Overview
Urban issues are amongst the most pressing problems confronting the post-apartheid government in South Africa. This book brings together a collection of new studies by practising geographers. These examine the legacy of apartheid in all South Africa’s major cities, the factors that have influenced their distinctive development, and the possible direction and patterns of urban change in a post-apartheid society.
An introductory chapter discusses the influence of custom and legislation on the evolving form of ‘colonial’, segregated and ‘apartheid’ cities, together with recent pressures for change and the Government’s response. Succeeding chapters consider growth patterns, current pressures and changes, and post-apartheid scenarios in nine major South African cities. Within the overall apartheid framework, contrasts arising from differences in historical development, scale, location, and ethnic composition of population are highlighted.
Three further chapters examine the experience of partial desegregation in the capital cities of Bophuthatswana bantustan (Mmabatho), the newly independent nation of Namibia (Windhoek) and Zimbabwe (Harare). The final chapter draws on this experience and the situation in South Africa’s own cities to discuss likely and desirable directions of change in post-apartheid cities.