

Chapter 7



THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT

"Blacks have always had to live in an environment that was neither beautiful nor clean. We have not had the proper housing, roads or services because the authorities would not accept that we were a permanent part of the city scene."

(Japhta Lekgatha, President, National Environmental Awareness Campaign, Soweto)

The present situation

Because of  apartheid , black communities are often close to dirty industries. They do not have proper rubbish removal systems or other services. Many informal settlements do not have clean water or proper toilets. They have very few parks. Often there are too many people living in one house or yard. In the cities there are often too many people living in one flat because there are not enough houses or flats.

South African cities are growing very fast. Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Pretoria and Johannesburg are the fastest growing cities. There are millions of people living in these cities. They use a lot of our resources. They produce a lot of waste.

The resources that we use in towns can cause damage to the environment in other places. For example:

- our electricity comes from power stations in the Eastern Transvaal. These power stations cause air pollution in the Eastern Transvaal; and
- Gauteng will get some of its water from Lesotho. The people living in the Lesotho mountains will lose some of their land because of this.
Sometimes towns use good farming land to build houses and industries.

People in cities often waste resources. We need to recycle and re-use things. For example, tins and glass can be recycled instead of being thrown away. We can use land in towns to grow vegetables. We must make sure that everyone in towns has clean water and electricity. But we also need to learn to use water and electricity carefully.

Who looks after our towns?

In the past our cities were divided by  apartheid . Black communities often experienced the worst environmental problems. But black areas did not have enough money, nor did they have properly elected local governments.

White local governments looked at air pollution, waste management and setting up parks and open areas. Some went further and tried to deal with how environmental issues affected people's health.

We now have Transitional Local and Metropolitan Councils. Black and white areas are managed together. Many of these transitional councils are trying to put services into the black areas.

In June 1992 there was an important international conference called the UNCED Earth Summit. This conference adopted a document called Agenda 21. Agenda 21 describes how to look after our environment throughout the world. Chapter 28 of Agenda 21 shows how local governments can set up healthy cities and 'local Agenda 21s' by 1996. It says that they should consult with local people. Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town are already starting to do this.

Elections for democratic, non-racial local government will be held in 1995. It will be the job of local government to do many of the things recommended in this chapter. Local governments must take environmental issues into account in all their decisions. We suggest that each local government should set up an environmental sub-committee.

Problems that the new government must deal with:

1.  Not enough houses: There are not enough houses for poor families. Families that are headed by women are often the poorest. Under the RDP millions of houses will be built. But we must make sure that these houses are built in such a way that they do not damage our environment.

In many black areas lots of people live in one house. There are shacks in the back yards of houses. There is also overcrowding in areas like Hillbrow. Because there are not enough houses, families and women are forced to live in hostels. The toilet and water services in all these areas were not designed for so many people. They often break down.
2.  Badly built houses: Many houses in black townships are badly built. Many don't have chimneys. When people use coal for cooking the smoke stays inside the house. This causes chest illnesses. Many township houses have been built with unhealthy materials. Asbestos can be dangerous if it gets damaged or broken. Some houses have cracks and are damp inside.

The new houses must be designed to stay warm in winter and cool in summer. People will use less coal or electricity to keep warm.
3.  Building in the wrong places: South African towns spread over a lot of ground. Land that should be used for farming or nature conservation has been used to build towns instead. It costs more to put services into houses  because they are far from the centre of the town. It costs people a lot to travel long distances to get to work. And there is more air pollution from the cars and taxis that people use to travel.

Some informal settlements are in bad places. Some are next to rivers where they get flooded when it rains. Some are on dangerous ground in places like Bekkersdal. Some are in areas that we should be protecting for the health of our country.
4.  Soil erosion: Many black townships have untarred roads. They do not have proper storm water drains. Rain water washes away the soil. This is worse in places that are built on the side of hills.

Sometimes, when new townships are built, all the plants are taken out. There is nothing left to stop the wind blowing the soil away. The rain also washes the soil away. These places are very dusty. This causes chest problems for people living there. We need plants to keep the soil from being washed and blown away.
5.  Air pollution: The air inside and outside our houses is polluted. It is very polluted inside houses in which coal is used for cooking. These people can get lung illnesses from the coal smoke.

Air pollution comes from factories, cars and trucks, and burning coal and wood in homes. Some of the worst air pollution in South Africa is in Merebank (Durban) (see Box 6 on the next page), Cape Town, the Vaal Triangle, Soweto and other black townships in the PWV area.

BOX 6:

MEREBANK

- A case of bad planning

In Merebank, bad planning has allowed houses to be built close to dirty industries. About 50 000 people live in Merebank. It is just south of Durban. It has dirty industries all around it. There are two oil refineries, a paper mill, a chrome processing plant, an airport and lots of chemical industries. Some industries are growing and are moving even closer to the houses. Some families live only 20 metres from an oil refinery.

