Exploring conflicting rationalities in densification policy and informal practices: Insights from two neighbourhoods in Cape Town

Housing provision in Cape Town, like in many other African cities, is a highly contested issue. This is because of multiple and often competing demands for the provision of well-located housing and sustainable livelihoods in the context of shrinking natural resources, such as land, as well as environmental concerns. In this context, the need for high-density living environments has been expressed as an urgent policy concern. In this paper, we explore how this policy consideration stacks up against everyday experiences regarding informal practices within two communities in Cape Town and why there is a dissonance between official policy aspirations and communities’ everyday engagement with higher-density living. Using the conflicting rationalities theoretical framework, this paper highlights and shows the various clashes between the perceptions and experiences of densification, not only between the state and communities but also within the state and communities. Based on these cases, it is apparent that even within the same society or a group of comparable socio-economic status, experiences, logics, and perceptions of densification can be very different. We use these two case studies to conclude that a more context-specific, consultative rather than a one-size-fits-all top-down approach is required in designing densification policies, not only in Cape Town but also across many other African cities where the colonial legacy, as well as current planning practices, have produced highly unequal and fragmented cities. The cases also point to the need for a more nuanced and clear understanding of what constitutes density, different forms of densities and the underlying factors and interests which drive and sustain socio-spatial inequalities in cities.