Contested discourses of a mixed-use megaproject: Cornubia, Durban

• Large mixed-use projects reveal the contested discourses of multiple actors in the production of space.
• Meeting both pro-growth and pro-poor goals in fast growing cities is challenging.
• The Cornubia ‘megaproject’ reveals the complex political, social and economic relations that produce urban space.

Housing for the urban poor remains a significant challenge in South African cities. Post 1994 the South African state engaged in a large-scale housing programme delivering over 3 million state subsidised homes. However, housing policy since 2004 has shifted away from the delivery of housing units to the development of integrated human settlements. The national state has identified large scale mixed use projects, such as Cornubia in Durban, as the new approach. This paper explores the discourses constructed by multiple actors, including the national and local state, the private sector, technical experts (consultants) and civil society as they have shaped the development of this mixed use ‘housing’ project over time. The paper reveals the multiple ways in which space is constructed in a megaproject that is intended to address both pro-growth and pro-poor goals.