Dr Sarita Pillay Gonzalez

A polymorphic state and (the limits of) ‘big’ real estate in two Cities of the South

Funding period: 22 January 2024 – 20 July 2024
Type of funding: International Fellowship

Sarita Pillay Gonzalez is based in the School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies (GAES) at the University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) in Johannesburg. There, she teaches human geography. Sarita is also a member of the Centre for Urbanism and Built Environment Studies (CUBES) in the School of Architecture and Planning (SoAP) at WITS.

As a USF International Fellow, Sarita will spend six months hosted by the Institute for Housing and Urban Research at Uppsala University under the mentorship of Professor Brett Christophers.

Sarita’s work focuses on real estate and how the multifarity of the state can be revealed through the built environment. She has conducted research in Johannesburg and Bangalore. Her work explores themes related to sociospatial inequality post-apartheid and post-liberalisation, statecraft, financialization, heterogenous forms of real estate, and state polymorphism.

Profile at LinkedIn | Profile at WITS | sarita.pillay@wits.ac.za