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Kenneth Gardens is Durban’s largest low-income municipal housing
estate. Initially built for `poor whites’, Kenneth Gardens today
is arguably one of the most socially diverse living spaces in the
city. While the estate is significant in terms of its size, history
and social make-up, very little has been written about it. This
book provides a history of Kenneth Gardens through the oral history
stories of its residents. It is a rich tapestry of narratives as
told by people who resided in Kenneth Gardens during apartheid,
those that moved into the estate when the Group Areas Act began to
be defunct, as well as stories from residents who have more
recently moved into the estate. Although this book is about Kenneth
Gardens itself, it is also about the history of social housing,
identity formation and change, urban planning, and state
regulation. Many of the story tellers reveal intimate moments of
struggle in their lives. But what emerges more strongly than
vulnerability and hardship is embedded resilience and adaptability.
Through the narratives we come to understand how a subsidised
rental apartment becomes home, and how relative strangers can form
a neighbourhood based on shared circumstances, proximity and an
urban planning design that fosters familiarity and belonging. The
narratives are accompanied by a unique photo essay created by
acclaimed photographer Cedric Nunn. The authors invite readers to
dwell in the everyday lives and memories of the people of Kenneth
Gardens, and in so doing unravel the complexities of social
housing, local government, regulation, urban identity politics and
human agency.
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