Turtles

The Place of Pseudo-Public Spaces in Cape Town

At every moment of one’s life one is situated in a certain space- be it, a personal or a public space. Within these spaces one may either be alone or accompanied by either familiar faces or strangers. One could either feel at ease, uncomfortable or scared in different peoples’ company. Nevertheless, as human beings, we are to be found in a world where we have to, thanks to structured societies, share the space we live in. The question is: How welcome are we in these different spaces?

Private space consists of an individual’s property which may be a house or residence, a car, a personal office as well as areas where personal privacy is required, such as toilets and changing rooms. Naturally, one feels welcome in one’s own space and mostly we only allow a hand full of people in our personal space. On the other hand, public space is where everyone is welcome. A person can be from any cultural, social and political background and be of whatever ethnicity.

In their essay, ‘A mall for all? Race and public space in post-apartheid Cape Town’, Myriam Houssay-Holzschuch and Annika Teppo, have redefined public space into three different interpretations. The first public space is a politically structured space which is a reflection of the strength of a given society’s political life, especially considering the democratic civil society and its participating citizens. Here, a political perspective involves all sorts of categorizations such as race and gender classifications and rankings. These rankings influence the physical and virtual visibility of people in spaces such as cafes, the press and the internet. As an example, in the apartheid era of South Africa, some citizens were denied their basic right of citizenship, thus denied their right to live and be visible in certain ‘out-of-bound’ areas.

The second public space is land owned by public authorities such as streets, squares, parks, gardens and institutions such as churches, hospitals and civic centres. Here one should take in consideration how urban planners possess the power to decide how and where these places are to be organized. In former South Africa, the white-dominated state owned a grand amount of land in urban areas and therefore restricted the accessibility of non-white citizens.

The third public space is a place recognized from a social or collective perspective. A space which exists from the bond between property itself and its inhabitants and the way it is used and redefined for various uses, for various people. A street, be it a pavement or motorway may be utilized by a range of assorted people to get from one point to the next, to access buildings, to meet with other people and to use as a space for uprising or demonstration. These public spaces are thus used for personal as well as public or collective cooperative use.

After the apartheid regime had ended in South Africa, existing public spaces which for years had only been inhabited by white people became new public spaces. It became multi-racial and accessible to all. Although the concept was clear, the new regulations did not proceed to show a rapid incoming pursuit. Non-whites still did not feel welcome in these areas; they often felt like invaders and thus avoided certain public spaces, and vice-versa. This behaviour proved that the spaces were in fact not rightfully public spaces as the predominant population did not feel comfortable being present here. Public spaces were in fact only pseudo-public spaces; spaces that were according to the government allocated to everybody but in reality only welcoming the white population and not the previously disadvantaged (Houssay-Holzschuch, M , Teppo, A 2009).

Almost two decades along the line, these issues are still lingering in the streets of South Africa. Spaces are seemingly accessible to all but in reality only embrace a certain type of citizen.

One has to consider the fact that malls, for the safety of its shoppers, are under surveillance. Security has the power to dismiss any person who seems to be disrupting the shopping business. Therefore if a person seems to be a flaneur and not dressed in a appropriate manner or a person who misbehaves altogether, he or she may be questioned and asked to leave the mall. This means that a person from a lower class with an empty wallet runs the risk of being asked to leave and is thus not welcome. Here one can see that a class classification takes place and the public space has lost its real ‘public’ label. This is why malls are in fact pseudo-public spaces, spaces which are seemingly there for public use but controlled to an extent that it is no longer accessible to everyone. The French theorist, Michel Foucault explains how modern civilization has designed and implemented these disciplinary techniques and forms of surveillance to govern man and have a certain level of control over the public (Cropton, J, Elden, S 2007).

Over the last couple of decades the more conventional ‘free’ public spaces, as mentioned previously have almost completely been replaced with shopping malls as it provides one with a perception of being part of grander life. The media has indoctrinated us with believing that shopping is relaxing and a place we should go to when we want to spoil ourselves, take some time off and in a hyper-real space escape the perhaps mundane every-life because we both need and deserve the experience as well as the things we purchase. The hyper-reality is primarily created by the architecture of the mall with an either modern or historical facade with marble floors, high ceilings and luxurious toilets which makes one feel as though you are in the ideal world and part of a more glamorous life. In FIG 10 (Victoria & Alfred Waterfront – Cape Town n.d.) one can see how a glamorous life is suggested with the romantic Venetian Gondola boat hung from one of the harbour’s channel. In a study by Paul Edwards, he notes on Chief Justice Robert N. Wilentz’s comment that the predominant benefit of the shopping mall is its ‘all-inclusiveness’. One can engage in most of the uses and activities one would outside one’s home, there are shops of all kinds and sizes and then there is space to dine, sit down and talk and even space to wander around in a large activity-filled space (Edwards, P 2005). The Victoria & Alfred Shopping mall at Cape Town’s waterfront is a perfect example of an all-inclusive mall. It is not only a destination of desire for South Africans but also a must-see destination for foreigners. It is one of Cape Town’s grandest touristic attractions in terms of its geographical location, its flair as a shopping mall and its ability to portray a beautiful canvas of Cape Town and its surroundings [See FIG 1 of its outside entertainment area at the jetties which offer touristic boat rides around the harbour (Victoria & Alfred Waterfront- Cape Town n.d.), and FIG 13, the old Clocktower]. It functions as a good starting point to explore the Cape as it has numerous tourist shops [See FIG 11(Victoria & Alfred Waterfront – Cape Town n.d.)] and harbour boat trips as well as an South African travelling agencies. The shopping centre is also situated next to the new soccer stadium which has been built especially to host games for the 2010 soccer World Cup.

