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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Gugulethu: revolution for neoliberalism in a South African township
Authors:Teppo, Annika
Houssay-Holzschuch, MyriamISNI
Year:2013
Periodical:Canadian Journal of African Studies (ISSN 0008-3968)
Volume:47
Issue:1
Pages:51-74
Language:English
Geographic term:South Africa
Subjects:townships
urban planning
retail trade
capitalism
External link:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00083968.2013.770592
Abstract:This paper analyses the impact of neoliberalization on post-apartheid spatial practices in a South African township, Gugulethu. In november 2009 a modern shopping mall opened its doors in Gugulethu. While other relatively upmarket malls have been opened in black townships since the end of apartheid, this was the first of its kind in Cape Town. The article studies the process via which the developers claimed to reveal, promote and market Gugulethu as a successful, global African metropolis, in other words, as Afropolis. It examines this process at two levels: first, from the perspective of neoliberal policies and their ability to adapt to the local township environment and, second, from the viewpoint of the township and its permeability to these ideas and practices, specifically emphasizing the role of local brokers. The authors study how revolutionary discourses, imagery, spatial design and social engineering were employed to promote the business, and how these attempts were received at the everyday level in the township. They argue that contemporary, ordinary townships such as Gugulethu tell a localized story of neoliberalization processes through which global capital is rooted within South African townships. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. in English and French. [Journal abstract, edited]
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