Christian Ernsten publishes book on colonial heritage in Cape Town

Springer, in cooperation with MACCH, published Christian Ernsten’s book entitled ‘Colonial Heritage and Urban Transformation in the Global South: Excavating the Ruins of Cape Town’s Rebirth‘.

The book functions as a case for understanding the role of heritage in urban transformation of cities in the global south.

In the book Christian looks at discourses of heritage and urban design. He shows how Cape Town positions itself as an emerging global city in the context of a series of global events. H points at how a heritage focus on the themes of post-colonial and post-apartheid reconciliation, restitution and memory in the city shifts to a focus on creativity, design and the arts. Thereby showing how traumatic remnants of colonialism and apartheid are reframed as “design challenges”. Furthermore, Christian argues that the idea of a transformed society is projected into a future time and the chaotic present everyday life is left to its own devices. Against this backdrop, the book lays out the opportunities for epistemological reset and decolonial reflection on the city’s deep histories, its embedded injustices and traumas that surfaced.​