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Melissa K. Wrapp

PhD Candidate, University of California, Irvine

Contributor, Platypus, The CASTAC Blog

About Melissa K.

Melissa is a PhD candidate in the Department of Anthropology at UC Irvine. Her research investigates property and the politics of urban densification projects in Cape Town, South Africa.

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Contributions to Platypus, The CASTAC Blog

View all of Melissa K.'s posts on Platypus, The CASTAC Blog.

Together in Crisis: the Politics of Day Zero in Cape Town

Every morning before heading in to work, Lusanda weaves his way through shacks and sandy puddles, bucket in hand. The communal tap he uses is some fifty meters away. It’s relatively close, compared to some other settlements. “The problem is that tap there,” he explains pointing off in the distance, “If the tap is open there, this one will shut down, so I’ll have to wait for those ones to finish and fill up. That’s why all the time I keep my bucket full.” It is especially bad on Saturdays, when everyone is doing their laundry, so he strategically times the trip. Lusanda makes this journey twice every day, filling up a twenty-liter bucket, which he shares with his girlfriend. A couple of liters here for washing, a couple there for cooking and cleaning, all judiciously scooped from the bucket. (more…) (read more...)