GGH3704 Assignment 2
Semester 2 Memo
(COMPLETE ANSWERS) Due
17 September 2025
For assistance contact
Email:
, Spatial segregation and integration in post-apartheid South African cities — Cape Town
case study
Introduction — task and claim assessed
De Beer (2025) argues that “twenty-nine years after the end of apartheid, South African cities
continue to be deeply segregated.” This essay evaluates that claim for Cape Town, using
demographic and geospatial evidence, scholarly literature and recent policy reporting. I show
that De Beer’s statement is strongly supported for Cape Town: spatial patterns of race, income
and access to services remain sharply divided along historically produced lines. I then explain
the principal historical, socio-economic, political and planning drivers that reproduce
segregation and point to policy and planning implications for local government (SALGA’s
constituency).
1. Does De Beer’s statement apply to Cape Town? — evidence and interpretation
Three lines of evidence support the conclusion that Cape Town remains deeply segregated.
1.1 Population geography and census evidence.
Census 2022 data and the City of Cape Town’s own profile show that the metropolitan
population is unevenly distributed by population group, dwelling type and formal housing
access. Large swathes of the city remain predominantly White and wealthy (Atlantic Seaboard,
Southern Suburbs, Northern Suburbs), while extensive low-income townships and informal
settlements (e.g., Khayelitsha, Philippi, Nyanga, Mitchells Plain) are predominantly Black
African or Coloured and have higher shares of informal dwellings and unemployment. These
spatial concentrations are visible in the City’s Census 2022 profile. Cape Town Resources
1.2 Scholarly geospatial analyses.
Multiple academic studies identify Cape Town as one of the country’s most spatially segregated
cities. Turok, Visagie and Scheba (and others) document enduring patterns of residential
segregation and spatial inequality between 2001 and 2011 and show how income, unemployment
and service deficits cluster spatially in ways that reproduce apartheid geography. More recent
case studies describe processes of “financial apartheid” and gentrification that intensify
exclusion in central and desirable precincts while displacing low-income residents to peripheral
or informal locations. centreforsustainablecities.ac.ukResearchGate
1.3 Recent policy and media reporting.
Contemporary reporting and policy discussion underscore the same point: Cape Town’s housing
pressures, soaring property prices along the Atlantic Seaboard and inner suburbs, and persistent
overcrowding in informal settlements together amount to spatially differentiated life chances for
different groups. The Financial Times and Al Jazeera have recently documented rising housing
prices, internal migration, gentrification and the persistence of highly unequal neighbourhoods
— all indicators of entrenched spatial segregation. Financial TimesAl Jazeera
Interpretation: Combined census, academic and journalistic evidence indicates that Cape
Town’s social and residential geography remains segmented by race and class. While some
Semester 2 Memo
(COMPLETE ANSWERS) Due
17 September 2025
For assistance contact
Email:
, Spatial segregation and integration in post-apartheid South African cities — Cape Town
case study
Introduction — task and claim assessed
De Beer (2025) argues that “twenty-nine years after the end of apartheid, South African cities
continue to be deeply segregated.” This essay evaluates that claim for Cape Town, using
demographic and geospatial evidence, scholarly literature and recent policy reporting. I show
that De Beer’s statement is strongly supported for Cape Town: spatial patterns of race, income
and access to services remain sharply divided along historically produced lines. I then explain
the principal historical, socio-economic, political and planning drivers that reproduce
segregation and point to policy and planning implications for local government (SALGA’s
constituency).
1. Does De Beer’s statement apply to Cape Town? — evidence and interpretation
Three lines of evidence support the conclusion that Cape Town remains deeply segregated.
1.1 Population geography and census evidence.
Census 2022 data and the City of Cape Town’s own profile show that the metropolitan
population is unevenly distributed by population group, dwelling type and formal housing
access. Large swathes of the city remain predominantly White and wealthy (Atlantic Seaboard,
Southern Suburbs, Northern Suburbs), while extensive low-income townships and informal
settlements (e.g., Khayelitsha, Philippi, Nyanga, Mitchells Plain) are predominantly Black
African or Coloured and have higher shares of informal dwellings and unemployment. These
spatial concentrations are visible in the City’s Census 2022 profile. Cape Town Resources
1.2 Scholarly geospatial analyses.
Multiple academic studies identify Cape Town as one of the country’s most spatially segregated
cities. Turok, Visagie and Scheba (and others) document enduring patterns of residential
segregation and spatial inequality between 2001 and 2011 and show how income, unemployment
and service deficits cluster spatially in ways that reproduce apartheid geography. More recent
case studies describe processes of “financial apartheid” and gentrification that intensify
exclusion in central and desirable precincts while displacing low-income residents to peripheral
or informal locations. centreforsustainablecities.ac.ukResearchGate
1.3 Recent policy and media reporting.
Contemporary reporting and policy discussion underscore the same point: Cape Town’s housing
pressures, soaring property prices along the Atlantic Seaboard and inner suburbs, and persistent
overcrowding in informal settlements together amount to spatially differentiated life chances for
different groups. The Financial Times and Al Jazeera have recently documented rising housing
prices, internal migration, gentrification and the persistence of highly unequal neighbourhoods
— all indicators of entrenched spatial segregation. Financial TimesAl Jazeera
Interpretation: Combined census, academic and journalistic evidence indicates that Cape
Town’s social and residential geography remains segmented by race and class. While some
