Hijacked Buildings and Emerging Forms of Informality in South Africa: Insights from Recent Urban Case Studies

Letsoko, Vuyiswa and Pretorius, Ockert (2026) Hijacked Buildings and Emerging Forms of Informality in South Africa: Insights from Recent Urban Case Studies. EVERYBODY PLANS ... SOMETIMES. Cherish Heritage, Plan Now, Create a Better Future! Proceedings of REAL CORP 2026, 31st International Conference on Urban Development, Regional Planning and Information Society. pp. 473-478. ISSN 2521-3938

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Abstract

This paper examines the emergence of hijacked residential buildings in affluent suburbs as a new form of urban informality, using a qualitative case study of Bryanston in Johannesburg. Drawing on secondary data and informed by theories of informality as a mode of urbanisation, grey space and the Right to the City, the study shows that suburban hijackings are not isolated criminal incidents but structural outcomes of housing exclusion, weak governance of vacant property and housing financialisation. The findings reveal how informal rentalisation of high-value suburban properties provides precarious access to well-located urban space while reproducing vulnerability and exploitation. The paper argues that the suburbanisation of informality challenges spatially bounded planning imaginaries and enforcement-led responses and calls for metropolitan-wide, justice-oriented planning approaches that address vacancy, regulate informal rental markets and expand access to affordable housing in well-located areas.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Hijacked buildings, Urban informality, Spatial justice, Housing inequality, Urban governance
Subjects: T Technology > TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
T Technology > TH Building construction
Depositing User: The CORP Team
Date Deposited: 09 Apr 2026 19:46
Last Modified: 09 Apr 2026 19:46
URI: http://repository.corp.at/id/eprint/1388

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