In contrast to the V&A, the Garden Centre shopping mall, situated in the CBD of Cape Town is aimed at quite a different crowd. Geographically it is positioned in the middle of the middle-to upper class residential area of Cape Town (See FIG 2). It is much smaller than the V&A, probably a fifth in size of the V&A’s buildings alone and is by no means a touristic attraction. Other than the usual middle-class clothing and grocery stores, pet shop, hardware store, banks, tiny coffee shops and a few other shops, the Garden Centre has no form of entertainment other than the stores which sell or rent home entertainment such as the Nu-Metro DVD store and the Musica, music store. The Garden Centre does have a small temporary ‘baby gym’ (See FIG 3) which is open to parents and their little children- probably for a couple when one of the parents would rather play with their child than do all the shopping rounds together. The waterfront on the other hand, entertains largely with Two Cinema houses, an Amphitheatre, unexpected South African street artists and entertainers. In FIG 12 a black man dressed in traditional Xhosa attire is using a foreign white man to share his ‘South African jokes and tricks with the public who is happy to watch him. Whilst the V&A has a large open-air eating and entertainment section, including an Amphitheatre which is free [See FIG 1 and FIG 4(Amphitheatre at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town)], the Gardens Centre has no outside space other than the cigarette bins at the entrances for smokers.

In his rhythm analysis’s, Henri Lefebvre listed a number of concepts and oppositions in his study of rhythms within time and space:

Repetition and difference

Mechanical and organic

Discovery and creation

Cyclical and linear

Continuous and discontinuous

Quantitive and qualitative

All the above are concepts that can be found in pseudo-public shopping malls if one considers the amount of planning, layout, structure and accessibility of the building. The shopper’s sensations and perceptions are formulated primarily on the above elements of the mall itself but afterwards when inside, influenced by sounds, lights, colours and objects within the space. These perceptions determine how at ease and welcome the shopper feels which subsequently determines the amount of time that the shopper will spend in the mall (Lefebvre, H. 1992).

At the V&A people are encouraged to stay for as long as possible. Over and above the building’s romantic architecture [See FIG 5(waterfront20shopping 2009)], the mall possesses each of Lefebvre’s concepts. With the hallways’ uniform and practical shop front layouts and easily visible oval shop names on the outside of each shop (See FIG 6), which can negatively be called repetitious or continuous, the mall has a great sense of differentiation and discontinuity when one takes in consideration that the mall has been divided into sections which each have their own group of brands. The Louis Vuitton shop as an example is in a newly added section amongst other luxury brands (See FIG 6). The Pick & Pay grocer is close to the outside entertainment section which is predominantly inhabited by lower- to middle class shoppers who prefer to visit the mall for the experience rather than spending larger amounts of money. The layout of the mall can be described as linear as the mall has many linear hallways which a shopper has to pass before reaching a different section or food hall. The Garden Centre can be described as more cyclical with the whole mall designed in an easy L-shape on two levels, each wing with a rectangular ballustrade which aids in understanding and findinding one’s way easier [See FIG 7(Inside the Gardens Centre n.d)]. Coffee shops are spread, so one is not forced to pass numerous shops and be tempted to enter them and spend money. Whereas the V&A has a more discovery orientated shopper’s road which can be interpreted as an entertaining experience, the Garden Centre has a more creative shopper’s road where the shopper decides upon his/her own route as it is smaller and more regular- visitor- based. Whereas the V&A has both qualitative and quantitative shops for a wide range of shoppers’ needs, the Garden Centre has a more condensed qualitative selection of shops chosen specifically to suit the needs of the area’s residents. From this observation one can conclude that the Garden Centre leaves its shoppers or coffee drinkers to enter and leave the centre at their own pace. It is actually of necessity that the shopper’s do not stay too long as the underground parking at the mall is only sufficient and by no means abundant.

