- Title
- A historical study of Motherwell with specific reference to the development of segregated housing in the city of Port Elizabeth from 1980 onwards
- Creator
- Yola, Siyabonga
- Subject
- Low-income housing -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Port Elizabeth
- Subject
- Public housing -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Port Elizabeth
- Subject
- Port Elizabeth (South Africa) -- History
- Date Issued
- 2024-12
- Date
- 2024-12
- Type
- Master's theses
- Type
- text
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/70434
- Identifier
- vital:78352
- Description
- This study focuses on the development of Motherwell Township from 1983 to 1986. Motherwell conveniently and justifiably serves as a good case study of the apartheid government’s response to black housing shortage and squatting in Port Elizabeth. Designed to accommodate victims of the 1977 floods that displaced ‘squatter residents’ of Soweto and Veeplaas. Yet, there is an apparent lack of documentation of the history of Motherwell as a specific place embedded with design profoundly influenced by apartheid urban planning. Despite the significance of this black township founded in 1983, there is a lack of historical detail around challenges experienced by developers and the role of individuals involved in the development of Motherwell. For example, we lack knowledge on how the white propertied class of the surrounding suburbs of Bluewater Bay, Swartkops and Redhouse, poignantly and quite distinctly, came to the fore in resisting the development of the new black township in their neighbourhood. They used environmental discourse to oppose the development of Motherwell. Apart from the environmental impact on the Swartkops estuary, the ratepayers associated the development of Motherwell with squalor, diseases and crime. In addition, there is a lack of a substantial account of how white landowners opposed the expropriation of land where Motherwell was established. This thesis also highlights the fact that the lack of housing started long before the old black locations, such as Strangers, and other locations that were removed from the city in the turn of the nineteenth century. It demonstrates that urban housing crisis was later intensified by the gap created by the local government in the 1970s. During this decade the city council did not show any interest in providing proper housing for urban blacks. With the lack of new township during this period and the deprivation of blacks from buying a freehold land in the city, black housing shortage became a serious crisis. As a result, black residents, particularly those who did not qualify for urban housing rented backyard rooms in townships, such as New Brighton, Zwide and other local townships. Some migrants opted for informal settlements that mushroomed on the periphery of the local township, such as Zwide. Living or rather squatting in areas such as Soweto and Veeplaas was not acceptable. These areas lacked every conventional element, such as paved roads, electricity, and private toilets. Besides, they constantly suffered floods and fire disasters. In order to solve squatting problem, the local authorities developed Motherwell.
- Description
- Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Governmental and Social Sciences, 2024
- Format
- computer
- Format
- online resource
- Format
- application/pdf
- Format
- 1 online resource (102 pages)
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Humanities
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
- Rights
- All Rights Reserved
- Rights
- Open Access
- Hits: 15
- Visitors: 14
- Downloads: 3
Collections
NMU School of Governmental and Social Sciences
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | Yola, S December 2024.pdf | 1 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |