Modernism on the margins: A genealogy of Namibia’s (post-)apartheid spaces

Abstract

Namibian spaces have been shaped, transformed, and ordered according to the ideas and practices propagated by the Modern Movement. These ideas were originally transferred from Europe and adapted to the South African context, then subsequently introduced to Namibia via South African institutions, urban practitioners, and architects. However, the modernist design ideas reached the empire’s margins in an altered and often contradictory form, and with quite different social, political and economic intentions. Their deployment in support of the colonial/apartheid project in Namibia resulted in a recalcitrant and enduring legacy. Today, more than three decades after the fall of apartheid, space-making practices continue to work in-line with this inherited spatial fabric. This paper unpacks this modern spatial genealogy in Namibia, offering an example of the discursive power of built form.

Placing African Cities in Chinese Lives: A Comparative Study of Migrant Geographies

“…Many Chinese migrants interviewed for this research perceived Namibia as a secure society. What they did not address or realise is the relatedness between discourses of security and racialisation of urban space in Namibia (Müller-Friedman and Friedman, 2023). Chen, also a migrant from Fujian, said, "I was very worried before coming to Africa because the image of illness and poverty comes first, but unlike that image, Namibia is half Europe."…”

“…Many Chinese migrants interviewed for this research perceived Namibia as a secure society. What they did not address or realise is the relatedness between discourses of security and racialisation of urban space in Namibia (Müller-Friedman and Friedman, 2023). Chen, also a migrant from Fujian, said, “I was very worried before coming to Africa because the image of illness and poverty comes first, but unlike that image, Namibia is half Europe.” Although his narrative conveys stereotypes and prejudices about both Africa and Europe, it implies that the urban mobility experience is very related to individual perceptions of the city that is spatially shaped by colonialism (Walther, 2002).…”