No space for culture: the juxtaposition of urban residential planning and amaXhosa cultural land use practices in Makhanda, South Africa

Abstract

Cultural practices are often inseparable from their spatial manifestations. The spatiality of culture is seen in the existence of ritual spaces, architectural forms, and the organisation of space, for example. In traditional amaXhosa culture, the role of the extended family and spaces for various ritual and cultural practices transform residential spaces. This paper explores the contrasts between the spatial needs attached to cultural practices and the urban residential planning in South African township areas. It utilises Lefebvre's Production of Space to frame these juxtapositions and understand adaptive practices in the use of space within this context. The research uses a case study of the Makanaskop township in Makhanda, South Africa. This township is typical of state-housing provision during both the apartheid and post-apartheid periods: small, single residential plots with housing suited to nuclear families. Through interviews and participatory mapping with nine households, the findings of this research suggest that the size and spatial organisation of plots do not pay cognizance to the spatial practices of amaXhosa residents. Faced with spatial constraints, residents have had to adapt their cultural practices, and sometimes contravene planning systems and bylaws through insurgent planning and quiet encroachment.