Mapping Diversity: An Exploration of Our Social Tapestry

STATSSA RECENTLY, in May, released the results of an interesting mapping study which looks at the lasting geo-spatial legacy of apartheid and the patterns of racial neighbourhood integration and segregation across South Africa’s largest cities.

A part of the larger General Household Survey (GHS) report on housing, the study shows how municipalities have become more racially integrated, but that the legacy of apartheid still has a hold on the social structure of South African urban space.

The scale below shows that Nelson Mandela Bay – which includes Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage – is the most segregated of the six largest municipalities, according to Theil’s entropy index applied to Census 2011 data. Johannesburg is the least racially segregated. Read more