Abstract
While scholarly concentration has been given to the challenges and opportunities for urban transformation in democratic South Africa, there are still pockets of areas which fall short of intensive examination, particularly in the topic of transforming hidden urban communities. In order to interrogate the socio-economic transformation of the hidden urbanites in a post-apartheid policy regime, this paper draws heavily from empirical evidence of Mdantsane, the second largest township in South Africa. It triangulates data obtained through unstructured in-depth interviews with that gathered from census surveys and other government reports. The study indicates that despite notable policy strides to facilitate the much sought after transformation, Mdantsane’s urban landscape still suffers from development gaps that are largely reflected in socio-economic spatial inequalities. Although these findings generally resonate with scholarly evidence established in other urban areas in South Africa, we argue about the peculiarity of Mdantsane’s case, which is chiefly associated with a complex matrix of policy events and physiographic constraints that would need a revisit if the envisaged development plans are to become a reality.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Regulation of 1962, issued in terms of the Native Administration Act, 38 of 1927 that made provision for the establishment of a special African township during the apartheid era.
References
African National Congress. (1994). The reconstruction and development programme (RDP). Pretoria: ANC Government Printer.
Beall, J., Crankshaw, O., & Parnell, S. (2002). Uniting a divided city: Governance and social exclusion in Johannesburg. London: Earthscan.
Bekker, S. (1991). Cities straddling homeland boundaries. In M. Swilling, R. Humphries, & K. Shubane (Eds.), Apartheid city in transition (pp. 108–118). Cape Town: Oxford University Press.
Bremner, L. (2004). Johannesburg, One city colliding worlds. Johannesburg: STE Publishers.
Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCMM). (2013). Mdantsane local spatial development framework: Report by the directorate of economic development planning. East London: Buffalo City Municipality.
Christopher, A. J. (1994). The atlas of apartheid. London: Routlege.
Crankshaw, O., & Parnell, S. (1996). Housing provision and the need for an urbanisation policy for South Africa. Urban Forum, 7(2), 232–237.
Daily Dispatch. (28 June 2007). Residents worry about high crime in Mdatsane. East London.
Demacon. (2010). The impact of township shopping centres. Market research findings and recommendations. Report to Urban Land Mark. www.urbanlandmark.org.za.
Donaldson, R., & Du Plessis, D. (2013). The urban renewal programme as an area-based approach to renew townships: The experience from Kayelitsha’s Central Business District, Cape Town. Habitat International, 39, 295–301.
Donaldson, R., Mehlomakhulu, T., Darkey, D., Dyssel, M., & Siyongwana, P. (2013). Relocation. To be or not be a black diamond in a South African township? Habitat International, 39(July), 114–118.
Global Insight. (2014). Socio-economic data. Pretoria: Global Insight.
Gordon, T. J. (1978). Mdantsane, city, satellite or suburb? Unpublished master’s thesis. Grahamstown: Rhodes University.
Gustav, V. (2013). Looking beyond the urban poor in South Africa: The new terra incognita for urban geography? Canadian Journal of African Studies/Revue canadienne des études africaines, 47(1), 75–93.
Harrison, P., & Todes, A. (2015). Spatial transformation in loosening states: South Africa in a comparative perpectives. Geoforum, 61(May), 148–162. doi:10.1016/j.geoforum.2015.03.003.
Huchzermeyer, M. (2011). Cities with ‘Slums’: From Slum Eradication to a Right to the City in Africa. Cape Town: Juta/UCT Press.
Krige, S. (1996). Botshabelo: former fastest-growing urban area in South Africa approaching zero population growth. Bloemfontein: University of the Free State.
Lemanski, C. (2007). Global cities in the South: Deepening social and spatial polarization in Cape Town. Cities, 24(6), 448–461.
Lemanski, C. (2008). Houses without community: Problems of community (in)capacity in a low-cost housing community in Cape Town, South Africa. Environment and Urbanization, 20(2), 393–410.
McDonald, D. (2008). World City syndrome: Neoliberalism and inequality in Cape Town. London: Routledge.
Mhlekude, Z. (2013). Assessment of the impact of the Mdantsane urban renewal programme on the lives and livelihoods of beneficiaries (2001–2011): The case of the Eastern Cape Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality. Unpublished masters dissertation. Alice: University of Fort Hare.
Morrow, S., & Engel, K. (2003). Ten year review: Buffalo City. Human Resources Research Council. www.sarpn.org/documents/d0000875/docs/BuffaloCityReportJune2003.pdf. Accessed 28 Oct 2015.
