Town South Africa Research Articles

Do crime generators exist in a developing context? An exploratory study in the township of Khayelitsha, South Africa

Crime generators are places that increase the risk of crime occurring due mainly to the fact that they attract a large number of motivated offenders and suitable targets to a particular location. Research identifying crime generators has however almost exclusively been confined to the United States and Europe with much less known about the ability of businesses, institutions, and/or public facilities to generate crime in less developed contexts, particularly in Africa. In this study we explore whether four different types of facilities act as crime generators in a setting axiomatically different to the West, namely Khayelitsha, a township located on the urban periphery of Cape Town in South Africa. Using intensity value analysis (IVA), we examine the intensity of assault, robbery and rape around four different types of facilities (schools, recreational hubs, transport interchanges, and alcohol outlets) relative to other random locations in Khayelitsha. The results of our research suggest that schools, and to a lesser extent transport interchanges and recreational hubs, may act as crime generators in the township. Possible explanations for these findings conclude.

Township economies and feminist hierarchies: a family conversation between two black feminists from KwaLanga

abstract What role have black women from poor black townships of South Africa played in African or black feminism? To ask this is to open up Pandora’s box about our denial of the homogeneity of black middle class feminism in South Africa. Black feminism is invoked as though black women are devoid of class/sexuality/gender/educational differences. To ask what role black feminists from the township play requires us to examine the shape that black feminism takes in the black townships of South Africa. This paper takes the form of a transcribed interview with my aunt and black feminist scholar, Wanelisa Xaba. In the interview, I locate myself as a ‘township feminist’ and reflect on what this identity means in post-apartheid South Africa. Much needs to be explored about the disjuncture between middle class black feminism and the lived realities of poor black African women on the ground. Informed by Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality, the transcribed interview between Xaba and me reflects on the dynamics of gender/class/education ‘privilege’ in our family. During the interview, we explore the politics of a university education as a legitimiser of feminist ‘credibility’ and how ‘university privilege’ is a form of structural violence perpetrated against black feminists outside of the academy. We further explore how Xaba (a feminist who went to university) experiences privilege within the family while my feminism remains marginalised. Taking a closer look at our childhood, Xaba and I further explore the gendered extra labour we have had to undertake in order to ‘hold down the home’. This speaks to a broader issue: when the state fails to liberate black people from poverty, the girl child is tasked with the extra burden of providing. This we mirror against prevalent traditional Xhosa values that assert that ‘men are providers’. We juxtapose this view with the actual situation in which black women are the actual providers and pillars of township communities. This interview aims to illuminate an intergenerational conversation between family members about privilege, power, socialisation and reclamation of black township feminism.

Tuberculosis-related stigma among adults presenting for HIV testing in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

BackgroundTuberculosis (TB)-related stigma presents a major barrier to care of persons with TB through its impact on treatment initiation and retention in care. This is particularly challenging in settings with high prevalence of both TB and HIV where fear of HIV/AIDS can amplify stigma surrounding TB. The purpose of this study was to validate a TB stigma scale for use among persons presenting for outpatient HIV screening in the Umlazi township of South Africa and evaluate factors associated with TB-related stigma in this high HIV burden setting.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, we measured TB-related stigma in adults prior to HIV testing using a 12-item scale designed to assess experienced and felt TB-related stigma.ResultsAmong 848 adults, mean age was 32 years, 54% were male, and the median TB stigma score was 19 of 36 (interquartile range 15–23). We identified two factors in the stigma scale which had excellent reliability (Cronbach’s alpha 0.85, 0.89). Persons with high TB stigma were more likely to be male (adjusted relative risk ratio [aRRR] 1.56, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.11–2.28) and have accurate knowledge of TB transmission (aRRR 1.90, 95% CI 1.16–3.10) as compared to those with low stigma. Variables not significantly associated with stigma in the multivariate model included education, income, prior TB or HIV diagnoses, and depression.ConclusionsMale sex and TB knowledge were associated with higher TB stigma in an outpatient HIV clinic in a South African township. Identifying risk factors associated with stigma will be important to guide stigma reduction interventions.

Socio-demographic and modifiable risk factors of diabetes and hypertension among resource constrained patients from rural areas in Mdantsane Township in South Africa.

