Vesper No. 9 | The Adversary | Fall-Winter 2023
Silvia Bodei, Adheema Davis
Geographies of the Divided City during
Apartheid. Durban’s Block AK
Keywords
Urban planning, architectural heritage,
collective memory, apartheid, decolonization
Block AK, an area of about six hectares in Greyville, in the centre of
Durban (South Africa), once home to a lively multicultural community, is today
almost uninhabited, still marked by the apartheid segregations (1948-1994).
Declared ‘Area for Whites’ in 1963, the forced removals of the
inhabitants were carried out alongside its demolition (completed in 1980). Very
little has remained of the life of that time: only a few photos and the voice
of those who once lived there. The contribution, after an introduction on apartheid
urban planning, traces the history of the place trying to determine its
original configuration and possible future scenarios. Recovering the memory of
Block AK is an urgent need, also in the light of other experiences in South
Africa, such as in District Six (Cape Town) and South End (Gqeberha), where two
museums, built next to areas demolished by the apartheid, testify to history.
The original inhabitants, united in the Block AK Action Committee,
demand compensation and reclaim their identity.
contacts
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