Towards deliberative democracy through the democratic governance and design of public spaces in the South African capita
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Towards deliberative democracy through the democratic governance and design of public spaces in the South African capital city, Tshwane Kundani Makakavhule1 · Karina Landman1
© Springer Nature Limited 2020
Abstract Many political, economic and social transformations have occurred in South Africa since the first democratic elections in 1994. The country has made significant efforts in trying to establish and rebrand its cities as multiracial and multicultural hubs with democratic public spaces. In an ideal city, public space represents and embodies the ideology of deliberate democracy as postulated by Habermas. However, attempts in South Africa to re(design) public spaces also reflect instances of alienation, conflict and anxiety. This article focusses on the governance and design of public space in the capital of South Africa, the City of Tshwane. The analysis highlights the challenges encapsulated in the governance and design of different types of spaces towards enabling opportunities for deliberate democracy in Tshwane. The paper argues that to address these challenges, urban designers and local authority officials need to focus on both the process and product of urban design, through an emphasis on Spatial Democracy; to readdress governance practices, and Democratic Space; to redirect design practices, both of which have a significant impact on the use, misuse and lack of use of public space. Keywords Public space · South Africa · City of Tshwane · Spatial democracy · Democratic space
Introduction In the twenty-first century, we find ourselves in a space and at a time where democracy is seen as an ideal standard, pursued by many actors in many different ways (Hoskyns 2014; Parkinson 2012; Phillips 2003). As such, attempts have been made towards the transformation, governance and re(design) of public space to uphold the values of democracy. In the disciplines of architecture, urban design and planning the ideas of involving stakeholders/communities in the design and production processes of public spaces has become necessary in the quest for democratic spaces. This relates either as an attempt to incorporate the desires of the masses, to uphold diversity or as a tick-box exercise that will render the project some legitimacy (Holmes and Scoones 2000; Goetz and Gaventa 2001). * Kundani Makakavhule [email protected] Karina Landman [email protected] 1
Department of Town and Regional Planning, University of Pretoria, Building 8, South Campus, Pretoria 0002, South Africa
In the context of South Africa, many political, economic and social transformations have occurred since the first democratic elections in 1994. The country has made significant efforts in trying to establish and rebrand its cities as multiracial and multicultural hubs or nodes that are democratic through the provision, design and governance of their public spaces. However, the results are not always as envisioned due to the country’s diversity. In an ideal city, public spaces physically represent and embody th
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