Recently, developing countries have shown a dramatic increase in non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The burden of NCDs in South Africa has increased over the past years resulting in an estimated 37% of all- cause mortality and 16% of disability-adjusted life years. Currently, diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension (HTN) are the two most prevalent NCDs associated with the rapid increase in mortality. To demonstrate the socio-demographic and modifiable risk factors of diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension (HTN) among South African adults. A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted in the Cecilia Makiwane Hospital serving the residents of Mdantsane. Relevant socio-demographic data, anthropometric measurements, triplicate blood pressure, fasting blood glucose and lipogram analysis were obtained from 265 outpatients. Multivariate anlysis shows that; salt intake, smoking, elevated triglycerides and decreased high-density lipoprotein levels were significantly associated with DM with adjusted odds ratio of 0.18 (p=0.002), 0.26 (p=0.048), 2.19 (p=0.006) and 0.38 (p=0.001), respectively. Overweight and obesity were significantly associated with hypertension with odds ratio of 0.03 (p=0.01) and 0.06 (p=0.006), respectively. The burden of DM and HTN on society can be drastically reduced with simple lifestyle changes, development of preventative strategies, large-scale screening and better disease management in South Africa.

The influence of particle size on the thermal performance of coal and its derived char in a Union stove

For low-income communities in South Africa, coal is the most common solid fuel which is burnt in a variety of devices, including imbaulas and cast-iron stoves. The present work was conducted with the aim of determining the effect of the fuel particle size on the performance of coal, typically sourced in low-income households in townships in South Africa, and to subsequently compare the performance with a feed char of a common cast iron stove. Four fuel particle sizes of 15, 20, 30, and 40 mm, as well as a composite of the sizes were tested at 550 °C, against their untreated coal analogues to evaluate the thermal performance of each fuel. The thermal performance assessment metrics are ignition time, water boiling time, heat transfer and combustion efficiencies, while CO and CO2 emissions were measured for the calculations of CO/CO2 ratios. Ignition times were found to decrease from coals to chars and to decrease with increasing particle size. The effects of fuel type on the water boiling time were only observed in the later stages of the burn cycle, with the char boiling a 2 L batch of water in an average 24 min, while the coals reported an average boiling time of 20 min. Heat transfer efficiencies showed no significant variation with fuel type or particle size, with the average efficiency for the coals and that of the chars being around 66%. The fuels’ performance was better gauged by the combustion efficiency, which was found to improve marginally from the coal fuels to the chars, and to increase with increasing particle size. Results from this testwork could contribute to the performance inventories from the combustion of domestic coal mined in South Africa in a typical cast iron stove which is used in informal settlements.

Building neighbourhood-level resilience to crime: the case of Khayelitsha, South Africa

ABSTRACT South Africa is crippled with high rates of crime. Examining factors that may build neighbourhood-level resilience to crime is central to reducing the poverty gap and lowering inequality particularly in impoverished communities. By drawing on theories from environmental criminology in this study we quantify and spatially locate resilient neighbourhoods in the township of Khayelitsha located on the urban periphery of Cape Town in South Africa. We then examine the extent to which access to various built environment factors in the township is stratified based on neighbourhood-level resiliency. Contrary to expectations we found that the most resilient neighbourhoods in Khayelitsha most often experience a decrease in access to a range of built environment factors. Explanations for these findings are provided in the context of a uniquely South African township setting.

Punitive Welfare on the Margins of the State: Narratives of Punishment and (In)Justice in Masiphumelele

While there is an established literature on the relationship between political economy and state punishment, there is less work on how punishment is constituted from below in contexts of inequality. This article analyses the discourse around incidents of lethal collective violence that occurred in 2015 in a former black township in South Africa. I use this as a lens for examining how punitive forms of popular justice interact with state punishment. Whether via the slow violence of structural inequality or the viscerally corporeal high rates of interpersonal violence, my interviewees were intimately acquainted with violence. Although they supported long-term imprisonment, none of them came across as stereotypical right-wing populists. Instead, they adopted complex positions, calling for a type of punitive welfarism, which combined harsh solutions to crime with explicit recognition of the importance of dealing with ‘root causes’. I argue that when the state is perceived to be failing to both impose punishment and provide welfare, violence becomes a technology of exchange, which simultaneously seeks both more punishment and more welfare. The result is an assemblage of exclusionary penal forms.

