Children in a township near Cape Town in 1989

In South Africa, the term township usually refers to the (often underdeveloped) urban residential areas that, under Apartheid, were reserved for non-whites (principally black Africans and Coloureds, who were put into separate townships or locations) who lived near or worked in areas that were designated "white-only". Soweto (actually a group of townships) and Alexandra are two of the most well-known of these. Image File history File links SouthAfricaTownship1989. ... Image File history File links SouthAfricaTownship1989. ... The term township is used to denote a lower level territorial subdivision. ... A segregated beach in South Africa, 1982. ... In the South African and Namibian context, the term Coloured (also known as Bruinmense, Kleurlinge or Bruine Afrikaners) refers to a rather heterogeneous group of people of mixed Khoisan, white European descent, Malay, Malagasy, Black (Bantu), and South Indian ancestry, especially in the Western Cape. ... Johannesburg, including Soweto, from the International Space Station Soweto is an urban area in Johannesburg, in Gauteng, South Africa. ... Alexandra (sometimes nicknamed Alex) is a township located in Gauteng province, South Africa. ...

Other townships include Atteridgeville, Azaadville, Bekkersdal, Boipatong, Botleng, Bophelong, Chatsworth, Daveyton, Diepmeadow (Diepkloof and Meadowlands), Dobsonville, Duduza, Eersterust, Evaton, Galeshewe, Guguletu, Hammanskraal, Impumelelo, Kagiso, Katlehong, Khayelitsha, Khutsong, KwaThema, KwaMashu, Laudium, Lenasia, Langa, Mamelodi, Masiphumelele, Mdantsane, Mitchell's Plain, Mohlakeng, Munsieville, Orange Farm, Phoenix, Ratanda, Refengkgotso, Refilwe, Reiger Park, Roshnee, Sebokeng, Sharpeville, Soshanguve, Tembisa, Thokoza, Tsakane, Umlazi, Vosloorus, Wattville, Zamdela, and Zithobeni, amongst others. Atteridgeville is a surburb located on the west of Pretoria and designated for africans by the apartheid governments of South Africa. ... Bekkersdal is a township situated 7km east of Westonaria and 14km south of Randfontein in the Gauteng province. ... Boipatong is a township near Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng, South Africa. ... Bophelong is a township near Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng, South Africa. ... Chatsworth, is a large township in Durban, South Africa, which was created as a result of the Apartheid Government and the Group Areas Act. ... Daveyton is a township near Benoni on the east Rand, Gauteng, South Africa. ... Diepmeadow is a township that is part of the greater Soweto in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. ... Dobsonville is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. ... Duduza is a township west of Nigel on the east Rand, Gauteng, South Africa. ... Evaton is a township north of Sebokeng in the Emfuleni region of Gauteng, South Africa. ... Galeshewe is a township located in the Sol Plaatje Municipality, Northern Cape Province, South Africa. ... Guguletu is a township 15km from Cape Town, South Africa. ... Hammanskraal is a small town in northern Gauteng, South Africa which serves a large rural community. ... Impumelelo is a township next to Devon about 38 km east of Springs on the east Rand, Gauteng, South Africa. ... Kagiso is a township situated in the Krugersdorp area in Gauteng Province, South Africa. ... Katlehong is a township located 35 Km east of Johannesburg and south of Germiston between two other townships of Thokoza and Vosloorus next to the N3 highway in the Ekhuruleni metropolitan of Gauteng Province of South Africa. ... Khayelitsha a township - also known as an informal settlement - in South Africa, on the outskirts of Cape Town in the Cape Flats. ... Khutsong is a black township on the West Rand of South Africa, and scene of widespread unrest as of February 2006. ... KwaThema is a township south-west of Springs on the east Rand, Gauteng, South Africa. ... Laudium is an Indian township in Centurion (Tshwane metropolitan area), South Africa. ... Lenasia is large Indian township south of Soweto in Gauteng Province, South Africa. ... Langa is a township found in Cape Town, South Africa. ... Mamelodi is black township set up by the then apartheid government northeast of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa. ... Situated next to East London in the Eastern Cape province. ... Mitchells Plain is a coloured township 20kms from the city of Cape Town. ... Mohlakeng is a township south of Randfontein in Gauteng, South Africa. ... Munsieville is a township situated in the Krugersdorp area in Gauteng Province, South Africa. ... Orange Farm is a suburb of Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa. ... Ratanda is a township south of Heidelberg in Gauteng, South Africa. ... Refilwe (Were blessed)is a township just north of Cullinan in Gauteng Province, South Africa. ... Reiger Park is a coloured township situated in Boksburg on the east Rand, Gauteng, South Africa. ... Sebokeng is black township set up by the then apartheid government in southern Gauteng, South Africa near the industrial city of Vanderbijlpark. ... Sharpeville is black township set up by the then apartheid government in southern Gauteng, South Africa between two large industrial cities of Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging. ... Soshanguve is a township situated about 45 km north of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa. ... Tembisa is a large township situated to the north of Kempton Park on the East Rand, Gauteng, South Africa. ... Thokoza is a township situated south east of Alberton, adjacent to Katlehong on the East Rand, Gauteng, South Africa. ... Tsakane is a township south of Brakpan close to two other townships KwaThema and Duduza on the east Rand, Gauteng, South Africa. ... Vosloorus is a township situated in Boksburg just east of Katlehong on the east Rand, Gauteng, South Africa. ... Wattville is a township south of Benoni on the east Rand, Gauteng, South Africa. ... Zithobeni is a township situated in Gauteng, South Africa, just north of Bronkhorstspruit and south-west of Ekangala. ...

