This thoughtful book explores the history and ongoing dilemmas of land use and land reform in South Africa. Including both theoretical and applied examples of the evolution of South Africa's current geography of land use, the authors provide a succinct overview of land reform and evaluate the range of policies conceived over time to redress the country's stark racial land imbalance. Drawing on compelling case studies from across South Africa, they illustrate not only the progress of land reform, but also how reforms fit within the larger historical context of racialized land use. This is the first book of its kind to fully apply geographical theory to the case of South African land reform. Rather than rely on one-dimensional technicist explanations to discuss the shortcomings of the country's land reform program, this rich study places it in the context of bitter battles between groups seeking to exploit land policies for their own benefit.

By Brent McCusker; William G. Moseley and Maano Ramutsindela

Preface and Acknowledgments
1. The Multiple Meanings of Land and Agrarian Change
Part I: Theorizing Land Reform and Agrarian Change
2. Theoretical Insights for Land Reform
3. The Making of Land Policy before 1948
4. Post-1948 Land Questions and Territorial Dominance
5. Space, Race, and the Fall and Rise of Hegemonic Blocs
Part II: The Ideals versus the Realities of Land Reform
6. Continuity and Change in the Former Bantustans
7. Land Reform, Farmworkers, and Commercial Farming Areas
8. Tenure Reform and Small-Scale Agriculture in the "Colored Reserves"
9. The Land Question in National Parks
10. The Urban Built Environment and Land Claims
11. Conclusion: Land Reform for What? Reengaging Epistemological and Pragmatic Questions
References
Index