Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, / Between Union in 1910 and the start of World War Two, urban racial segregation in South African cities evolved through three distinct periods. Initially, the predominantly white cities were the target of colonial planning initiatives to reduce overcrowding and prevent the development of industrial slums. After World War One, the regulation of African urbanisation was the primacy focus of urban policy. The living standards of the urban workforce were to be improved and controlled by excluding unemployed African people, by forcing the majority of the urban African workforce into compound quarters, and by establishing limited accommodation for African families in town. The racial administration of urban poverty was entrenched in the 1930s when, faced with the persistent growth of slums.the state bolstered white welfare initiatives and imposed even tighter residential restrictions on blacks living in urban areas. Abbreviation abstract) / Andrew Chakane 2019