The Architecture of Necessity

We often mistake the city for its skyline, for the glass towers and the planned boulevards that signal economic arrival. But the true document of urban life is found in the margins, in the structures that emerge not from a blueprint, but from the urgent, daily requirements of survival. These are the spaces where the informal economy breathes, where the sidewalk becomes a kitchen, a marketplace, and a living room all at once. When we look at these sites, we are seeing the resilience of a community that has carved out its own geography in spite of historical exclusion. It is a testament to human agency—the way people claim space, define their own boundaries, and create a sense of place where the formal city has failed to provide. Who is invited into the center of our urban planning, and who is relegated to the periphery to build their own world from the ground up?

Andisiwe Boya has captured this reality in the image titled Fast food, Anyone… The scene offers a glimpse into the vibrant, everyday commerce of Khayelitsha. Does this space feel like a place of exclusion to you, or a place of profound belonging?