Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
ishness of Kwazulu-Natal, which is often called “the last outpost of the British Empire”
(Lambert 2010, 150), but it is certainly not constructed by British residents as in any
wayapoorrelation.Onthecontrary,ittooisseentoofferveryspecificandevenattract-
ive resources for identity construction and, in the process, race making.
Two competing discourses currently dominate the representation of Johannesburg's
space(Lefebvre1991).Thefirstoftheseisnationalandglobal:thisisoftenhowthecity
of Johannesburg and often South Africa as a nation (and sometimes the whole nation)
tend to be represented in much of the (Western) world. This is asa an infamous “arena
for violence, crime and shocking inequality” (Holland and Roberts 2002, 1); summed
upthroughthediscourseof“Jo'burg.”Jo'burgisconstructedasadeeplysegregatedcity,
where everyday lives are organized into racially distinct spaces and places, and white
and black residents in the main live and work in very different representations of space.
As such, Jo'burg is a city of deep contrasts: downtown, central Johannesburg was deser-
tedinthe1980sbyindustry,businessandfinance,entertainment andleisure,andisnow
physically deteriorating and tarnished by white people as a tense, dangerous, and litter-
ridden place of crime, drugs, violence, homelessness, and fear (Murray 2011). However
it is, simultaneously, a vibrant and cosmopolitan African space (Simone 2004; Tomlin-
son, Beauregard, Bremner, & Mangcu, 2003).
To the south, southeast, and southwest lie the townships and informal settlements, of-
tendescribedas“squattercamps”stretchingouttowardSoweto,wherethebulkofblack
residents were forced to live under apartheid and still remain to this day. Many of these
areas lack social amenities and in certain cases even the most rudimentary of services
(Murray 2011). To the north, white South Africans, British and Afrikaners intermingle
in the white dominated and luxurious suburbs. The standard of living here is high, with
large houses in extensive grounds, often in residential gated communities or (due to in-
tense security) quiet, tree-lined streets.
The contrast between the suburbs and the townships is vast, and this fuels the domin-
antsubdiscoursewhichframesthelandscapesofprivilege:“safetyandsecurity.”Thisis
a key white fear into which British migrants are quickly socialized, such that the norm
is that houses are surrounded by heavy duty fortification: high concrete walls topped by
curling barbed wire, with security cameras and electric gates. Everyone has a big dog,
and (black) security guards oversee comings and goings. Sadly, the large and beautiful
parkswithwhichthesesuburbswerehistoricallylandscapedareoftencompletelydeser-
ted.
IncontrasttotheJo'burgdiscourse,however,anewandcompetingdiscourseisemer-
ging.ThisisJozi,the“coolcousin”ofCapeTown,whichhasgrownupsince1994.Jozi
is a city of “urban vibe”, an “infused mixture of Africa and the west” with a “cultural
and cosmopolitan buzz, a youthful energy and edge” (Holland and Roberts 2002, 4). As
