BEING TOGETHER IN MOBILITY, Flexible Kinship and Conviviality in the Cape Town CBD

144pp., illus., paperback, Langaa Research & Publishing CIG, Bamenda, 2026

ISBN: 9789956004379

This ethnographic study examines how diverse individuals encounter, interact, and share urban public space in the Cape Town CBD, specifically focusing on St. George’s Mall.

"Grounded in the concepts of circulation and conviviality, Nakamura’s ethnography offers a profound look at how we share space in a complex world. By treating the urban street as both a physical site and a powerful metaphor, this work illuminates how the fundamental relations of identity and security are shaped on the ground.” Ignasio Malizani Jimu, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Malawi University of Science and Technology

“Nakamura’s keen attention to the unfolding sociality of the street provides a vital map of compassion, hope, and care. In urban environments too often dismissed as postcolonial necropolises – defined by extraction and predation – this book offers a hopeful, open-ended vision of conviviality. For its celebration of these paradoxes and the vibrant promise of life on the street, this work deserves a wide readership.” Bjørn Enge Bertelsen, Professor, Department of Social Anthropology, University of Bergen, Norway

Matsuri Nakamura holds an MA in Anthropology from the University of Cape Town.