Are the walls giving way to fences? Is racial integration within Kwadukuza municipality leading to income-based class segregation?

Vishanth Singh,Amanda Van Eeden

doi:10.4314/sajg.v6i3.14

Abstract

The racial and development imbalances created by apartheid have made a profound impact on the urban and social landscape in South Africa. Despite it being 20 years into the dawn of a new South Africa, many parts of society are still bearing the brunt of the harsh impacts of apartheid. The first democratic elections in 1994 heralded a new era of hope and optimism for a better life in a racially integrated country. However 20 years into democracy, it is essential to monitor changes in integration. Literature suggests that, in the absence of legally enforced segregation as with apartheid, society will segregate itself on class or other factors. The purpose of this study is to measure whether the changes in racial integration are leading to class-based segregation in KwaDukuza, South Africa. The Neighbourhood Diversity Index was used to investigate how the racial patterns changed over the years and a Geographic Weighted Regression (GWR) model was used to determine if there is a relationship between racial integration and income that could explain transference from racial to classed-based segregation. The study found that low levels of racial integration have taken place but certain areas of the municipality have become increasingly segregated. The GWR model found a positive relationship between income and racial segregation in certain areas. This study further highlights that politicians, decision makers, and town and social planners face a long and socially demanding challenge in redressing past imbalances and promoting integration by breaking down the current trend of class-based segregation.

Highlights

The concept of racial segregation which perceives certain groups of people as being superior or inferior to others is not new to social and academic research
Because this study is concerned with geographic units within one municipality only, the Neighbourhood Diversity Index was an appropriate index to apply in measuring racial integration
The second was to determine if there is a relationship between racial integration and income levels

Summary

Introduction

The concept of racial segregation which perceives certain groups of people as being superior or inferior to others is not new to social and academic research. The South African urban landscape was largely influenced by the introduction of British town planning practices, policies and regulations that aimed to control, prevent and restrict the movement of the Black population into urban areas (Harrison et al, 2010) Policies such as the Housing Act of 1920 and the Slums Act of 1934 were racially neutral, they supplemented the racially specific Natives Land Act of 1913, Native Urban Areas Act of 1923, the Group Areas Act of 1950, the Population Registration Act of 1950 and the Black Authorities Act of 1951 (Christophe3r, 2001; Maharaj and Mpungose, 1994; Harrison et al, 2010). The paper concludes with a summary of the research contributions and directions for future research

Segregation perspective

Data and methodology

Data interpretation and results classification

Findings

CONCLUSION