In most developing countries, the cities have grown dramatically over recent decades, in large part due to natural factors, such as migration. With rapid urban growth, also comes an expansion of the urban into the peri-urban sphere, which in turn, pushes the peri-urban into what was the rural. Using a case study of Southlea Park, a low-income settlement on the southern fringes of Harare in Zimbabwe, it explores the role and contribution of geographical location in the social exclusion of communities in the periphery of the city. To that end, it seeks to answer the question, what are the socio-economic (political) costs of geographical location? Central to this question is the informal character of peri-urban communities, and in particular, how they informality leads to their unrecognised status and, therefore, lack of services. Using a qualitative method of inquiry based on extended visits, participant observations and interviews with residents, it highlights the conditions that contribute to lack of adequate transportation, and thus, creating barriers to mobility of communities in the city’s margins. It shows how the social exclusion seemingly induced by transport disadvantage is actually a consequence of geography and cost of location. In Southlea Park, transport exclusion has been necessitated by the distance of the community from the city centre, lack of transport infrastructure, high cost of community and failure by the government to provide alternatives. It argues that the circumstances and struggles of residents in Southlea Park should not be taken in isolation; they are likely to be echoed across peri-urban settings in Zimbabwe, particularly as the economic situation continues to decline. The results, thus, are significant in understanding issues of accessible transportation and social exclusion of peripheral communities, and provides a useful starting point in any policy for periurban localities.
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