Township (South Africa)

From Freepedia

In South Africa, the term township refers to the (usually underdeveloped) urban residential areas that, under Apartheid, were reserved for non-whites (Africans, Coloureds and Indians) who lived near or worked in white-only communities and cities. Soweto and Alexandra are two of the most well-known of these. Soweto is in fact an abbreviation of South West Townships - just outside of Johannesburg.

Other townships include Mdantsane, Umlazi, Chatsworth, Phoenix, Llanga, Lenasia, Kagiso, Tembisa, Guguletu, Khayalitsha, Mitchell's Plein, Eerterust, Mamelodi, Azaadville, Roshnee and Laudium.

Although formal racial segregation ended with Apartheid in 1994, new township-like areas for low-income persons were developed subsequently, including 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.

Townships for non-whites were also called locations, and are often still referred to by that name in smaller towns.