In March of this year, the third year planning practice class was presented with a project which involved certain studies leading towards the creation of planning proposals for central Cape Town. The class, consisting of five students, was informed that the Cape Town City Council had decided to create a bureau to be known as the Office for Central Planning and Development, O.C.P.D. In order that the O.C.P.D. could make decisions about, and make provision for future development, the class was charged with undertaking research into the present structure which would inform planning proposals to be submitted to the bureau.

Cissie Gool was an extraordinary presence on Cape Town's political and social scene in the first half of the twentieth century. She was the first black woman to preside over a national liberatory organisation, the National Liberation League (1935), and the Non-European United Front (1938). She was the only black woman to be elected to the Cape Town City Council before 1994, where she served for 25 years. She was the first black woman to obtain a Master's Degree in Psychology at the University of Cape Town, where she studied on and off from 1918 to the year of her death, 1963. In 1962 she graduated with a BA (LLB), and was the first black woman to be invited to the Cape Bar. This thesis explores the childhood and early life of Cissie Gool. I examine influences on her political development before she became the leader of the National Liberation League in 1935. This period of her life has left few material traces. Methodologically, this thesis confronts a challenge facing those who wish to discover hidden lives in the South African past. I argue that it is possible to trace influences on such a life if one shifts the lens through which one conducts historical research. Working with a paucity of sources, where most of the people who knew Cissie Gool as a young person are deceased, this thesis searches for and highlights key influences on Gool's early personal-political development. The thesis rests on a number of premises rooted in feminist theory. I begin from the position that 'the personal is political' and take seriously the argument that the family is a key engine of historical process. I take issue with the statement in much of the secondary literature that Cissie Gool was (merely) 'the younger daughter of Dr Abdurahman', which obscures the fact that this relationship was embedded in a family, in which Cissie's mother was at least as important as her father, and where being a younger daughter with an older sister was significant too. While recognising the significance of the fact that Cissie Gool was fathered by Dr Abdurahman, I underline the centrality of women in a patriarchal society where early socialisation is the specific task of women, and where women and girls experience some degree of social segregation from men and boys. In addition to focusing the lens on family dynamics, I trace sometimes tenuous but nevertheless, real threads linking Cissie Gool to particular political circles on the left in Cape Town in the 1920s and 1930s. I suggest that the leftist heterodoxy which characterised the mature Cissie Gool may be linked to a kindred political spirit among some of her early acquaintances, specifically those at the University of Cape Town, counterposed with the more rigid orthodoxies of friends of the Communist Party on the one hand, and on the other, the so-called Trotskyite purists with whom she was linked by marriage. Cissie Gool, may have been unique in her involvement in all three circles, which intersected at socials hosted by herself and her husband, Dr A H Gool. The androcentricity of both the secondary literature and contemporary documentary sources obscures the specifics of Cissie Gool's political development in this period. Nevertheless, this thesis is based on the premise that, in the absence of more concrete sources, an exploration of the various political circles with which Cissie Gool was associated, in the wider political and socio-economic context of 1920s and 1930s Cape Town, permits one to gain insight into key influences on the political development of Cissie Gool.

The specific aim of the survey was twofold, first to find out what educational institutions are "available" in Cape Town for Africans (whether they are numerically adequate, are sufficiently well suited and equipped, and are strategically located in proximity to pupils' homes; and how the social circumstances or the pupils and of the staffs affect school training); second; to find out to what extent the existing schools are "utilized'' by the Africans. In addition, the survey also considers the broader question of school education for Africans, which has become at present one of the major problems of the whole country together with the social and political re-organization of the Bantu community. To re-organize socially is first of all to re-organize mentally, a task which is proper of education in general and of school education in particular.

