This paper contributes to global debates over the in/formal binary through an analysis of the South African state’s provision of formal housing to residents previously living informally or insecurely. Focusing on cases within the cities of eThekwini and Msunduzi, it uses a mix of empirical data from housing beneficiaries and government officials alongside an analysis of documents to examine the processes and experiences of housing formalisation. The paper makes two key contributions. The first is to argue for a stronger focus on the processes of dichotomisation of the in/formal binary. It illustrates the significance of a processual analysis by examining shifts in South African housing policy and residents’ expectations of housing gain, noting a situation of hyperbole, where informal housing is regarded as unacceptable, to one of waning, where policy statements acknowledge a greater role for informality. The second contribution is to direct analysis to the idea of formal housing and processes of formalisation, as these have arguably received less attention in wider debates. The paper proposes the concept of marginalised formalisation to articulate both the shortcomings experienced by residents living in formal housing and also the misrepresentation of housing policy and government rhetoric of the benefits of formalisation. Marginalised formalisation is contextualised within ongoing urban poverty which frames this reality.

中文翻译：

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“边缘化的形式化”：通过转变政策和南非“贫困”住房的日常经验来分析非正式/正规的二元体系

本文通过对南非国家向以前非正式或不安全生活的居民提供正式住房的分析，为有关非正式/正式二进制的全球辩论做出了贡献。重点关注eThekwini和Msunduzi城市内的案例，它结合了来自住房受益人和政府官员的经验数据以及对文件的分析，以检查住房正规化的过程和经验。本文做出了两个关键贡献。第一个是主张将更多的注意力集中在正式/正式二进制文件的二分法上。它通过考察南非住房政策的变化和居民对住房收益的期望，说明了进行过程分析的重要性，并指出了一种虚假的情况，即人们认为非正式住房被认为是不可接受的夸张情况，政策声明承认非正式性的作用更大。第二个贡献是直接分析了正规住房和正规化过程的思想，因为在更广泛的辩论中，这些可能受到较少的关注。本文提出了边缘化形式化的概念，以阐明居住在正规住房中的居民所面临的缺点，以及对住房政策的误解和政府对形式化收益的表述。边缘化的形式化是在持续存在的城市贫困中进行的，这构成了这一现实。本文提出了边缘化形式化的概念，以阐明居住在正规住房中的居民所面临的缺点，以及对住房政策的误解和政府对形式化收益的表述。边缘化的形式化是在持续存在的城市贫困中进行的，这构成了这一现实。本文提出了边缘化形式化的概念，以阐明居住在正规住房中的居民所面临的缺点，以及对住房政策的误解和政府对形式化收益的表述。边缘化的形式化是在持续存在的城市贫困中进行的，这构成了这一现实。