The implementation of urban apartheid on the East Rand, 1948-1973 : the role of local government and local resistance

[摘要] The overarching theme of the thesis is the urban 'racial’ restructuring of the EastRand during the first twenty-five years of apartheid. The thesis examines the adoptionand implementation of apartheid state’s social engineering strategy, especially itsstrict racial segregation of the urban areas. In this context, the creation o f 'modern’African townships and group areas is emphasised. The thesis focuses attention on theimplementation of urban apartheid in Benoni, particularly the establishment of the'model’ township, Daveyton. Benoni’s experiences in implementing apartheidpolicies are compared to that of its municipal neighbours. The thesis contends thatlocal authorities were important role players in the implementation of apartheid. Thus,the ways in which the changing relations between the local and central tiers of thestate influenced the making of apartheid at regional and local levels are foregroundedthroughout this study. The impact of apartheid policies on the 'multi-racial’populations of the urban 'black spots’ and their responses to these policies areprimary concerns in the narrative provided here. The diverse reactions of peopleaffected by forced removals - from acquiescence to militant resistance - in the 1950sand 1960s are analysed. A central focus of this study is the making of apartheid in the1960s, the so-called golden age of apartheid. Finally, the thesis discusses theintroduction and effects o f 'separate development’ and 'community development’ asprincipal interventions by the state to politicise ethnicity and 'race’ during the periodof 'high apartheid’.

[发布机构] University of the Witwatersrand