The chief topic discussed in this thesis is poverty - whether it existed in Cape Town during the 1830s; if so, how it can be measured, how it came to exist. Related to this are general living conditions in Cape Town and in particular, the effect their poverty had on the living conditions, health and well-being of the poor. There are also the questions of whether there was any relationship between poverty and race and/or poverty and slavery, and the extent to which social relations in Cape Town were based an economic or racial considerations. Also, given the changes in the status of coloured people, what effect these changes had on Cape Town society during this period. The emphasis throughout this thesis is on 'the poor'. This raises the question of what 'the poor' and 'poverty' actually mean. In Section I an attempt is made to define poverty 'by drawing up an estimate of minimum family expenditure, thus establishing a 'poverty line'. Some occupations are identified, the earnings from which were insufficient to meet this minimum. This provides an indication of the sort of people likely to have been suffering poverty.

Bibliography: pages 269-280. / The focus of this thesis on African women's experiences as domestic workers results from the fact that the majority of women within the African population in Cape Town are employed in this sector of economy. Further, the African working class is in a peculiar position as a result of the strict enforcement of the Coloured Labour Preference Policy. This policy ensured the almost total exclusion of the African population from decent housing and education as well as employment. In fact, the policy has hamstrung almost every aspect of the African population's life. The Coloured Labour Preferential Policy was coupled with the strict enforcement of influx control, governed by the Urban Areas Act No. 25 of 1945 as amended. Worst hit by this law were the African women. An attempt was made to understand the experiences of African women both in and outside their work situation. The examination of their gendered experiences of 'race' and class divisions has led to the identification of a number of issues, among them poverty, exploitation as rightless workers and payment of low wages, fragmentation of family life and subordination in marriage relations, childcare problems, housing problems and isolation as mothers and workers. Further, their dreams, which include a wish for securing property, a secure family life and educating their children, as well as self-employment, are all indications of their deprivation and exploitation as women. In this thesis gender has been prioritised, as it emerged as the prime feature of African women's experiences of social divisions. Being a woman in a society divided by 'race' and class, has created hierarchies which carry unequal relationships between employer and employee and the payment of low wages. The privatised nature of this unequal relationship is the key to the oppression and exploitation of domestic workers. Moreover, the impact of the double day on African Women domestic workers has resulted in particular experiences of exploitation and oppression. Because of the limited material currently available on domestic workers, this study is seen as a contribution to the study of women as well as a contribution to a gender-sensitive, working class history of Cape Town. The selected literature that has been reviewed has left the gendered experiences of African women unexposed within their households. The focus has been on the work situation only. Failure to recognise or identify these gendered experiences within both class and 'race' divisions results in obscuring the daily struggles that African women face regarding housing, family life and childcare facilities. The review of the two commissions of enquiry, namely the Riekert and Wiehahn Commissions has shown that the State is still unresponsive to the needs of women as workers and in particular, as domestic workers. Riekert has tied the availability of housing to employment, thus excluding a large number of women in the Cape Town urban area.

Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych) / This aim of this study was to investigate the life experiences of substance abusing women participating in a substance abuse treatment programme in the Cape Town area. Much of the research that has been conducted on this topic has been quantitative and therefore removed from the context of lived experience. The current study thus aimed to fill this gap in the literature by using a qualitative methodology to explore women’s own accounts of substance use and how they make sense of these experiences, their trajectory towards substance abuse as well as their motivation for treatment. A qualitative research design was employed, drawing on the interpretive framework which seeks to understand how people make sense of their experiences. Six participants were recruited from a substance abuse treatment centre in Cape Town and data was collected using semi-structured interviews and analysed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Guba and Lincoln’s guidelines for ensuring rigor in qualitative studies were followed and the ethical principles of informed consent, non-maleficence, authenticity of data and anonymity were maintained throughout the study. The study found that partner substance use and psychological pain experienced by the women played a motivating role in their substance use. In addition, the reconstruction of one’s own identity, perceptions of motherhood and mending relationships were found to be key elements in women’s motivation for recovery.