The unrefferenced photograps of the V&A Waterfront and the Gardens Centre were taken within the same hour on a Saturday morning around 11am. The almost empty Gardens Centre (See FIG 8) versus the busy V&A proves the fact that the Gardens Centre is not aimed at strollers or tourists in search of an entertaining experience but rather residents who are only interested in quickly finding basic groceries.

The conventional public spaces such as the parks, streets and squares of Cape Town have changed from places of possible political violence to criminal violence and the places have become filthy and far less safe. Regardless of the large amount of tourists and chattering office workers walking through Cape Town’s Company Gardens [See FIG 9(Company Gardens, Cape Town 2006)], when strolling through, one cannot help to look over your shoulder to check whether someone suspicious isn’t following you or if you are being watched. Capetonians just generally feel insecure when they are outside of their homes or secure spaces because of the city and country’s high crime rate. Being in a public space after sunset simply is dangerous. Besides the homeless who often follow you when you are walking towards your car and start to beg you for money, there are criminals roaming the streets and just waiting and looking for an opportunity to catch their prey – it is just how it is.

Myriam Houssay-Holzschuch and Annika Teppo discuss the fact that analysts have criticized malls of being a ‘safe bubble’ for the middle class in society, however in many South African cities or more specific, Cape Town in this case, malls act as a shield towards the crime in the conventional public spaces (Houssay-Holzschuch, M, Teppo, A 2009). This means that at this day and age, the public needs to resort to pseudo-public spaces. In his article ‘The Magic of the Mall’, Jon Goss refers to this outreach as a type of colonization of space as people from many different territories ‘invade’ the shopping mall which has its own social behavioural structure and government. Shopping centres have become little ‘villages’ with their own set of rules, charactaristics, events and personalities(brands ). The time spent in shopping malls has become a dominant mode of modern urban lifestyle. People are happily willing to submit themselves to hyper-realities of shopping malls and spend time in simulated spaces as the spaces outside have to an extent become a threat to the safety of the public.

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References

· Amphitheater at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town [image] n.d. Retrieved April 11, 2010 from http://cruises.about.com/od/capetown/ig/Victoria---Alfred-Waterfront/Amphitheater-at-the-V-A.htm

· Company Gardens, Cape Town [image] 2006. Retrieved April 11, 2010 from http://flickr.com/photos/59041005@N00/310276291

· Cromptom, J, Elden, S. 2007. Strategy, Medicine and Habitat: Foucoult in 1976, Knowledge and Power: Foucault and geography, Hampshire. Retrieved April 9, 2010, from Google books

· Edwards, P. Citizenship Inc.: Negotiating Civic Spaces in Post-Urban America. Critical Survey. 18(3). Pp 19-36

· Houssay-Holzchuch, M, Teppo, A. 2009. A mall for all? Race and Public space in post-apartheid Cape Town. Sage Publications

· Inside the Gardens Centre[image] n.d. Retrieved April 11, 2010 from http://dostuffct.com/files/images/gardens-centre-inside.jpg

· Lefebvre, H. 1992. The critique of the Thing. Rhythmanalysis: space, time and everyday life, France. Retrieved April 9, 2010, from Google books

· Victoria & Alfred Waterfront – Cape Town [image] n.d. Retrieved April 11, 2010 from http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://z.about.com/d/cruises/1/0/H/f/4/Victoria_and_Afred_13.JPG&imgrefurl=http://cruises.about.com/od/capetown/ig/Victoria---Alfred-Waterfront/Amphitheater-at-the-V-A.htm&usg=__NXcZBoQh_nsz8KU5YeLDnz5LLhM=&h=900&w=1200&sz=232&hl=en&start=9&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=X-hxQ2vFEzhXVM:&tbnh=113&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dentertainment%2Bin%2BV%2526A%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Den%26tbs%3Disch:1

· Victoria & Alfred Waterfront – Cape Town [image] n.d. Retrieved April 11, 2010 from http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://z.about.com/d/cruises/1/0/H/f/4/Victoria_and_Afred_13.JPG&imgrefurl=http://cruises.about.com/od/capetown/ig/Victoria---Alfred-Waterfront/Amphitheater-at-the-V-A.htm&usg=__NXcZBoQh_nsz8KU5YeLDnz5LLhM=&h=900&w=1200&sz=232&hl=en&start=9&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=X-hxQ2vFEzhXVM:&tbnh=113&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dentertainment%2Bin%2BV%2526A%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Den%26tbs%3Disch:1

· Waterfront20shopping [image] 2009 Retrieved April 11, 2010 from http://www.whalecottage.com/blog/cape-town/greek-fisherman-sweet-and-va-waterfront-sour-service-awards/