Multi-layered encounters between Reclaim the City and the Cape Town municipality

Abstract

Processes of gentrification challenge the right to adequate housing in Cape Town. Citizens cannot afford the rising cost of living, and once again the most vulnerable groups in society are affected by evictions. The social movement Reclaim the City (RTC) emerged in 2017 to demand social and affordable housing in the inner circle of Cape Town. RTC is supported by the non-governmental organization Ndifuna Ukwazi. Using an actor-centred approach, the article analyses interactions between RTC and the municipality. By focusing on multi-layered encounters, it unpacks the complexity and ambivalence of these relations between resistance and cooperation. While approaches from social movement studies are used to show the complexity of the relationship between a movement and the state, the article highlights the role of learning processes and political subjectivation among RTC activists in creating encounters to interact with the municipality.