Culture and rural: urban revitalisation in South Africa

This book captures ground-breaking attempts to utilise culture in territorial development and regeneration processes in the context of South Africa and our 'new normal' brought by COVID-19, the fourth industrial revolution, and climate change the world over. The importance of culture in rural-urban revitalisation has been underestimated in South Africa and the African continent at large. Despite some cultural initiatives that are still at developmental stages in big cities, such as Johannesburg, eThekwini and Cape Town, there is concern about the absence of sustainable policies and plans to support culture, creativity, and indigenous knowledge at national and municipal levels. Showcasing alternative strategies for making culture central to development, this book discusses opportunities to shift culture and indigenous knowledge from the peripheries and place them at the epicentre of sustainable development and the mainstream of cultural planning, which can then be applied in the contexts of Africa and the Global South.

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
Human Science Research Council SA
Published
2026-05-22
DOI
https://doi.org/10.14749/32377245
Primary Topic
Local Economic Development and Planning
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Culture and rural: urban revitalisation in South Africa

Human Sciences Research Council
Human Science Research Council SA
Local Economic Development and Planning
article

Culture and rural: urban revitalisation in South Africa

Human Sciences Research Council
article en

Abstract

This book captures ground-breaking attempts to utilise culture in territorial development and regeneration processes in the context of South Africa and our 'new normal' brought by COVID-19, the fourth industrial revolution, and climate change the world over. The importance of culture in rural-urban revitalisation has been underestimated in South Africa and the African continent at large. Despite some cultural initiatives that are still at developmental stages in big cities, such as Johannesburg, eThekwini and Cape Town, there is concern about the absence of sustainable policies and plans to support culture, creativity, and indigenous knowledge at national and municipal levels. Showcasing alternative strategies for making culture central to development, this book discusses opportunities to shift culture and indigenous knowledge from the peripheries and place them at the epicentre of sustainable development and the mainstream of cultural planning, which can then be applied in the contexts of Africa and the Global South.

Human Science Research Council SA
Sustainable cities and communities
Openalex Percentile: Top 3%
Local Economic Development and Planning
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