A neo-apartheid city? Labour market inequalities and residential
segregation in Cape Town, South Africa
Abstract
South Africa’s cities make for an interesting focus when studying urban
inequalities and segregation. Not only is the country among the most
unequal countries (based on the Gini index calculations), but the
Apartheid-era of the 20th century also created a severely
segregated racial hierarchy through wide-reaching legislation. Although
that and its legislation was dismantled in the final decade of the last
century, the impact of those years is still evident across the country,
not least of which on its cities. Cape Town is known as a beautiful
city, as well as a tourist hotspot, however, it has also been referred
to as the most segregated city in this already unequal and segregated
country. This study focuses on the demographic and labour market
changes, both in terms of the occupational distribution, as well as the
racial composition of the most prominent and fastest growing
occupational groups. What is apparent is that Cape Town has remained an
unequal and segregated city, with levels of racial segregation
significantly higher that socioeconomic segregation (even when
accounting for occupational class differences). Additionally, although
previously disadvantaged groups (e.g. Black Africans and Coloureds) have
made gains in more prominent occupations, they continue to be
under-represented among high-income earners and comprise the largest
proportion of the unemployed in the city.