The environmental problems include noise from industry and aeroplanes. The air is very polluted. The land, river and sea are polluted. The pollution is worse in winter.

For nearly 30 years no one was worried about the health of the people living there. The community could not get information from the industries or from the local government. They could not find out what chemicals were polluting the air. Because of this they could not find out exactly what danger there was to the health of workers or the community.

Studies done in the last few years have shown that a lot of people have problems with their lungs. This is because of the amount of pollution in the air. The children in Merebank are ten times more likely to get lung diseases than children from other places. There have also been a lot of industrial accidents in the area.

The Merewent Ratepayers' Association (MRA) has set up an Environmental Project Unit (EPU). The EPU has brought local industries and the local government together to discuss the problems. The EPU wants industries to meet good environmental, health and safety standards. They want to increase environmental awareness in the community. The EPU wants a full study of the area to be done. This will help them to work out how to control the pollution in the area.

When electricity is put in to the townships, people will use less coal. This will make the pollution less. But this will take a long time. The use of low-smoke coal will also make things better.

The government must set up better systems to control air pollution.
6.  Getting rid of our rubbish: We must learn to recycle our rubbish, not just to throw it away. For example, tins, glass, paper and some plastic can be recycled. Local governments must encourage families and industry to recycle their rubbish. Rubbish that we throw away goes to a dump which takes up a lot of space and can cause water pollution.

A lot of rubbish is illegally dumped in our towns. Some of this rubbish might be poisonous. This is dangerous to the health of our people. Rubbish removal services in black areas are very bad. The build up of rubbish in the streets is bad for the health of the people living there.

7.  Use of water:South Africa is a dry country. We must protect our water. Four million people in towns do not have clean water. Many families get their water from a shared tap. They fetch water in buckets or other containers.

Sometimes these containers have had chemicals in them. This can be dangerous. Not having clean water can make the chances of getting ill higher.

In 'white' areas there is plenty of clean water.

The rivers in our towns are very polluted. This is from waste from industry and from rubbish getting into the rivers. It is also from informal settlements that don't have proper toilets.

8.  Parks and open areas: There are very few parks in black townships. There are very few places for people to enjoy themselves outside. These open areas are also important to help to clean the air and water. They also provide spaces for birds, insects and small animals to live.

In many parks in 'white' areas, the plants and trees are not from South Africa. Many of them need a lot of water to stay alive. Some towns have started planting South African trees and plants.

9.  Growing crops in towns: We can use open areas in our towns to grow crops. This could help local people to make money and to make sure that everyone had food. It could help black women in particular, because they usually grow crops. Some of the rubbish from people's houses could be used to make compost.

10. Transport: We do not have good public transport. Many people use taxis or cars. These cause air pollution. This pollution contains lead, which can cause brain damage in children. The government must find a way to improve transport in cities. They must look at the environmental issues. They must also look at how good public transport can improve the lives of people in towns.

11. A new way of planning: All local governments should look at environmental issues when making decisions about their towns. Communities should be involved in these decisions.

Recommendations

Planning:

- All planning in towns must look at environmental issues.
- Houses and factories should not be built on good farming land, or land that we need for nature conservation.
- Local government officials should be trained to understand environmental problems.
- Communities, industry, trade unions and so on should be involved in making sure that our cities are healthy.

Local Agenda 21:

- A national programme for 'local Agenda 21' programmes should be started with provincial and local government.

Air pollution:

- Air pollution must be dealt with as a matter of urgency.

Water management:

- The government must find ways to get people to use less water. Those people who use very little water, like the poor, should pay a little. Factories and people who use lots of water should pay a lot.
- The government must improve the control of pollution of rivers in our towns. Industries must pay to clean up if they pollute water. Local communities should check on water pollution in their areas, and report problems to the government.
- Local governments must work together to manage our rivers.

Recycling rubbish:

- Local governments must find ways to get industries and families to recycle rubbish.

Land:

- When deciding what to use land for, the government must think about the environment. They must work out the best use for that land.
- The government should help people who want to farm crops in our towns.
- We need plans for open spaces in our towns.
- The government must investigate how much food could be grown by small farmers in our towns and cities.

Designing and building houses:

- Dangerous materials should not be used in houses.
- All new houses should be built to use less electricity and to save water. Rainwater tanks could be used.
- Local government officials must be trained to make sure that building causes as little damage to the environment as possible.

Transport:

- The government must set up good public transport systems that do not damage our environment.
- When big roads or railway lines are to be built, their effect on the environment must be studied. They must be built so that they do as little damage to the environment as possible.
- The government must start selling petrol that does not have lead in it.

Research:

- The government must find out how we can make our cities more environmentally friendly. They must look at ways of getting people to recycle their rubbish.