Drug Abuse Amongst Adolescent Learners in Townships

The study explored the experiences of adolescent learners regarding drug abuse in previously disadvantaged townships in South Africa. A phenomenological research paradigm was employed, and an inductive research approach was implemented. The study followed a qualitative research design focusing on interviews and document analysis as data collection methods. Purposive sampling was done and one-on-one interviews with Life Orientation (LO) teachers in two Gauteng secondary schools were conducted as well as three Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO’s) and Non-Profit Organisations (NPO’s) from different organisations. Focus group interviews were conducted with adolescent learners in two Gauteng secondary schools. I further utilised an inductive content analysis using open coding and axial coding to decipher information gathered from interviews conducted with participants.The study leaned on two theoretical frameworks which include Bronfenbrenner’s Nested System and Erikson’s Eight Stages of Psychosocial Development. The findings indicated that adolescent learners get involved in the use of drugs due to their lack of identity formation and the need to belong. It was also discovered that adolescent learners did not master the adolescence stage successfully, hence getting involved in the use of drugs.

The Khutsong Housing Project and Power Relationships: An Application of Lukes’ Three Dimensions of Power

ABSTRACT This article critically examines power relationships amongst actors in a local housing development project in the Khutsong township in South Africa. For this purpose, actors’ interpretations and actions of their project praxis are linked critically to Stephen Lukes’ dimensions of power. These are the first-dimensional decision-making and policymaking power, the second-dimensional attempts to control agendas and the third-dimensional capacity to frame public issues in a way that influences people’s perceptions of their interests. Lukes upholds a normative position toward power. It is important for him to identify those who dominate for their own interest. The Khutsong housing project is an interesting case study to apply Lukes’ theory. In this project powerholders attempted to implement their interpretations of reality as dominant. But the study demonstrates that there were several definitions and rationalities competing for dominance. The first dimension of power established a major outcome—the extensive housing project. On the second and third dimensions, space was identified for role players to also insert their interpretations into the project. This demonstrates that in this project domination was more complex than a straightforward relationship among power, agency and responsibility. Different parties affected agendas and the perceptions of interests.

Rhetoric and Cape Town’s Campaign to Defeat Day Zero

This article examines a targeted drought awareness campaign by the city of Cape Town in South Africa to prevent a looming water crisis dubbed Day Zero. Using rhetorical criticism and commonplaces, the article analyzes the design and (rhetorical)circulation of artifacts that heightened public awareness of the crisis, helped shape the public mindset, and galvanized collective action to prevent Day Zero. For one city in Africa to avert a water crisis through a rhetorically orchestrated set of technological, scientific, and civic interventions is significant for (among others) technical communicators who need to know not simply that it was done, but how rhetoric helped avert Day Zero.

SMART2D-development and contextualization of community strategies to support self-management in prevention and control of type 2 diabetes in Uganda, South Africa, and Sweden.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and its complications are increasing rapidly in low- and middle-income countries, as well as among socioeconomically disadvantaged populations in high-income countries. Support for healthy lifestyle and self-management is paramount but not well implemented in health systems, and there is need for knowledge on how to design and implement interventions that are contextualized and patient centered and address special needs of disadvantaged population groups. The SMART2D project implements and evaluates a lifestyle and self-management intervention for participants recently diagnosed with or being at increased risk for T2D in rural communities in Uganda, an urban township in South Africa, and socioeconomically disadvantaged urban communities in Sweden. Our aim was to develop an intervention with shared key functions and a good fit with the local context, needs, and resources. The intervention program design was conducted in three steps facilitated by a coordinating team: (a) situational analysis based on the SMART2D Self-Management Framework and definition of intervention objectives and core strategies; (b) designing generic tools for the strategies; and (c) contextual translation of the generic tools and their delivery. This article focuses on community strategies to strengthen support from the social and physical environment and to link health care and community support. Situational analyses showed that objectives and key functions addressing mediators from the SMART2D framework could be shared. Generic tools ensured retaining of functions, while content and delivery were highly contextualized. Phased, collaborative approach and theoretical framework ensured that key functions were not lost in contextualization, also allowing for cross-comparison despite flexibility with other aspects of the intervention between the sites. The trial registration number of this study is ISRCTN11913581.

