Diverse lives explored

On record: Renate Meyer of the Centre for Popular Memory with the book and DVDs that make up the centre's newly released Street Stories from Klipfontein, Lansdowne and Main Road.

The Centre for Popular Memory (CPM) in UCT's Department of Historical Studies has launched a series of videos and a book documenting the lives of people living and working on three main arterial roads in Cape Town.

Titled Street Stories from Klipfontein, Lansdowne and Main Road, the project comprises a full-colour 66-page book and six documentaries on DVD. It is the result of three years' work, during which more than 400 people who live and work on these roads were interviewed.

The project explores the roads as corridors of economic and social diversity, focusing on issues such as work, life, homelessness, the transport network, migrancy and crime. People interviewed include informal traders, police officers, school teachers, the clergy, migrant workers, sex workers and the unemployed.

The aim of the book, says Renate Meyer, CPM deputy director, is to showcase the often-overlooked parts of society.

"The project is an exploration of the urban landscape through multiple narratives and aims at expanding the knowledge of how people live and work on the streets that shape their lives."

The book and all videos in the series are available at the centre.