Corporate Power, Human Rights and Urban Governance in South African Cities

Abstract

This article is concerned with the extent to which corporations involved in governing South African cities and towns are bound to the developmental objectives and socio-economic rights that urban governance efforts are constitutionally required to pursue. It considers the constitutional powers of local government over such non-state actors, evaluates their co-option and accountability in terms of local government legislation and discusses the evolution of their residual "horizontal" constitutional responsibilities.

Keywords

• Corporations
• Urban governance
• Local government
• Socio-economic rights
• Horizontal application
• Municipal systems