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The case of Durban, South Africa by Colin Marx and Sarah Charlton Source: CIA factbook Contact: Colin Marx and Sarah Charlton 18 Vanbrugh Park, London, SE3 7AF Tel. +44 20 8858 0277 E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] I. INTRODUCTION: THE CITY A. URBAN CONTEXT 1. National Overview The national urbanisation, economic and social a differentiated workforce based on relatively few trends of South Africa in much of the previous century Africans having permanent access to the urban econ- were structured by policies of racial discrimination. Prior omy and having to protect their interests against other to the early 1990s access to urban areas was restricted Africans (Hindson et al, 1993). Eight years into the for the majority African population and only those post-Apartheid era, urban areas by and large continue regarded as necessary to the labour needs of the white to reflect the pattern of racially homogenous and sepa- owned economy were allowed access to urban areas rate residential areas that are the product of the and the associated amenities. These policies were Apartheid years. rooted in the notion of Apartheid whereby so-called There were 40.58 million people in South Africa at the independent states were to be separately developed to time of the last census in 19961 (RSA 2000, 3) and the justify minimal contact between different race groups. national population growth rate is estimated at 1.9% Based on ideologies of racial superiority, these policies (ibid). The 1996 Census indicates that 53.7 per cent of resulted in severe poverty and deprivation for most of the population is urbanised (ibid). The HIV/Aids the African population and comparatively high living pandemic will be the most determining factor of demo- standards for the white population. graphic change in the medium term, affecting both the Urban areas were distinctive in that the poor (African) number of people who are economically active and population came to be located, with few exceptions, contributing to a growing number of orphaned children. furthest from city centres in state planned ‘townships’ Nationally, the effective unemployment rate is nearly 40 and in unregulated and under-serviced settlements on per cent and 25 per cent of the working population earn “homeland” borders closest to the main urban areas. less than R500 (US$50) per month2 (ibid). The viability of urban apartheid (for Whites) was Since the 1990s and particularly after the first demo- secured in the short term by the exclusion of Africans cratic elections in 1994, much effort has successfully and Asians from the centres of economic power; the been expended on untangling racially based bureau- minimisation of social and infrastructural expenditure cracies and developing non-racial policies that can for Africans and Asians; low wages and the creation of begin to redress past injustices. In 1994 the develop- Urban Slums Reports: The case of Durban, South Africa Tony Smith Tony ment vision for the country was captured in the anticipated housing delivery rates, a formidable backlog Reconstruction and Development Programme, the in inadequate housing and population growth; a signifi- mass-based African National Congress’s manifesto for cant housing backlog remains. social and economic change. Despite this Programme now being politically downplayed, it remains an impor- tant touchstone for development efforts. The new 2. History of Durban government has implemented one of the most Durban was established as a settlement in the mid sustained housing programmes in the country’s history. 1800s with activities focused around the port. The In the period April 1994 to March 2001 over 1,100,000 formalisation of the settlement was ultimately secured starter houses on sites with improved servicing have through the suppression and containment of an exten- been completed or were under construction. sive Zulu kingdom. The unwillingness of the indigenous Recent critical reflection on post-Apartheid housing, Zulu population to engage in poorly paid wage labour urban development and other policies is, however, high- and their ability to live off the land prompted the colonial lighting a number of weaknesses that reveal a failure to British authorities to import Indian indentured labourers adequately address the spatial and socio-economic to work on the sugar farms. Once their period of inden- legacies of the past and sustain the positive impact of ture ended many of these labourers remained in the infrastructural interventions (cf. BESG 1999; Charlton province and settled around Durban, contributing to the 2001). At the same time housing backlogs are such that diversity of the city’s current population. large concentrations of people continue to live in very The growth of Durban can be linked to the develop- poor, unserviced conditions. However, despite the ment of the sugar and food processing industry and its predominance of these informal settlements in almost link in the transportation system to the burgeoning econ- every urban area in South Africa and notwithstanding omy of the Witwatersrand. This was later supplemented the National Housing Programme, there is no policy by petro-chemical industries dependent on close prox- specifically designed to deal with the issues they raise imity to the port facilities for importing and exporting (BESG 2000b, Huchzermayer 2001a). Given lower than products. 