Long-time residents' experiences of indirect displacement : a case study of gentrifying Woodstock, Cape Town

Abstract

Cape Town, like a number of other cities across the world, has adopted urban renewal strategies as a way to regenerate and restructure decaying inner-city neighbourhoods. However, the restructuring of these urban spaces has often resulted in the displacement of long-time residents. In South Africa, little research has been conducted that reflects and discusses gentrification-related displacement processes. Researchers have also tended to focus on direct, physical displacement without much consideration of the other more indirect processes through which people can feel displaced while still remaining in their homes and in their neighbourhood. As such, this dissertation explores the indirect displacement of long-time residents living in the gentrifying inner-city neighbourhood of Woodstock, Cape Town. A qualitative case-study approach was used to gather and assess data of the experiences and perceptions on how processes of spatial exclusion have affected long-time residents by using in-depth interviews, observations, and secondary sources of information. Processes of displacement were discovered to have led to feelings of personal loss and distress, with an impact on the quality of life of the participants of the study. Furthermore, this study supplements the growing body of knowledge of gentrification in the Global South, particularly South Africa.