ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the revitalization of the Old Fort prison complex in central Johannesburg as Constitution Hill, an example of the use of heritage development as urban regeneration. Closed in 1983 after ninety years’ operation, the site was redeveloped between 1998 and 2004 and is now the home of the new Constitutional Court, the highest court in South Africa. Intended as a multitasking example of post- apartheid urban regeneration, the Hill — as it is often referred to — is also a significant heritage site with an over- arching vision for a human rights campus, based around the Court, along with considerable scope for commercial development. This chapter discusses the Hill's two main purposes. First, its post- apartheid heritage is harnessed to emphasize the contrast with South Africa's authoritarian past, and it supports the post- apartheid order by hosting a number of institutions — the Constitutional Court being the most important — that underpin human rights and constitutional democracy. Second, it is being developed as a tourist destination and as a ‘ripple- pond’ development to kick- start improvement in Johannesburg's depressed north- eastern inner city (City of Johannesburg, 2004: 12). A strand that links these two purposes is Constitution Hill's role as a centre of public discourse on human rights in South Africa. Finally, the chapter discusses how Constitution Hill operates now and highlights its failures as well as successes.