2 UNDERSTANDING SLUMS: Case Studies for the Global Report on Human Settlements 2003 The current urban form is the result of successive 2002b, 11). This population makes it the second biggest attempts at racial segregation with racially homogenous in South Africa after the Greater Johannesburg metro- residential areas separated by “buffer strips” often politan area. The population breakdown for the following natural features such as rivers or ravines. This eThekwini Municipality is indicated in the table below. form has been achieved through at times forcibly The gender breakdown removing African and Indian residents from well-located of the population is 51 per Table 1. The Population areas such as Cato Manor, to more peripheral loca- cent female and 49 per cent Breakdown for Durban tions. The central, well connected areas (at the centre male (eThekwini Municipa- Population % of the transport network) are occupied by the wealthy lity 2002b, 23). group with the poorest segments of the population located Durban has a very youth- furthest from amenities and economic opportunities. ful age profile with 38 per Black/African 63% The city has expanded its boundaries a number of cent of the population being Asian 22% times, largely driven by the regulatory impetus to gain under the age of 19 control of burgeoning informal settlements abutting its (eThekwini Municipality Coloured 3% borders and to protect and secure the economic privi- 2002b, 11). For a selected leges of the white population. Most recently in 2000 the range of informal settle- White 11% new, post-Apartheid city borders were re-demarcated to ments 38.6 per cent of the Source: recognise the functional interdependencies of the residents are likely to be eThekwini Municipality 2002b, 11 metropolitan economy and the need to redistribute under the age of 16 (Urban resources from a relatively wealthy centre to a much Strategy, nd) suggesting poorer periphery. Following the re-demarcation of the that dependency ratios are higher in informal settle- municipality and to reflect its indigenous history, the ments than other parts of the city. Average life metropolitan municipality has been renamed eThekwini expectancy for the city is 60 years (LTDF 2001, 33). This Municipality - using the Zulu name for Durban. is expected to decline as the Aids epidemic peaks, While this report focuses on the city of Durban, most although the impact of the pandemic on the Durban’s of the statistics relate to the broader metropolitan area socio-economy has not been calculated, statistically or which includes the central city area of Durban. For the in human terms (European Union 2002). purpose of this report we refer to the metropolitan area While the recent demarcation of the metropolitan (defined by the eThekwini Municipal boundaries) as boundaries increased the physical size of the city by Durban. 68%, this only increased the population of the city by approximately 9% (eThekwini Municipality 2002a), giving an indication of the predominantly rural nature of 3. Physical Characteristics the newly incorporated areas. This dispersed under- Durban is located on the eastern coast of South serviced population introduces a new and additional set Africa and the municipality encompasses an area of of service delivery challenges for the municipality. 2,300km². This includes a 98km stretch of relatively It is not clear how much of the population growth is narrow coastal plain that gives way to major river due to population growth within the city and how much valleys that originate to the west of the city. The undu- to rates of urbanisation. Patterns of well-established lating nature of the topography has influenced the circular migration have been documented (c.f. Cross development of an urban form which follows a “T” 2000) and where urbanisation trends appear to be most shape as it spreads up and down the coastal plain and notable is in the secondary towns in the Province, inland along the main transport route to the economic outside the Durban area heartland of Johannesburg (see Map 1). The metropol- itan area includes areas that are both urban and rural in character. Of the settled area, 18 per cent is occupied 5. The Economy by formal households, 5 per cent by informal house- holds and 10 per cent by peri-urban settlements. The growth of manufacturing industries centred Agriculture occupies 22 per cent of the total area. In around the port has been the most important aspect of general the city is highly fragmented, sprawling and the Durban economy since the 1920s, and now poorly integrated (eThekwini Municipality 2002a, 2 and accounts for about 30 per cent of the local economy eThekwini Municipality 2002b, 9).

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