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Opening the Black Box of Urban Development: Cultural Heritage Activism at the Amazon Megaproject in Cape Town

This article focuses on efforts by indigenous activists to oppose a mega-development in the middle of the Two Rivers Urban Park (TRUP) at the River Club site in Observatory, Cape Town. In the article we argue that, even though the mega-development ultimately went ahead, intense contestation surround...

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Published in:	Theoria (Pietermaritzburg) 2024-03, Vol.71 (178), p.24-47
Main Authors:	Robins, Steven, Baumgardt, Laurin
Format:	Article
Language:	afr ; eng
Subjects:	Activism Activists Cultural heritage Environmentalism Indigenous peoples Rivers Scrutiny Towns Urban areas Urban development
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container_title	Theoria (Pietermaritzburg)
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creator	Robins, Steven Baumgardt, Laurin
description	This article focuses on efforts by indigenous activists to oppose a mega-development in the middle of the Two Rivers Urban Park (TRUP) at the River Club site in Observatory, Cape Town. In the article we argue that, even though the mega-development ultimately went ahead, intense contestation surrounding Khoi cultural heritage contributed towards opening up the ‘black box’ of urban development in Cape Town, as well as pressuring the developers to accommodate some of the demands of indigenous activists and environmentalists. We also examine why and on what terms it was even possible for a small group of indigenous activists to temporarily halt a mega-development driven by powerful actors, including Amazon, the City of Cape Town and private developers. Drawing inspiration from Bruno Latour's notion of the black box, we show how these anti-development activists were able to interrupt the construction process and create the conditions for opening up to public and legal scrutiny opaque urban development processes.
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source	International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS); Worldwide Political Science Abstracts; Humanities Index; BACON - Berghahn - GLOBAL_OPENACCESS; Sociological Abstracts
subjects	Activism Activists Cultural heritage Environmentalism Indigenous peoples Rivers Scrutiny Towns Urban areas Urban development
title	Opening the Black Box of Urban Development: Cultural Heritage Activism at the Amazon Megaproject in Cape Town
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