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / South Africa continues to experience unprecedented levels of violence against foreign African nationals, to be more specific, black African foreign nationals in poor communities but also in cities. Local Government has become a major role-player in the functioning of South Africa’s democracy and in managing local conflicts. In light of this, this research-based mini-thesis explores the policies and programmes used in the City of Cape Town Municipality to reduce xenophobic violence against black African foreign nationals in the city. I acknowledge the importance of understanding the historical background of racial conflict in South Africa, and briefly look at whether this attributes to current conflict against black foreign nationals by evaluating competing theories of xenophobic violence. Whilst South Africans found refuge in neighbouring countries during the apartheid era, recent migration patterns reveals a reverse of this trend as the upper regions of the continent suffer war and famine and nationals of those countries seek refuge in South Africa. The Alien Control Act of 1991 strengthened South Africa’s national borders and made it difficult for foreigners to enter the country without the needed ocumentation. However, South Africa’s transition from an apartheid state to a democracy brought with it a number of changes, including an increase in the number of migrants who was previously not allowed to enter the country. One of the major concerns for government has been the issue of distinguishing between those who are in the country legally and those who are in the country illegally. In this mini-thesis, I draw a clear distinction between the different categories of foreigners in South Africa. Xenophobia broke into public view in May 2008 when black South Africans living in townships that suffer poor living conditions and high levels of crime, violently attacked black African foreign nationals working and living among them. The scale of the attacks led to the mass displacement of black African foreigners as they sought protection in refugee camps set up by the state as well as other organizations. Black African foreigners were severely assaulted in the violence. Some were burned while others suffered the looting of their belongings. Local government has an important role to play in the functioning of democracy in South Africa. I am of the view that the policies and programmes employed at local government level would significantly reduce the incidences of xenophobic violence experienced in South African communities, since local government has easier access to communities and people at grassroots level. Xenophobia is not a peculiarly South African problem, and many local governments around the world have used various methods of addressing this. While insights into their methods would be helpful; the focus of this thesis is on South Africa and more specifically the City of Cape Town. In this mini-thesis, I thus investigate the policies and programmes employed by the City of Cape Town municipality in reducing xenophobic violence against black foreign nationals.

The study which follows is concerned with the housing of people within cities, and special reference is made to Metropolitan Cape Town in this context.The object of the study was to isolate certain principles relating to housing, formulating these in such a way that they might , in being tested , yield results useful to City Planners. (*1) Having established such principles, a further purpose of the study was to contrast these against other factors influencing housing such as Town Planning and Legislative Controls, and the effect the latter had upon the former. The principles which were the initial concern of the study originated in the Life Sciences (*2) and the Human Sciences (*3). Although the author cannot claim authority in any of these Sciences, the principles borrowed from them are well known , and served the valuable purpose of permitting a field theory to be constructed. Hypotheses , developed from this field theory, were tested and in so doing yielded some surprising and gratifying results. These results may be found on the pages following , and it will be seen that they appear to justify the method of approach .

"No single element in urban planning outweighs in importance that of housing for the well being of the individual, the family and the community. Yet few questions in urban planning are as little understood, as subject to varying standards and as open to emotionally charged argument as that of what constitutes 'adequate' and 'inadequate' urban residential environments". Whilst housing presents a universal problem, it assumes special importance and significance for South Africa. In this country, Non-Whites constitute 81 per cent of the total population and the large majority of them, who fall within the lowest income groups, are unable to provide themselves with adequate housing. In Cape Town, the Non-White population consists largely of the Coloured group. Although Westernised and becoming increasingly urbanised, this group occupies a differentiated position, in the economic, social and political structure of Cape Town's society

Thesis (DPhil (Sociology and Social Anthropology))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / Identity reflects and aims to control one’s experience. It is an act of consciousness which is neither essential nor immutable but a social construct open to change as circumstances, strategies and interactions fluctuate. It needs therefore to be situated historically and relationally, as identity is a matter of social context. This thesis sets out to investigate processes of identity formation in post-apartheid South Africa, i.e. a context marked by deep changes at both symbolic/material structural levels, in particular within the urban setup. On the basis of focus group discussions with residents of Cape Town, various, and at times contradictory, strategies of identification are explored. Residents’ discourses are analysed on the basis of two entry points, that of the context or the ‘scale’ within which discourse occurs (from the local, to the urban, the national and the continental) and that of the traditional categories of class, race and culture. The narratives that urban citizens draw upon to make sense of their lives and environment illuminate the emergence of new social boundaries among citizens which, though volatile and situational, reveal a changing picture of South Africa as a nation.