Foraging Wild Food in Urban Spaces: The Contribution of Wild Foods to Urban Dietary Diversity in South Africa

Globally, approximately one billion people benefit from contributions of wild foods to their food security and dietary diversity. Wild foods are known to be important in rural communities in terms of food and micronutrient provision, diversifying diets, reducing vulnerability to non-communicable diseases and overall health. However, the potential contribution of wild foods towards food security and dietary diversity in urban food systems has been largely overlooked. This study examined the contribution of wild foods to household dietary diversity in two towns in South Africa, based on a survey of 137 households. Household diets were quite diverse, with half (51%) having consumed ≥ 8 food groups, 39% consumed 6 or 7 food groups, and only 10% recorded ≤ 5 food groups in the previous 48 h. Wild foods were prevalent across the sample, with 62% of the households consuming them to some degree. Wild vegetables and fruits were the most common wild foods, consumed by 96 and 79% of the households, respectively. Although wild foods had limited significance on overall dietary diversity, they exhibited substantial contributions within particular food groups. For example, the consumption of vegetables and oil and fats was most prevalent among households consuming wild foods than those who did not. The findings show that wild foods could contribute towards diversifying urban diets at a micro-level, within particular food groups consumed, such as vegetables and fruits. Hence, wild foods are important in ameliorating the monotonous diets of some households and in turn promoting dietary diversity.

Localizing the Sustainable Development Goals Through the Lens of Urban Resilience: Lessons and Learnings from 100 Resilient Cities and Cape Town

Urban resilience is increasingly seen as essential to managing the risks and challenges arising in a globally changing, connected, and urbanized world. Hence, cities are central to achieving a range of global development policy commitments adopted over the past few years, ranging from the Paris Climate Agreement to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, knowledge of the ways in which cities are going about implementing resilience or of how such efforts can practically contribute to the implementation of global agendas is still limited. This paper discusses the experience of cities that were members of the 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) network, an entity pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation. It reviews the resilience strategies developed by 100RC members to show that 100RC cities are increasingly aligning their resilience work to global development policies such as the SDGs. It then draws on the case of the city of Cape Town in South Africa to illustrate the process of developing a resilience strategy through 100RC tools and methodologies including the City Resilience Framework (CRF) and City Resilience Index (CRI) and its alignment to the SDGs and reflects on lessons and learnings of Cape Town’s experience for the global city network-policy nexus post-2015.

Commentary: Do we need new parenting programmes for different cultural groups or should we adapt those that already exist: a commentary on Ward et al. (2019).

This paper By Ward et al. (Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2019) in the issue of the JCPP, is an excellent example of preparing a new programme for parents with children at high risk of present and future behaviour problems. It was to be delivered in a very deprived population in a township in South Africa. We discuss the paper but also raise questions about developing new programmes when they are already successful programmes available and discuss whether it is time for programme developers to meet to discuss what works best and for whom.

Characterizing Light-absorbing Aerosols in a Low-income Settlement in South Africa

