Race, class and spatial polarisation in the greater Cape Town

Mbhele, Albert Zibuse

Race, class and spatial polarisation in the greater Cape Town

Master Thesis

2009

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

Department of Sociology

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Abstract

This paper investigates evidence of a possible spatial mismatch in the Cape Town metropolitan labour market that could contribute towards explaining why low-skilled workers' unemployment rates are significantly higher in the south-east townships. Pre- 1994 apartheid laws had a marked impact on urban land use patterns in South Africa. A new government came into power in 1994 and the Group Areas Act had been abolished. Recent reports demonstrate that there is an aggressive spatial distribution of private sector investment directed to the north, south and western affluent suburbs while the south-east townships, where the vast majority of poor low-skilled Africans and coloured workers live, remain largely sidestepped. In the USA, the spatial mismatch hypothesis suggests that the movement of firms and jobs from central cities to suburbs negatively affects blacks' employment both absolutely and relative to whites. This paper gives a qualitative analysis of whether the movement of firms to the decentralized locations of the southern and northern suburbs do cause a spatial challenge for low-skilled workers from the south-east townships. The paper concludes by arguing that the poor public transport system (to a lesser extent) and the manner in which vacancies are communicated by employers (to a larger extent) are the main elements that create a barrier to employment for low-skilled workers from the south-east townships than spatial mismatch. The implications for policy implications and recommendation are highlighted.

Description

Includes bibliographical references (p. 72-84).

Keywords

Sociology

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