Ismail Farouk is a researcher at the African Centre for Cities, University of Cape Town. He is also a Ph.D. candidate: his thesis investigates “culture led urban renewal” discourses, using Cape Town’s East City as a case study. As an artist, he was commissioned a public artwork in Gent, Belgium. Hence, he can offer a view from both sides of the research and is interested in extending his investigation to other case studies: he will develop field research in Johannesburg.