Abstract

Khoe-San history remains largely unknown to the public and activists involved in bringing attention to the existence and importance of Khoe-San heritage often regret that their history is not being taken seriously. It is poorly integrated into the education curricula, and its existence and importance are poorly understood by general society (Besten, 2011). The dispossession of land has taken with it centuries worth of history and heritage (Verbuyst, 2016). Khoe-San activists use claims to land as means to show how the past is still  ‘in’ the present. Calls for land restitution should not be ignored, as they play a vital role in identifying and validating a landscape’s history.

 

This thesis project aims to tackle issues of cultural memory, remembrance, and spatial justice by uncovering points such as landscapes holding historical value and whether landscape architects can be regarded as historians. Furthermore, by exploring some of many attempts made by several Khoe-San bodies to reclaim parts of Cape Town as significant landmarks of their heritage and history, this thesis project aims to discuss and highlight land restitution. This is done to uncover design opportunities that will assist in developing an intervention that is well informed, sensitive, and respectful.

 

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