ABSTRACT

This chapter brings politics and institutions back in as independent explanatory concepts by showing that even when cities do indeed ration city resources and services in favour of growth and at the expense of inclusion, they do so in ways that cannot simply be read off from global pressures. It discusses the cases of India and South Africa to show that there is tremendous variation in pro-growth regimes, both in terms of how they are politically constituted and the effects that they have. The chapter explains a third case – Brazil – to show that even under very similar structural conditions, a particular configuration of state authority and civil society mobilisation can strengthen inclusive planning and move the pendulum from the rationed city to a more inclusive city. The Southern mega-city of the twenty-first century brings the classic development challenge of reconciling growth and inclusion into dramatic relief.