ABSTRACT Light‑absorbing aerosols, particularly black carbon (BC), have significant impacts on human health and the climate. They are also the least‑studied fraction of atmospheric particles, particularly in residential areas of southern Africa. The optical characteristics of ground‑based light‑absorbing aerosols from Kwadela Township in South Africa are investigated in this study. Daily averaged ambient PM2.5 highest levels were 51.39 µg m‑3 and 32.18 µg m‑3, whereas hourly averages peaked at 61.31 µg m‑3 and 34.69 µg m‑3 during winter and summer, respectively. Levels of daily averaged light–absorbing aerosols were 2.9 times higher (1.89 ± 0.5 μg m‑3) in winter 2014 than in summer 2015 (0.66 ± 0.2 μg m‑3). In both seasons, hourly averaged levels showed bimodal diurnal cycles, which correlated with the PM2.5 diurnal patterns that indicated distinct peaks in the morning and evening. These diurnal cycle peak periods corresponded with the times of increased solid domestic fuel usage, road traffic, and also shallower boundary layer. On average, light‑absorbing aerosols contributed a larger proportion of total ambient PM2.5 levels in winter (6.5 ± 1.0 %) than in summer (3.4 ± 1.0 %). The winter average Absorption Angstrӧm exponent AAE(370/880 nm) (1.7± 0.5), indicated the dominance of brown carbon (BrC) from biofuel/biomass burning and/or low‑quality coal combustion emissions. In summer, the average AAE(370/950 nm) (1.3 ± 0.7), suggested the presence of BC and BrC in the mornings and evenings possibly from fossil fuel combustion sources. At midday and at night in summer, the AAE was close to 1, suggesting more BC contributions from sources such as diesel emissions during this time. A combination of BC and BrC particulates dominated on 50 % and 5 % of the summer days, respectively, whereas fresh BC were only measured in summer days (23 %). Residential solid‑fuel and/biomass combustion are important sources of light‑absorbing aerosols in this study region, with concomitant human health and environmental impacts.

The Limits to Openness and Tolerance: Theorizing Migration in the Case of Clermont Township, Durban, South Africa

This article discusses the limits to tolerance for diversity and difference in relation to attempts by international migrants to claim a share of the local township economy. Much has been written about the challenge that difference poses to the planning system in terms of ethnicity, religion, class, sexuality and gender among others. Rarely has the focus been on the limits to tolerance on the part of receiving communities. This article makes a contribution to debates about tolerance and diversity in the context of the plight of immigrants who until recently operated shops in the African townships of South Africa. It documents the uneasy relationship between local shop owners who lease their property to foreigners, the community who patronise the shops, and community groups who are enraged by this perceived ‘take-over’. The article draws on media reports, interviews with some shop owners and community groups to explore the fluid and complex nature of their encounter with foreigners. The study found that the interactions and relationships between locals and foreigners are complex and can both be harmonious and discordant, thus calling for reflection on both sides that recognizes commonalities for mutually beneficial co-existence in diversity. It proposes a conceptual framework of migration tolerance, which contributes to our understanding of the relationships between locals and international migrants. The framework can assist in explaining the complex interconnections between the locals and international migrants which manifest in three effects: residence, nostalgic and integrative, and three forms of tolerance: cohesive, restrained and intolerant tolerance. The paper concludes with references to Lefebvre’s (1968) notion of the ‘right to the city’ as inclusive means for transcending these perceived limits towards tolerance and co-existence. Ultimately, a much more nuanced understanding of the complex relationship between foreigners and the community is required, one that contributes to more tolerance and understanding.

Lessons from Foreign Owned Spaza Shops in South African Townships

In 2014, the World Bank pronounced how the informal sector is probably responsible for half of the GDP in developing countries. This sector can no longer be ignored as it is embedded in most developing countries’ economies. In a country like South Africa, the informal sector is a gateway to economic freedom where the historically deprived groups were left behind and could not participate in the formal economic sectors, as they would have liked. This was due to racially skewed policies of the apartheid regime. The country saw black racial groups marginalised from acquiring appropriate skills, education and resources to allow them to participate in the formal economy. The barrier to entry into formal economies resulted in the significant rise of the informal economy. One of the most prevalent business forms in this sector has been Spaza Shops. In fact, in South Africa, Spaza Shops have become synonymous with the informal sector. Post-apartheid, with the opening of the country’s borders over the years, there has been an increase in foreign owned Spaza Shops both legally and illegally, at the expense of locally owned ones. Using an exploratory research design, this paper sought to uncover various practices and procedures that have been accredited to the success of foreign owned Spaza’s in townships. Through qualitative engagement with relevant literature published over a period of six years, a relationship between foreign owned businesses and locally owned businesses in the townships of South Africa was investigated. The study outcomes identified motives for increased and successful foreign owned businesses in townships. These are Networking and Economies of Scales; Socio-Economic Motivators; Geographic Location; Financial Management, Entrepreneurial Orientation and Business practice. All of these motives are seen as equally important and can be used to upskill and motivate local informal traders to be as competitive within the township economy.

