In Whose Place?

Since independence, African countries have been confronted with the relics of colonial powers and, in southern Africa, white minority regimes. The lingering spectre of colonial history and architecture’s largely hidden, yet pervasive, racist presence haunts these remains. They are a sobering reminder of the everyday bureaucracy of colonialism and apartheid – and of how this history of subjugation and planning continues to shape life in postcolonial societies under global capitalism. These societies have not necessarily changed the built landscape that they inherited. Cities and colonial infrastructure were taken over, repurposed and adapted for radically new societies that had to overcome racist divisions, oppression and poverty. Yet, it has often been the case that only the most obvious state buildings and oppressive administrative apparatuses of power were identified for destruction or as historic sites, memorials and museums. This leaves the lingering presence of oppressive everyday infrastructures, which often remain ignored and neglected when not easily disposed of. In this book architects and historians examine the ways people are rethinking, repurposing and reusing colonial and apartheid architecture and infrastructure. Sporadic campaigns and ongoing disputes around land, gentrification, repatriation and heritage, where different and often conflicting agendas are brought to the fore, have sharpened public awareness of the physical and environmental reminders of this past. Through the research of engaged practitioners, the book seeks to create and foster dialogue around the historical infrastructure of colonialism and apartheid’s daily oppressions.