What's in a Name? A Feminist Reflection on Street Name Changes in Durban

A city landscape is always already politicised, but often the power, identity and discursive dynamics appear natural and politically innocent. However, any changes to this landscape - as with street renaming - bring politics to the fore. This process is often highly contested, as was experienced in Durban during the 2007/2008 changes, and persists to date. This reveals the ongoing social divisions and disaffection in contemporary South Africa, and is even more intriguing given the focus on colonial and apartheid symbols as points of resistance in student movements like #RhodesMustFall which began in 2015.