Without romanticising Yeoville and the urban and social challenges it is currently facing, what strikes the outsider coming to Yeoville for the first time is the vibrancy of its street life. This is not often to be found in South African cities. In Yeoville, one can walk freely. As in some townships, one could say, but Yeoville's streets are denser, more diverse, less exclusively residential than in townships, giving them a specific buzz. Another difference is that, whereas some residents have lived in Yeoville for decades, many are newcomers, and stay for a short period of time before moving to other parts of the city. Some residents know their neighbours very well, some don’t; most engage with others in the street – to greet, to borrow, to help, to chat, to patrol, to clean, to play, to shop, to work, to make a living.

It is this practice of the street, the specific material and social environment it offers, that second-year architecture students from the University of the Witwatersrand took as the object of a photographic essay in August 2010, under the coordination of their lecturer Sally Gaule (photographer), with the assistance of Claire Benit-Gbaffou (urban geographer and Studio director). The students were tasked to portray the street in photographs, responding to its buildings, its character and the people who live and work there. They sought to show aspects of its poetry, its drama, and also its everydayness.

The street selected for this exercise was Muller Street, which runs parallel to Rockey-Raleigh Street in its western portion, between Grafton and Cavendish streets. Muller Street was chosen because of its active street committee, coordinated by one of its residents, Mr Wilfred Dudula,