The Spatial and Socio-cultural Impacts of Second Home Development. A Case Study on Franschhoek, South Africa.

Abstract

The geography of rural areas has undergone fundamental and some argue dramatic changes over the past half century and second home development has increasingly been implicated as contributing to such change. This thesis considers these changes and impacts of second home developments in the context of Franschhoek, South Africa, based on a three months fieldwork. This research follows the discourse with a more Marxist approach. As an expression of capital accumulation, second homes development is seen as leading to uneven development and the displacement of the local community as a result of escalating property prices and housing shortages. The aim of this thesis is to find out what the implications are for the village Franschhoek, in the Western Cape Province in South- Africa on a spatial and socio-cultural level. It is argued that second home development in Franschhoek can be seen as a force behind gentrification, inducing the displacement of local residents which changes the total fabric of place and community. The main impact is that there is no chance of property mobility for permanent residents and inevitably leads to the creation of residential class segregation. Furthermore, the perceptions of the local residents are considered. The old duality of host and guest become contested and due to this blurred distinction between in- and outsider in this specific second home context, paradoxal findings are made while comparing perceptions and experiences of the local residents and second home owners on the changes the town went through.