Reclaiming a City from a History of Hate

This year, Cape Town is the World Design Capital, a biennial honor bestowed on a city that’s using design to transform urban life — something South African cities know quite a bit about. In the 20th century, the architects of apartheid redesigned nearly every aspect of Cape Town, from its neighborhoods to its transit systems, in a breathtaking effort to keep the races apart. Today, heroic attempts to undo those vestiges are creating palpable change, from an inspired overhaul of the commuter rail system to a large-scale restitching of formerly broken communities. Yet to this day, the city remains deeply fragmented, its racial groups still living largely segregated lives, raising the question: Can Cape Town really design its way to the ideals for which its being honored? Native Capetonian Rashiq Fataar and Brett Petzer delve into a city still struggling to heal the scars left long ago by apartheid’s urban planners, and design its way to democracy.

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