Reanimating a Comatose Goddess’: Reconfiguring Central Cape Town

Pirie, Gordon

doi:10.1007/s12132-007-9012-7

Cited by 50 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Instead, debates address city centre urban renewal (e.g. Pirie, 2007), suburban desegregation (e.g. Saff, 1998), and the re-informalisation ('slumification') of state-subsidised housing areas (e.g.…”

Section: Gentrification and Downward Raiding In South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

Hybrid gentrification in South Africa: Theorising across southern and northern cities

Lemanski

2014

Urban Studies

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This paper reveals how urban theories traditionally rooted in northern cities and academies are challenged and redeveloped by southern perspectives. Critiques of urban theory as narrowly northern (or Anglo-American) have recently emerged, spawning the comparative urbanism movement that calls for urban theories to be open to the experiences of all cities. Using the example of the sale of state-subsidised houses in South Africa, this research uses two parallel concepts, gentrification and downward raiding, to challenge the northern empirical focus of urban theory. Despite describing similar processes of urban class-based change, the concepts are rarely considered analogous, entrenched in divergent empirical contexts and academic literatures. While gentrification debates largely reference the northern central city, downward raiding is reserved for the southern 'slum'. In contrast, this research develops 'hybrid gentrification' as a concept and methodological approach that demonstrates how non-northern urban experiences can and should create and refine urban theory.

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Section: Gentrification and Downward Raiding In South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

Hybrid gentrification in South Africa: Theorising across southern and northern cities

Lemanski

2014

Urban Studies

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“…Superior flows of information foster learning, creativity, improvisation and adaptation, resulting in more valuable goods and services. There is nowhere in the Western Cape to rival the city centre in terms of its economic scale and diversity, although there are dispersal pressures arising from traffic congestion and property costs (Pirie, 2007). Cape Town's "strong spatial fragmentation … is not conducive to inter-firm networks and urbanisation economies" (OECD, 2008, p.16).…”

Section: The Rationale For Densificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Inner city gentrification is occurring in Cape Town's Bo-Kaap and Woodstock districts (Pirie, 2007), and efforts to improve urban amenities and conserve historic buildings may unwittingly encourage it. Gentrification has been localised historically, but a concerted central city upgrading policy that ignores the affordability issue could extend and accelerate the process, displacing poorer residents and marginal firms.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Deconstructing density: Strategic dilemmas confronting the post-apartheid city

Turok

2011

Cities

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Public authorities in many countries around the world are seeking to raise urban densities.Residential densification is particularly important in South Africa because of the colonial and apartheid legacy of sprawling, fragmented, racially divided cities. The paper examines the case for densifying central Cape Town and provides a framework to help deconstruct the concept and explore the policy challenges faced. It focuses on the bold aim to treble the area's population within 10 years, and identifies issues where further consideration and public debate are required for how this can be achieved in a way that is desirable, affordable and fair. A key message is the need to understand both the composition of demand for central city living and the challenges involved in supplying suitable housing and amenities at higher densities. The level of social inequality in the city poses greater complications than elsewhere.

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“…The CBD is part of the lives of a section of the city's population, but has all but disappeared from the lived geographies of large portions of Bloemfontein's population. Following Pirie's (2007) contention in the Cape Town context, we would argue that structurally and spatially, the Bloemfontein CBD is not the "centre" of the city. Not only is a considerable proportions of business conducted elsewhere, but the commercial component of the CBD is no longer primarily about commodity trade.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Revitalizing the Bloemfontein CBD: Prospects, Obstacles and Lost Opportunities

et al. 2008

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Urban change has systematically been researched for more than a century. One of the key foci has been the Central Business Districts (CBDs) of cities. The past decades has seen an extensive literature develop on CBD decline focusing on why such decay sets in and which strategies, as well as policies, that might be deployed to stimulate the revitalisation of these areas. The debates are, however, in the main developed within the context of large cities, whilst the geographical focus tends to be on countries of the post-industrial north. In the South African context, a small, but nevertheless significant literature has developed chronicling both CBD decline and subsequent revitalisation strategies deployed to reverse such decline. Similar to the international experience, the focal point has been South Africa's main metropolitan regions, whilst secondary cities have remained beyond the investigatory focus. The aim of this paper was to provide an outline of the prospects and obstacles that face CBD revitalisation in the secondary city of Bloemfontein. It is argued that whilst generic revitalisation programmes in cities such as Cape Town and Johannesburg have seemingly stemmed further CBD decline, other strategies might be required in secondary cities such as Bloemfontein.

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Reanimating a Comatose Goddess’: Reconfiguring Central Cape Town

Cited by 50 publications

References 30 publications

Hybrid gentrification in South Africa: Theorising across southern and northern cities

Hybrid gentrification in South Africa: Theorising across southern and northern cities

Deconstructing density: Strategic dilemmas confronting the post-apartheid city

Revitalizing the Bloemfontein CBD: Prospects, Obstacles and Lost Opportunities

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