Modalities of regulation In the informal economy: a study of waste collectors in Cape Town

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dc.contributor.advisorShearing, Clifford Den_ZA
dc.contributor.authorTimm, Suzallen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2016-02-05T07:25:49Z
dc.date.available2016-02-05T07:25:49Z
dc.date.issued2015en_ZA
dc.descriptionIncludes bibliographical referencesen_ZA
dc.description.abstractA large amount of people in South Africa earn their living from recycling waste on landfills or the streets in cities across the country. Much is written about those operating on landfills, although a few studies focus on those operating on the streets. The latter studies largely focus on the socio-economic conditions and collective organising capacity of these informal sector workers, and their relationships with other actors. Although, these studies provide a useful resource for understanding the nature of their work and the contexts in which it emerges, very little is known about how their work is regulated. With this in mind, this thesis asks the following research question; how are informal activities regulated in the city? Drawing on the idea of non-humans as actors (in Actor Network Theory terms) this thesis argues that informal activities are regulated by hybrid modes of regulation that include human/non-human and formal and informal assemblages. The research was conducted between 2008 and 2014. It made use of qualitative methodologies and approaches, i.e. semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and documentary analysis, as methods of data collection. The findings of the research reveal that informal activities are regulated in the followings ways. Firstly, it shows that objects such as trolleys, carthorses, bakkies and storage facilities are regulators that actively enabled or constrained informal waste activities. Secondly, the findings suggest that these nonhumans play an active role in organising the spaces where informal waste activities are carried out. Finally, the findings show that these nonhumans also play an active role in how informal waste collectors build alliances through assembling hybrid collectives of humans and non-humans in order to mobilise resources. The main finding in this study is that regulation in the urban informal economy is constituted by human/non-human and formal/informal assemblages. Including the non-human in the analysis of regulation in the urban informal economy is important because it contributes to a better understanding of regulation in the urban informal economy. It does so by highlighting that regulation in the urban informal economy is not only based on human social relations consisting of rules, norms, and institutions but is constitutive of assemblages that involve all actors (both human and non-humans).en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationTimm, S. (2015). <i>Modalities of regulation In the informal economy: a study of waste collectors in Cape Town</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Law ,Department of Public Law. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16789en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationTimm, Suzall. <i>"Modalities of regulation In the informal economy: a study of waste collectors in Cape Town."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Law ,Department of Public Law, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16789en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationTimm, S. 2015. Modalities of regulation In the informal economy: a study of waste collectors in Cape Town. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Timm, Suzall AB - A large amount of people in South Africa earn their living from recycling waste on landfills or the streets in cities across the country. Much is written about those operating on landfills, although a few studies focus on those operating on the streets. The latter studies largely focus on the socio-economic conditions and collective organising capacity of these informal sector workers, and their relationships with other actors. Although, these studies provide a useful resource for understanding the nature of their work and the contexts in which it emerges, very little is known about how their work is regulated. With this in mind, this thesis asks the following research question; how are informal activities regulated in the city? Drawing on the idea of non-humans as actors (in Actor Network Theory terms) this thesis argues that informal activities are regulated by hybrid modes of regulation that include human/non-human and formal and informal assemblages. The research was conducted between 2008 and 2014. It made use of qualitative methodologies and approaches, i.e. semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and documentary analysis, as methods of data collection. The findings of the research reveal that informal activities are regulated in the followings ways. Firstly, it shows that objects such as trolleys, carthorses, bakkies and storage facilities are regulators that actively enabled or constrained informal waste activities. Secondly, the findings suggest that these nonhumans play an active role in organising the spaces where informal waste activities are carried out. Finally, the findings show that these nonhumans also play an active role in how informal waste collectors build alliances through assembling hybrid collectives of humans and non-humans in order to mobilise resources. The main finding in this study is that regulation in the urban informal economy is constituted by human/non-human and formal/informal assemblages. Including the non-human in the analysis of regulation in the urban informal economy is important because it contributes to a better understanding of regulation in the urban informal economy. It does so by highlighting that regulation in the urban informal economy is not only based on human social relations consisting of rules, norms, and institutions but is constitutive of assemblages that involve all actors (both human and non-humans). DA - 2015 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2015 T1 - Modalities of regulation In the informal economy: a study of waste collectors in Cape Town TI - Modalities of regulation In the informal economy: a study of waste collectors in Cape Town UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16789 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/16789
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationTimm S. Modalities of regulation In the informal economy: a study of waste collectors in Cape Town. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Law ,Department of Public Law, 2015 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16789en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Public Lawen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Lawen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherPublic Lawen_ZA
dc.subject.otherurban informal economyen_ZA
dc.titleModalities of regulation In the informal economy: a study of waste collectors in Cape Townen_ZA
dc.typeDoctoral Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelDoctoral
dc.type.qualificationnamePhDen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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