Nel, E., & Binns, T. (2003). Putting ‘Developmental Local Government’ into practice: The Experience of South Africa’s Towns and cities. Urban Forum, 14(2/3), 165–184.
Nel, E. L. (1990). Mdantsane, East London’s homeland township: Municipal neglect and apartheid planning 1949-1988. GeoJournal, 22(3), 305–313.
Parnell, S., Douglas, S., & Boulle, J. (2005). Institutionalizing pro-poor local economic development through expanded public works in the urban environment of Cape Town. Africa Insight, 35(4), 53–61.
Parnell, S., & Crankshaw, O. (2013). The politics of ‘Race’ and the transformation of the post-apartheid space economy. Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, 28(4), 589–603.
Peter, N. P. (2008). An assessment of the impact of Mdantsane Urban Renewal Programme (2002–2007). Unpublished Master’s dissertation. Alice: University of Fort Hare.
Pokwana, V. (2013). Mdantsane, Jubilee, Jazz and all that Jazz, East London.
Republic of South Africa. (1985). Census 1985. Bisho: Government Printer.
Republic of South Africa. (1995a). Urban development strategy. Pretoria: Government Printer.
Republic of South Africa. (1995b). The Development Facilitation Act (Act 67 of 1995). Pretoria: Government Printer.
Republic of South Africa. (1997a). Housing Act, No. 107 of 1997. Pretoria: Department of Housing.
Republic of South Africa. (1997b). The urban development framework. Pretoria: Government Printer.
Republic of South Africa. (2004). Breaking a New Ground in Housing (BGN). Pretoria: Government Printer.
Republic of South Africa. (2012). The National Development Plan. Pretoria: Government Printer.
Republic of South Africa. (2013). The Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (Act 16 of 2013). Pretoria: Department of Rural Development and Land Reforms.
Spinks, C. (2001). A new apartheid? Urban spatiality, (Fear of) Crime, and Segregation in Cape Town, South Africa. Development Studies Institute, Working paper series, No 01/20, September 2001.
StatsSA. (1996). Statistics South Africa. Pretoria: Government Printer.
StatsSA. (2011). Poverty Trends in South Africa: An examination of absolute poverty between 2006 and 2011. Pretoria: Government Printer.
StatsSA. (2013). Statistics South Africa. Pretoria: Government Printer.
StatsSA. (2014). Statistics South Africa. Pretoria: Government Printer.
Todes, A. (2000). Spatial Change and Durban’s Spatial Framework. A paper presented in the Three Cities Conference, Conference Paper, Durban.
Tomlinson, R., & Krige, S. (1997). Botshabelo: Coping with the consequences of urban apartheid. International Journal for Urban and Regional Research, 21(4), 691–705.
Visser, G., & Rogerson, C. M. (2014). Reflections on 25 years of urban forum. Urban Forum, 25(1), 1–11. doi:10.1007/s12132-014-9227-3.
World Bank. (2014). Gini Index. World Bank. Development Research Group. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI Accessed 24 Oct 2014.
Interviews-done between 6 November and 15 December, 2014
BCM Official One. (2014). In-depth interview with a government official, s.l.: s.n.
BCM Official Two. (2014). In-depth interview with a government official, s.l.: s.n.
BCM Official Three. (2014). In-depth interview with a government official, s.l.:s.n.
BCM Official Four. (2014). In-depth interview with a government official, s.l.: s.n.
Business Respondent. (2014). In-depth interview with a business official, s.l.: s.n.
Community Respondent One. (2014). Community interview. s.l.: s.n.
Community Respondent Two. (2014). Community interview. s.l.: s.n.
Community Respondent Three. (2014). Community interview. s.l.: s.n.
Community Respondent Four. (2014). Community interview. s.l.: s.n.
Councillor Respondent. (2014). In-depth interview with a councillor. s.l.: s.n.
Representative of Union Official. (2014). In-depth interview with a NAPTOSA representative. s.l.: s.n.
School Teacher One. In-depth interview. s.l.: s.n.
School Teacher Two. (2014). In-depth interview. s.l.: s.n.
Street Vendor. (2014). In-depth interview. s.l.: s.n.
Acknowledgments
Assistance from the Cities Networks is greatly acknowledged. The first version of this paper was published by Cities Networks and it was submitted by the authors. Prof. A. J. Christopher and Mr. Manesh Nagar’s contribution is also acknowledged in the earlier version of research article.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Siyongwana, P.Q., Chanza, N. Interrogating the post-apartheid socio-economic transformation in Mdantsane, Buffalo City. GeoJournal 82, 735–750 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-016-9714-2
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-016-9714-2