture
also characterises current approaches to the interpretation and implementation of
the housing rights of South Africa’s urban poor. Addressing these challenges
requires a paradigm capable of contextualising housing rights interpretation and
litigation, while viewing housing policy analysis and implementation through the
normative lens of section 26. This study adopts an interdisciplinary and multifaceted
research framework informed by history, social theory, international housing law, and
South African legislation, policy, and jurisprudence. The dissertation investigates the
value and potential of the right to the city paradigm to develop the substantive
content of the housing rights of South Africa’s urban poor.