thumb|240px|The town of [[Hankey (foreground), with accompanying township (background) on the edge of the town.]]

thumb|right|Children in a township near Cape Town in 1989

thumb|upright|Children in a township near Cape Town

In South Africa, the terms township and location usually refer to an under-developed, racially segregated urban area, from the late 19th century until the end of apartheid, which were reserved for non-whites, namely Black Africans, Coloureds and Indians. Townships were usually built on the periphery of towns and cities. The term township also has a distinct legal meaning in South Africa's system of land title, which carries no racial connotations.

Townships for non-whites were also called locations or lokasies in Afrikaans and are often still referred to as such in the smaller towns. The slang term "kasie / kasi", a popular short version of "lokasie" is also used. Townships sometimes have large informal settlements nearby.

History

Early development

During 1900–1950 (roughly), the majority of the black population in the major urban areas lived in hostels or servants' accommodations, these were provided by employers, and the workers were mostly single men. In the period during and following World War II, urban areas of South Africa experienced a rapid period of urbanisation as the colour bar was relaxed due to the war. Neither employers nor the government built new accommodations or homes for the influx of new residents. This led to overcrowding, and poor living conditions, contributing to high levels of crime and violence. High rents and overcrowding led to land invasions and the growth of shack settlements, which were largely ignored by the government.

By 1950, a large portion of the urban black population lived in townships. In 1950, upwards of 100,000 people were living in townships in the Witwatersrand area; 50,000 people lived in Cato Manor in Durban; and an estimated 150,000 black and coloured people lived in townships in Cape Town.

Social issues

Informal settlements that are normally self established around regulated townships are faced with several social problems. Most often, the residents of informal settlements do not own the land on which their houses are built. In effect, these houses are built illegally. Construction is informal and unregulated by the government. This results in a lack of access to basic services such as sewerage, electricity, roads, and clean water, which adversely affects the residents' quality of life. Most of the sub-stations are very unsecured to begin with so having so many additional wires coming from them is very dangerous for the people nearby and the kids playing in the area. The electricity infrastructure has not undergone upgrades because of the government's disinclination to encourage power usage by non-residents. Despite government interventions, education outcomes remain skewed, with township students continuing to under-perform. This skewed distribution is mainly attributable to higher and more rapid drop-out rates among the poor, rather than to a lack of initial access to schooling. The formerly white schools uniformly produce better results as their governing bodies are able to raise substantial private funds. These funds are used to get resources that are usually inaccessible for the rural and township schools which survive on the commitment of their teachers.

Largest townships

Largest townships in South Africa at the time of the 2011 census:

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

! Township || Population || Neighbouring city/town

|-

| Soweto || 1,271,628 || Johannesburg

|-

| Botshabelo || 900,217 || Bloemfontein

|-

| Thembisa || 463,109 || Kempton Park

|-

| Katlehong || 407,294 || Germiston

|-

| Umlazi || 404,811 || Durban

|-

| Soshanguve || 403,162 || Pretoria

|-

| Khayelitsha || 391,749 || Cape Town

|-

| Mamelodi || 334,577 || Pretoria

|-

| Mitchells Plain || 310,485 || Cape Town

|-

| Ibhayi || 237,799 || Port Elizabeth

|-

| Sebokeng || 218,515 || Vanderbijlpark

|-

| Mangaung || 217,076 || Bloemfontein

|-

| Philippi || 200,603 || Cape Town

|-

| Ivory Park || 184,383 || Midrand

|-

| Alexandra || 179,624 || Sandton

|-

| Phoenix || 176,989 || Durban

|-

| KwaMashu || 175,663 || Durban

|-

| Vosloorus || 163,216 || Boksburg

|-

| Mdantsane || 154,576|| East London

|-

| Delft || 152,030 || Cape Town

|-

| Etwatwa || 151,866 ||Benoni

|-

| Motherwell || 140,351 || Port Elizabeth

|-

| Tsakane || 135,994 || Brakpan

|-

| Thabong || 135,613|| Welkom

|-

| Evaton || 132,851 || Vanderbijlpark

|-

| Daveyton || 127,967 ||Benoni

|-

| Ntuzuma || 125,394 || Durban

|-

| Madadeni ||119,497 || Newcastle

|-

| Embalenhle || 118,889 || Secunda

|-

| Kagiso || 115,802 || Krugersdorp

|-

| Mabopane || 110,972 || Pretoria

|-

| Galeshewe || 107,920 || Kimberley

|-

| KwaNobuhle || 107,407 || Uitenhage

|-

| Saulsville || 105,208 || City of Tshwane

|-

| Jouberton || 104,977 || Klerksdorp

|-

| Thokoza || 105,827 || Alberton

|-

| KwaThema || 99,517 || Springs

|-

| Guguletu || 98,468 || Cape Town

|-

| Diepsloot || 95,067 || Midrand

|-

| Ga-Rankuwa || 90,945 || Pretoria

|-

| Seshego || 83,863 || Polokwane

|-

| Edendale || 79,573 || Pietermaritzburg

|-

| Osizweni || 77,845 || Newcastle

|-

| Orange Farm || 76,767 || Johannesburg

|-

| Hlubi || 73,931 || Newcastle

|-

| Duduza || 73,295 || Nigel, Gauteng

|-

| Mfuleni || 52,274 || Cape Town

|-

| Mpumalanga || 62,406 || Pinetown

|-

| Matsulu || 47,306 || Mbombela

|-

| Thembalethu || 43,103 || George

|-

| Mahwelereng || 41,072 || Mokopane

|-

| Sharpeville || 37,599 || Vereeniging

|}

<gallery>

File:Aliwal North - Dukatole - 03.05 - Housebuilding Projekt.jpg|Construction of a house in the former township Dukathole (near Aliwal North)

File:Aliwal North - Dukatole - 03.05 - Shack.jpg|A bigger shack made of corrugated iron within Dukathole

File:Aliwal North - Dukatole - 03.05 - Street Shop.jpg|Little shop on the main street of Dukathole

File:Aliwal North - Dukatole - 03.05 - Street scene.jpg|Dukathole - Street scene

</gallery>

The legal meaning of the term "township" in South Africa differs from the popular usage and has a precise legal meaning without any racial connotations. The term is used in land titles and townships are subdivided into erfs (stands). "Township" can also mean a designated area or district, as part of a place name. For instance "Industrial Township" has been used in reference to an industrial area, e.g. "Westmead Industrial Township", in Pinetown, South Africa.

Often a township (in the legal sense) is established and then the adjoining townships, with the same name as the original township, and with a numbered "Extension" suffix are later established. For example, the Johannesburg suburb of Bryanston has an extension called Bryanston Extension 3.

Relationship with "suburb"

In traditionally or historically white areas, the term "suburb" is used for legally defined residential townships in everyday conversation.

A suburb's boundaries are often regarded as being the same as the (legal) township boundaries, along with its numbered extensions, and it usually shares its name with the township (with some notable exceptions, such as the Johannesburg suburb known as Rivonia, which is actually the township of Edenburg with numbered extensions called Rivonia Extensions).

Occasionally, formerly independent towns, such as Sandton (which itself consists of numerous suburbs), are referred to as "suburbs".

See also

  • HIV/AIDS in South African townships
  • Bantustan
  • Ghetto
  • Racial segregation
  • Township tourism
  • Old Location, a township of Windhoek, Namibia
  • Katutura, a township of Windhoek, Namibia
  • Tsotsitaal and Camtho, South African vernacular dialect mainly spoken in townships

References