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Reinforcing Housing Assets in the Wrong Location? The Case of Botshabelo, South Africa

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Abstract

Apartheid policies were instrumental in displacing black urbanisation away from key urban areas. Botshabelo, 55 km east of Bloemfontein, is an example of this. This paper uses asset-building theory to argue that post-apartheid policy for Botshabelo has largely reinforced apartheid spatial planning patterns and locked in a significant percentage of the Botshabelo population. Population growth is slow, with evidence of the working age population leaving Botshabelo. At the same time, substantial investment in infrastructure services has increased investment in housing in the past 20 years.

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Notes

  1. As Botshabelo’s population is almost 100 % black, it makes sense to compare this with the black population in Bloemfontein.

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Acknowledgments

The SACN is acknowledged for the original funding provided towards this study. The useful comments received from two journal referees assisted in the revision of this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Development Support, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa

    Lochner Marais, Jan Cloete, Kholisa Rani & Molefi Lenka

  2. Department of Development Studies, UNISA, Pretoria, South Africa

    John Ntema

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  1. Lochner Marais
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  5. Molefi Lenka
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Correspondence to Lochner Marais.

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Marais, L., Ntema, J., Cloete, J. et al. Reinforcing Housing Assets in the Wrong Location? The Case of Botshabelo, South Africa. Urban Forum 27, 347–362 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12132-016-9276-x

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