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Dis-locating public space: Occupy Rondebosch Common, Cape Town

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  • Myriam Houssay-Holzschuch
  • Emma Thébault

Abstract

We argue here that public space research might benefit theoretically from the Southern Turn in urban studies. Our first objective is theoretical and methodological: unpack the idea of public space to make it suitable beyond its original location. Détienne’s work on Comparing the Incomparable , combined with Staeheli and Mitchell’s notion of “regimes of publicity†offer the theoretical tools for such a displacement. We end up thinking about public space as various, context-specific configurations of loosely structured, juridical, political, and social elements that take on new shapes and are prone to partial dislocation when dis-located. We test this model by displacing it to a piece of vacant land—Rondebosch Common in Cape Town. In so doing, we deal with our second objective: offering a detailed empirical analysis of the Occupy Rondebosch Common 2012 events, which relates to broader public space debates in contemporary, liminal, South Africa.

Suggested Citation

  • Myriam Houssay-Holzschuch & Emma Thébault, 2017. "Dis-locating public space: Occupy Rondebosch Common, Cape Town," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 49(3), pages 555-571, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:49:y:2017:i:3:p:555-571
    DOI: 10.1177/0308518X15603985
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ananya Roy, 2009. "The 21st-Century Metropolis: New Geographies of Theory," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(6), pages 819-830.
    2. Ananya Roy, 2011. "Slumdog Cities: Rethinking Subaltern Urbanism," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(2), pages 223-238, March.
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