Cape Town F[r]ictions

Cape Town, struggling with its current and future demographic growth has been characterized by its history. We acknowledge that Cape Town is dealing with frictions. By using the landscape as a protagonist for urban growth, we will embrace these frictions by allying them. We offer a new way to look at these frictions and make room for thought by fictions.

Cape Town, struggling with its current and future demographic growth has been characterized by its history, which has been one of separation, inequity and uncontrolled occupation of uninhabited land. A lot of effort has been put into trying to solve Cape Town's problems, often in the perspective of post-Apartheid. Most attention was given to providing adequate housing, occupying and forgetting the landscape. There is an ongoing fight between the landscape and urbanity. Most of the time urbanity wins, but often also the landscape shows its presence by striking back. The occupation of this land happens in a very contained cellular way. Isolated settlements, what we call archipelagos or enclaves, are developed further and further away, instead of densifying the existing tissue. There are no hybrid islands, everything is one thing or the other. We acknowledge that Cape Town is dealing with frictions between fast and slow, small and big, natural and organized. By using the landscape as a protagonist for urban growth, we will embrace these frictions by allying them. In our designs the border between landscape and urbanity will be broken open. Our story is not about one thing or the other, but about how these coexist together and that is the point when they become interesting. Small scale initiatives take over the metropolitan space. This goes hand in hand with the bigger scale. Big and small, slow and fast, nature and city benefit from each other. The title of the book can also be read as Cape Town Fictions. It is not the intention to propose master plans, but ideas. We offer a new way to look at these frictions and make room for thought by fictions.