The spatial form of post-apartheid Cape Town

by 1981- Trail, Elizabeth Rebekah

This thesis deals with the urban form of Cape Town, South Africa in the years following the end of apartheid. The apartheid government created a city that was racially segregated, and over the last twelve years the new democratic government has passed much legislation in an attempt to correct the distorted layout. The national and local policies call for compact sustainable cities that reintegrate the historically disadvantaged people and help bring them out of poverty. To see how effective the policies were in directing growth, I tracked development trends in Cape Town by using GIS to map the results of studies done by the Cape Metropolitan Council. I discovered that private development has continued to locate in the wealthier, white areas and that the apartheid layout has actually become more entrenched. The poorer residents are still stuck in segregated townships or unsafe informal settlements with little change to their quality of life. The implementation of the various policies was hindered by the neo-liberal economic policy adopted by the national government, which essentially underfinanced all government programs. The goal of redirecting development in order to correct the apartheid layout lost priority to the need to create general economic growth through foreign investment. The growing unrest among individuals who have not benefited from democracy will continue to put pressure on the government. It is unclear how the South African government will deal with this need for balancing social change and economic growth in the future. iii