Desegregation in Namibia: the demise of urban apartheid?

Abstract

Namibia is distinctive in southern Africa as the region's last colony. Furthermore, the liberation struggle is not being waged against a distant metropolitan power but Namibia's dominant neighbour, South Africa. These circumstances have had a profound impact on the evolution of Namibia's colonial political economy and urban structure, while simultaneously imposing major constraints on the scope for postcolonial transformation. This study is situated within the theoretical debates on colonial urban development and urban change, and on segregation in capitalist cities. The decolonialization process is examined with respect primarily to urban desegregation in Windhoek after 1977, when arrangements for an ostensible transition to independence began. Attention is devoted to its extent and pattern, its racial and class implications, the perceptions and behaviour of various key actors and groups, and the contradictions and limitations inherent in such reforms. Finally, some thoughts are offered on the prospects for transformation after independence and the implications for South Africa's current haltering reforms of the apartheid system.