Abstract
South African planning history has resulted in a grossly unequal urban situation, which after more than twenty years of democracy, still hinders real transformation. This paper argues that deeply entrenched inequalities should not only be understood from a physical or social viewpoint, but also from that of the emotional. It seeks to uncover the manner in which hierarchies were entrenched and upheld during the conception of one of South Africa’s most prominent new towns. The early lifespan of Secunda, Mpumalanga is used as a case study due to its nature as a show of power in the face of international sanctions against the apartheid government. It is also a prominent example of how modernist planning was used to reinforce a segregationist urban form – a form that stubbornly remains today. This paper tracks the origins of the inequality, segregation and symbolic violence underlying the town’s conceived space (after Lefebvre, 1991). It also uses archival records and qualitative analysis to trace the systems of dominance and symbolic violence imposed in the town’s perceived and lived space. Findings show that this was mainly done by means of deeply entrenched hierarchies (physical, class and racial), as well as various ‘model citizen’ identities. This paper argues that a strong place identity was prescribed for Secunda in order to underscore a sense of ‘superiority’ and symbolism of an outpost for Afrikaner independence. Related identities had a dual impact on the meaning of Secunda. First, a regional urban hierarchy was established with Secunda positioned at its apex. This ‘superior’ place identity was further established through company spending, allocation of different densities, and the segregation of races.