South African township residents describe the liminal potentialities of tourism

The townships of South Africa are peri-urban neighbourhoods defined by racial segregation, economic disparity, and geographic isolation. A product of the racist policies of apartheid, these spaces exist as exclusively black or ‘coloured’ neighbourhoods that present limited opportunities for mobility for residents. Since the end of apartheid, townships have increasingly come up under the tourists’ gaze as sites/sights of resistance, difference, and, urban adventure. While much of tourism scholarship on liminality to date has focused on tourism landscapes creating liminal opportunities for tourists, this paper details how tourism encounters may also become liminal opportunities for tourism hosts under certain conditions. While the tourism encounters take place in the familiar landscape that is home, they become liminal occasions in which to come face-to-face with the previously inaccessible Other and transform one’s relationship with them, with themselves, and with their home space. In conducting a critical discourse analysis with the texts of interviews with 16 township residents, a number of liminal moments were identified in participants’ descriptions of tourism encounters. Themes identified in this research include: (1) Pertaining to a change in social standing, economic state, relationships to/with the other; (2) Desire for engagement, transformation through encounter; (3) Transformation of one’s understanding of the physical landscape, and; (4) Transformation of one’s understanding of self. These themes are elucidated through the use of creative analytic practice (CAP) and demonstrate that while tourism encounters in the spaces of home do not involve a physical relocation, they can have a transformative effect in people for whom such encounters with the Other were previously forbidden.

Meeting a diversity of needs through a diversity of species: Urban residents’ favourite and disliked tree species across eleven towns in South Africa and Zimbabwe

Understanding of urban residents’ preferences and dislikes for tree species and attributes is necessary to provide them with the species they most favour. Yet there is relatively little understanding of local species preferences, the reasons underlying them and how they vary with context and scale. We interviewed 1100 urban residents in eleven towns (four in Zimbabwe, four in Limpopo Province and three in the Eastern Cape of South Africa) to determine what were their favourite and least favourite tree species and the reasons for such. Fifty-nine species were listed amongst the preferred species (the four most common being Jacaranda mimosifolia (10% or respondents), Mangifera indica (10%), Adonsonia digitata (7%) and Colophospermum mopane (7%)), and 29 as disliked (the four most common being Vachellia spp, J. mimosifolia, Euphorbia spp. and Melia azedarach), with 16 in common between the two. Across the entire sample, the most common reason for preferring a particular species was that it had tasty fruits (19%), closely followed by the species evoking memories of where the respondent grew up (19%), and that it attained a large size (15%). The main reasons for disliking a species were because it was thorny (26% of responses), messy (16%), allergenic (15%), or poisonous (14%). There were no clear associations between preferences and respondent attributes, other than females being more likely to mention a disliked species than were males. There were clear intra- and inter-regional differences in the species preferred, and some of the reasons provided. There was some indication that preferred species are ones that are most apparent in the local environment but requires further investigation. The regional and inter-town differences emphasise that planting programmes should be informed by local preferences and needs, and that planting a diversity of species is likely to help match the diversity of preferences and needs.

Impact of climate change on the rainfall pattern of Klip River catchment in Ladysmith, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa

Rainfall trend analysis has been of major focus in the past century because of the attention given to climate change by the science and engineering community. According to some latest studies, rainfall is one of the main parameters in any catchment which plays a significant role in flood frequency, flood control as well as water resources planning and management. Ladysmith town in South Africa is flooded almost every year resulting in loss of lives as well as properties and businesses. Thus, this study aimed at determining the monthly and annual rainfall pattern in relation to climate change. The monthly, seasonal and annual rainfall trends for the period 1985 – 2018 were analyzed using Mann-Kendall test and Sen’s slope estimation. Results of this study indicated a variability in seasonal rainfall, with a rainfall increase during December and January of summer months whose Mann-Kendall test results were 1.88 and 0.73, and a major decrease showed in autumn months (March, April, and May) with Mann-Kendall test values of -2.76, -3.53 and -4.09. Thus, the overall results suggest a minor significant change for both Ladysmith and upstream of the Klip river catchment. Based on the analysis, it can be concluded that climate change has an impact on the rainfall spatial pattern of the study area. This correlates well with similar analysis carried out in other areas around the world.