Whose Kaka‘ako: Capitalism, Settler Colonialism, and Urban Development in Honolulu

Abstract

The common lament that Honolulu is becoming a ‘playground for the rich’, reflects David Harvey’s argument that in a neoliberal world, capital is allowed to shape the city through the process of 'accumulation by dispossession'. Importantly, in the context of settler colonialism, accumulation by dispossession is always predicated upon the dispossession of the native, whether directly or historically. Recognizing that various logics of oppression and exploitation are constantly in motion, this project aims to critically examine the collusion of capitalism, urban development, and settler colonialism in Hawaiʻi, using the district of Kakaʻako as a case study. Engaging critical urban theory, as well as the insights of indigenous theory and its critiques of settler colonialism, this project addresses corporate-led urban development in Hawaiʻi as an ongoing mechanism of violence which works to superimpose a settler colonial geography upon the landscape, render indigenous geographies unintelligible in dominant discourses, and displace indigenous and other marginalized peoples in order to facilitate the accumulation of capital.