Culture and Rural-Urban Revitalisation in South Africa: Indigenous Knowledge, Policies, and Planning - Paperback

by Mziwoxolo Sirayi (Editor), Modimowabarwa Kanyane (Editor), Giulio Verdini (Editor)

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.

Governmental institutions, research councils, civil society organisations, private sector, and higher education institutions come together in a joint effort to explain the nexus between culture, economic development, rural-urban linkages, grassroots and technological innovations. Culture and Rural-Urban Revitalization in South Africa is an ideal read for those interested in rural and urban planning, cultural policy, indigenous knowledge and smart rural village model.

Author Biography

​Mziwoxolo Sirayi holds a PhD and is Professor of Drama, Cultural Policy and Planning at the Tshwane University of Technology. He is UNESCO Chair in Cultural Policy and Sustainable Development at the Tshwane University of Technology in South Africa and a DAAD and Fulbright scholar. Prof Sirayi is involved in a wide range of community development drives as an avid proponent of culture-led urban and rural regeneration as an inalienable pillar of sustainable development.

Modimowabarwa Kanyane is Research Director at the Human Sciences Research Council in South Africa, Adjunct Professor at University of Fort Hare and Professor Extraordinaire at Tshwane University of Technology. He holds a Doctor of Administration degree from University of Pretoria. He conducted large volume social science studies and this include 4iR, smart rural village and rural development.

Giulio Verdini holds a PhD in Urban and Regional Development from the University of Ferrara, is a Reader at the School of Architecture and Cities of the University and Westminster in UK. As a UNESCO expert he has explored emerging forms of rural-urban linkages and culture-led rural revitalization practices in the Global South.