The Emergence of the South African Metropolis : Cities and Identities in the Twentieth Century

Focusing on South Africa's three main cities - Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban - this book explores South African urban history from the late nineteenth century onwards. In particular, it examines the metropolitan perceptions and experiences of both black and white South Africans, as well as those of visitors, especially visitors from Britain and North America. Drawing on a rich array of city histories, travel writing, novels, films, newspapers, radio and television programs, and oral histories, Vivian Bickford-Smith focuses on the consequences of the depictions of the South African metropolis and the 'slums' they contained, and especially on how senses of urban belonging and geography helped create and reinforce South African ethnicities and nationalisms. This ambitious and pioneering account, spanning more than a century, will be welcomed by scholars and students of African history, urban history, and historical geography. 03.0_pp_iv_iv_Copyright_page 1 04.0_pp_v_vi_Dedication 5 05.0_pp_vii_vii_Contents 7 06.0_pp_viii_ix_Contents 8 07.0_pp_x_x_Contents 10 contents 11 acknowledgements 12 glossary 15 maps 16 introduction (1) 25 inventing_british_cities_in_africa 40 more_babylon_than_birmingham 103 selling_sunlit_utopias 154 bitter_cries_and_black_baudelaires 221 remembrance_of_things_past_an_epilogue 280 bibliography 296 index 325 Introduction -- Inventing British Cities In Africa -- More Babylon Than Birmingham? -- Selling Sunlit Utopias -- Bitter Cries And Black Baudelaires -- Remembrance Of Things Past: An Epilogue. Vivian Bickford-smith, Stellenbosch University And University Of Cape Town. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. A pioneering account of how South Africa's three leading cities were fashioned, experienced, promoted and perceived