Team Lead:
Team Members & Area of Study:
Richard Harris (Canada & USA)
Robin Bloch (Africa/South Africa)
Alan Mabin (Africa/South Africa)
Solomon Benjamin (India)
Shubhra Gururani (India)
Research Context, Methods & Goals:
The Land and Housing Markets research began in April 2012 (year 3 of the "Global Suburbanisms" MCRI). It ran parallel and built upon the foundational research on Land, which was also led by Harris.
The purpose of the research was to develop and refine a conceptual framework to understand the changing role that land and housing markets have played in suburban development. Particular attention was paid to the means by which formal markets have been made. This was accomplished through historically-grounded case studies of world regions that differ widely in the extent to which markets have been, and are now, formalized and/or racialized. The experience of four countries over the past century will be surveyed: Canada, the United States, India, and South Africa. Canada exemplifies a formal market where racialization has been largely absent, while in the United States racialization was once formalized, and locally remains an informal force. Twentieth-century India illustrates a post-colonial regime with extensive informality that is complicated by religion and caste. South Africa is intermediate in economic development, with marked racialization of fringe development that has taken different forms under varying regimes.
Research & Dissemination:
The group met at the midterm conference, The Suburban Revolution, which was organized by the MCRI in October 2013. Richard Harris gave one of the two plenary presentations on the subject of land. Solomon Benjamin and prospective research associate Margot Rubin, gave presentations on Bangalore and Johannesburg, respectively. Team members Alan Mabin and Shubhra Gururani gave presentations in connection with their work for the Africa and South Asia group.
Presentations & Publications:
Conference and Workshop Presentations
Publications and Other Dissemination
