2.2.
Lockdown in Townships
Centrality of the street Townships in South Africa refer ordinarily to areas that were formerly designated for black African residents under the Apartheid regime. Historically created to function as segregated residential areas for the marginalized black African population, townships are still broadly considered to be socially, spatially and economically marginalized. Statistically, township areas still feature high rates of multi-dimensional vulnerability, especially when compared to other historically suburban residential areas. The GCRO Quality of Life survey4, which tracks a multidimensional range of indicators relating to quality of life – including social, economic, household, connectivity, access to infrastructure, work, and sociopolitical attitudes – offers a useful representation of the developments in quality of life across various geographic wards in the Province. From these surveys, it is apparent that former township areas still have lower quality of life scores than their suburban counterparts, even though the dynamics within and between township wards also vary (see also (Perbedy et al., 2017). Over time, however, township areas have also changed and diversified in their social and spatial template, and therefore present markedly different characteristics. This includes stark inequality within townships between middle-class and poorer areas. The diversity within and between townships has been apparent and documented in literature, from the apartheid years into the post-apartheid period (Bonner & Segal, 1998; Harrison & Harrison, 2014). This diversity was also evident from our diaries, where respondents provided narratives from Soweto and Alexandra in Johannesburg, Kagiso in the West Rand/Krugersdorp area, and Mamelodi West and Mabopane in Tshwane. One marker of the differences within and between township residents’ diaries and experiences was in the unit size, and living arrangements during the Level-5 lockdown. While all our township participants were locked down in a free-standing house, with access to a yard, the unit size and number of rooms varied. Anonymous (35) from Kagiso, for instance, was locked down in a house that had 7 rooms, and living with one other person during the lockdown, while another Anonymous participant (30) from Moroka in Soweto, reported that she was living in a one-room unit with over 7 family members. All but one township participant had access to water, electricity, and access to a yard or garden. All participants from townships were locked down in households of more than one person, mainly with family members. Three out of the nine participants in townships were living with more than 7 household members comprising of immediate and extended family. This represented the largest share across all participants. One of the notable themes from township participant diary entries was the prevalence of street observations as part of daily life. From our surveys, it was apparent that the street and street activity was prevalent even before the lockdown. During the Level-5 lockdown, despite residents being required to remain indoors, street life and activity was still reported. This was reported as an issue of concern by Precious (19) in Mamelodi and Anonymous (35) in Kagiso.
Day 1 27 March 2020 Mamelodi West
“Residents of Mamelodi are carrying out their normal activities as usual. It seems as if people are not willing to comply to any
of the rules enforced by the president. I don’t know if it’s ignorance or is it because no one around them has yet experienced the virus. ” 19
4
Past Quality of Life Data is publicly available on the online portal - http://gcro1.wits.ac.za/qolviewer/
- Precious (19)
