Cape Town's million plus black township of Khayelitsha: Terrae incognitae and the geographies and cartographies of silence

The earth's inhabited areas are uneven in knowledge about peoples, landscapes and activities. The unevenness is attributed to the collection and dissemination of place-based knowledge by colonial powers, countries with long traditions of print knowledge, including the production of maps, and also the production of electronic information. This paper explores the concepts of terrae incognitae and the geographies and cartographies of silence about Khayelitsha, a township outside Cape Town that has more than a million residents. It examines geographical knowledge using Google hyperlinks and Scholar, placemarks (DigiPlaces) and Street View as well as information from travel sources. Reasons for the lacunae are discussed as well as working strategies to increase our awareness about the township's human and environmental conditions.

► The earth's inhabited areas are uneven in accumulated cartographic knowledge.
► This unevenness is attributed to a range of knowledge practices and technologies.
► The absence of materials about Khayelitsha illustrates a geography of silence.