During the Apartheid Era Non-whites were usually evicted from properties that were in areas designated as "white only" and forced to move into townships. Legislation that enabled the Apartheid government to do this included the Group Areas Act. Petty apartheid: sign on Durban beach in English, Afrikaans and Zulu Apartheid, which means apartness or separateness in Afrikaans, was a system of racial segregation that operated in South Africa from 1948 to the early 1990s. ... The Group Areas Act of 1950 (Act No. ...

Although formal racial segregation ended with Apartheid in 1994, new township-like areas for low-income persons were developed subsequently, including Ekangala, Olievenhoutbosch and Diepsloot in Gauteng. Other townships have seen rapid development since 1994, with wealthy, and middle-income areas growing up in parts of Soweto. 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... Diepsloot is a suburb of Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa. ... Categories: South Africa stubs | Provinces of South Africa | Gauteng Province ...

Townships for non-whites were also called locations or lokasie (Afrikaans translation), and are often still referred to by that name in smaller towns. The term "Kasie", a popular short version of "Lokasie" is also used sometimes to refer to townships. Look up Wiktionary:Swadesh lists for Afrikaans and Dutch in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Townships sometimes have large informal settlements nearby. Shanty town in Manila, Philippines. ...

Despite their origins in apartheid South Africa, today the terms township, location and informal settlements are not used pejoratively. Shanty town in Manila, Philippines. ...

Most South African towns and cities will have at least one township associated with them. Today they are often viewed as just one of the many suburbs that an urban area might have.

Tourists should not be misled by what at first they might think is a dirty conurbation. Whilst the majority of township residents are poor, the cleanliness of their homes is often immaculate.

When you see hundreds of finely dressed African workers and shoppers in the town centres, tourists are often surprised to find that the vast majority still live in the townships.

Legal meaning

The legal meaning of the term township in South Africa differs from the popular usage. An example of this can be seen at [1] [2], where areas of various kinds, regardless of the racial makeup of their populations are described as townships. The term township can thus also mean a designated area or district. For instance "Industrial Township" has been used in reference to an industrial area, e.g. "Westmead Industrial Township", in Pinetown, South Africa. Pinetown is an industrial town just inland from Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. ...

See also

• Bantustan
• Ghetto
• Racial segregation

Map of the black homelands in South Africa as of 1986 Map of the black homelands in Namibia as of 1978 Bantustan is a territory designated as a tribal homeland for black South Africans and Namibians during the apartheid era. ... A ghetto is an area where people from a specific racial or ethnic background or united in a given culture or religion live as a group, voluntarily or involuntarily, in milder or stricter seclusion. ... The Rex Theatre for Colored People, Leland, Mississippi, June 1937 Racial segregation is creamy jizz of different races in daily life when both are doing equal tasks, such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a rest room, attending school, going to the movies, or in...

External link

• Cape Town Magazine on Townships