4.4 Recommendations

transforming emotionally and controversially charged colonial-era built legacies without completely removing or demolishing them.

4.4 Recommendations

For the decolonisation of these architectural legacies to be implemented and to establish a foundation for continual contextualisation and transformation, there is a need for serious policy review. These monuments are heavily protected by the constitution, national laws, and international laws. It may be tempting to conclude that the colonialists foresaw a period and time in the future where their legacies would be questioned, tampered with, or demolished.

Decolonising the controversial colonial-era heritage requires a very pragmatic approach that entails built environment professionals and stakeholders engaging with and reviewing or revising relevant policies, laws, and heritage preservation acts. The statutes and laws enacted by the patrons of these built legacies protect the heritage from future alteration and demolition. This protection also means developing other ways of preserving, commemorating, and narrating the past.

There is a need to develop and employ inclusive models and novel interpretations in terms of colonial-era legacies. These models must appreciate history and its relevance to various communities and societies while acknowledging the evolution that allows accommodation of the changed present and future. However, efforts should be applied to disassemble these artefacts, and in the process propose new meanings that can be changed again in the future, as necessary.

There might be need and opportunity to engage with the community to gather responses to design proposals and considerations to alter and recontextualise monuments, public statues and squares. The strategic use of community engagement, participatory democracy and social learning builds trust and confidence in both the decision-makers and the decision process. Communities may be involved through surveys, pilot studies and gathering their opinions to inform more balanced and accommodative decisions and solutions (process).

As such, built environment professionals should reject establishments based on biased or single-sided ideologies. These professionals can play an important role in

bridging the gap between clients and communities. Boldness is required when advising clients regarding the imbued controversies related to such proposals.

“Every period of human development has had its own particular type of human conflict—its own variety of problem that, apparently, could be settled only by force.

And each time, frustratingly enough, force never really settled the problem. Instead, it persisted through a series of conflicts, then vanished of itself—what's the expression—ah, yes, 'not with a bang, but a whimper,' as the economic and social environment changed. And then, new problems, and a new series of wars.” ― Isaac Asimov, I, Robot

“Ideas and not battles mark the forward progress of mankind.” ― L. Ron Hubbard