Langa

Found at: bluefifthreview.wordpress.com/2014/04/15/blue-five-notebook-april-2014-14-7/

This week I've been using the resources at the South African National Library to do some research on Langa, the oldest township in Cape Town. Established in 1923, city officials heralded the area as a "model of housing and planning"- which, roughly translated, really meant that it was a space outside of the city in which they could place people they didn't want. This particular township grew out of a place named Ndabeni, which was originally located at the outskirts of Cape Town. However, by the 1920s, the population of whites in the area was growing, as were their housing needs. White communities began impinging upon the fringes of Ndabeni, and it was conveniently during this time that city planners thought Ndabeni would make a wonderful place for factories and manufacturing. So, officials ordered the building of Langa in 1923, and opened it four years later to residents.

Photo taken from: ificould.co.za/history-langa-township, which also has a more detailed history of the area

Jump forward thirty years, and city officials called for building yet another township named Nyanga. The reason? The population of non-Blacks had grown exponentially and were beginning to infringe on Langa. Instead of working with residents in the area to move new housing, schools, and businesses to other spaces, officials decided to displace families living in Langa to Nyanga. Single, adult men who had jobs were allowed to stay in Langa, which was closer to the center city and, in most cases, closer to their jobs. Nyanga is located (if I'm remembering correctly) around 12 miles out of town while Langa is an 8 mile trek. I wonder how many working men were forced to make a choice between staying without their families or moving with them, for the sake of their jobs? The rail system in and around the city hadn't been well-developed at that point and many were reliant on buses and other forms of public transit to get them to and from work. Testimonials from those living in townships (not just Langa or Nyanga) revealed that there were many who would leave their homes before or close to 5am to make it to work and return home late at night (read: after 10pm) due to their work schedules and the lack of public transportation options available the those living in the townships. 

The other piece of the Langa equation that I've found really interesting is the division of political labor (or, labour, according to spellers here) between the metropolitan and national government. The governance of the townships and really anything having to do with Blacks in Cape Town was handed over (willingly) to the state-level officials. They were the ones who paid for the building of homes, roads, and schools within the townships, while the Cape Town Metropolitan government took control of the city center and all-white areas. This seems fairly straight-forward, but I'm still attempting to find out why they were so willing to hand over control of any piece of their city to a higher governmental authority. Also, how has this impacted the governing capacity and control by the Metropolitan government over majority Black areas today? These are the pieces I'm still trying to come to grips with through my research this week. 

This photo, along with other amazing shots, found at: https://www.flickr.com/groups/37996573354@N01/pool/with/12744069165/lightbox/

 Unlike the township of Khayelitsha, I have not visited Langa during my tenure here. I had planned on doing so, but there have been riots and unrest within the community that have arisen out of protests over public housing. My guide has been incredibly hesitant about traveling into Langa, given that I'm the whitest person he's probably ever met and because of the flashpoints of violence that have happened in the past few weeks. But this, too, is something worth mentioning because, to be honest, I can't blame them for being upset. The government has been slow in building public housing, yet has made deals for the building of large shopping centers in the area. While business is essential to growing the economy of an area, housing is an imperative to individuals- so how do cities balance both to create a vibrant, healthy, community? I'm glad I only have to wrestle with, but not answer, that question.

Found at: gogobot.com