THE IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION ON THE CITIES OF SOUTHERN AFRICA: A CASE STUDY OF THE PORT ELIZABETH METROPOLITAN AREA
Gavin McLachlan
Associate Professor
Department of Architecture
University of Port Elizabeth
Port Elizabeth
South Africa
ABSTRACT:
Globalization has effected cities in Southern Africa
in many ways. The case study of Port
Elizabeth is used to chart some of these changes. Globalization is effecting the cities economy, its social and
cultural life, its political realization and its physical form. The
implications for cities in Southern Africa include economic pressure favouring
coastal cities, the hastening demise of traditional life, the loosening of the
grip of the State and the growth of competitive urban regions.
INTRODUCTION:
Globalization has had a deep
effect on cities all over the world, not the least in South Africa where the
isolation of the apartheid years has given way to a much more open society and
economy. Businesses, cities and regions
that flourished in the years of isolation are in decline. Communities that were previously isolated
are seeing their once cherished values challenged, especially by the young who
perceive that the old ways will not do.
New social and urban tensions worsened in Southern Africa by the twin
scourge of crime and HIV Aids, accentuate the differences between rich and
poor. The mass urbanization of the
African rural poor makes these contrasts all too apparent in the new melting
pots of South Africa’s cities.
This paper will explore the
effect of the many forces of globalization on the Port Elizabeth Metropolitan
Area and will attempt to draw conclusions relevant to other Southern African
cities.
REGIONAL CONTEXT:
The Port Elizabeth
Metropolitan Area is located in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The Eastern Cape Province is geographically
the largest of the nine provinces of South Africa. It is located along the South-East coast of South Africa and is
bordered to the North West by the highlands of Lesotho. The total population is around 5million
people, of whom the vast majority are members of the Xhosa ethnic group. The province is largely rural, with a high
percentage of women and children, as many men are migrant workers on South
Africa’s mines. The population of the
Eastern Cape Province have an average per capita annual income of US $ 550 (i),
the second lowest in South Africa. The
rate of HIV infection is estimated to be around 1 in 9 of the population. There are a number of towns and cities in
the province, of which the three principal cities are Umtata, East London and
Port Elizabeth. Port Elizabeth, which
is located in Algoa Bay in the Western part of the province, is the largest
urban centre in the province, and is the fifth largest in the country.
URBAN CONTEXT:
General
The Port Elizabeth
Metropolitan Area has a population of around one and a half million people and is
a commercial industrial port with a substantial motor assembly component. The
Port Elizabeth Metropolitan Area is the focus of urbanization in the province,
and has average per capita income levels that are five times that of the rest
of the Province. The city has a mixed
population that is around fifteen percent white, twenty-five percent
“Coloured”, two percent Asian Indian, and fifty-eight percent black (ii).
Port Elizabeth as Archi City
The historic core of the
Metropolitan area is what remains of a late eighteenth and nineteenth century
European colonial port. Focused on the
harbour and based on walking distances the old city grew first on the narrow
plateaux along the shore North West of the harbour and then spread up the
escarpment and across the higher plateaux too.
The Archi City consisted
mostly of small residential properties, but with some carefully crafted spaces
and imposing public buildings (iii). The traditions of architectural design and
place making are the dominant tools in the forming of the Archi City (iv).
Figure 1: The historical core of Port Elizabeth as Archi City.
Port Elizabeth as Cine City
Through the twentieth century
the city grew outwards with new residential and industrial areas and
infra-structure. Different racial
groups were separated spatially, firstly in the manner of the colonial city and
then in the manner of the apartheid city (v).
This occurred in the form of a large development of townships and
suburbs. The harbour was expanded
considerably and new industrial parks also grew up on the North Western edge of
the city. The automobile and auto
component industry grew to prominence in the city. Roads in particular came to dominate the city. Planners and engineers developed the Cine City (vi) with its flows of goods,
vehicles and people.
Figure 2: Suburban development
and growth show Port Elizabeth as Cine City.
Port Elizabeth as Tele City
From the later nineteen
eighties the growth of the city and its economy and communities was further
influenced by the impact of globalization, much accentuated after 1990 with the
abandonment of apartheid and the opening up of the country to the global
economy. Since this time decentralizing
forces have dominated the complex sprawl of the city. Decentralised shopping malls, footloose industrial developments,
a seemingly endless residential patchwork sprawl, and the ubiquitous
paraphernalia of the global economy (Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Shell, etc) dominate
the city. The contrast between the
wealth of the glittering shopping malls and new office complexes, and the
poverty of the squatter camps creates a tension between those able to access
the global economy with its ATM’s, cell phones and swipe cards, and those shut
out by their culture and poverty.
Increasingly wealthy suburbs and upmarket shopping malls become the
secured private domains of the privileged. The rapidly expanding cyberspace of
telecommunications and the economy that it brings in its wake is the catalyst
to this great change to a Tele City
form (vii).
Figure 3: Port Elizabeth as Tele City (source: Comprehensive Urban Plan)
GLOBALIZATION:
General
The South African economy, and its cities, were sheltered from the full impact of globalization by the sanctions and isolation of the apartheid era, which ended in 1990 with the release of Nelson Mandala and the scrapping of racially discriminatory legislation. The isolation of the apartheid era was not just confined to economic sanctions, but affected all aspects of life in the country. Social and cultural life was also isolated, and racial communities that were separated were encouraged to live within the parameters of their own cultural worldview. The opening up of the country to the world economy has lead to growth in some sectors and to decline in others. The mass urbanization of rural people and the much greater degree of racial and cultural integration that has occurred in South Africa’s cities has also had the effect of weakening the hold of traditional cultures. Everyone wants a television set, a motor car, a cellphone and a hamburger.
The impact of globalization
on the Port Elizabeth Metropolitan Area has been felt in many spheres of the
cities life, including its economic, social, cultural and political life and
physical form (viii).
Figure 4: High-rises in the city centre use the language of international architecture.
Economic Globalization
Port Elizabeth is the centre
of the automobile industry in South Africa and Volkswagen, General Motors and
Ford all have plants in the city, and in addition there are many auto component
manufacturers in the city. Globalization
has forced these manufacturers to become world competitive and, in many cases,
to play a role in the global strategy of their parent companies. Volkswagen SA manufactures an enormous
number of right-hand drive Golf IV’s for export, General Motors (known locally as the Delta Motor Corporation)
exports a number of components both to Opel in Germany and Isuzu in Japan, the
Ford engine plant assembles 1300cc engines used in all such Ford vehicles
worldwide. At the same time vehicle
imports have expanded enormously and have placed great pressure on local
manufacturers both in terms of market share and of quality (ix).
Central to the cities economy
is the harbour that has changed considerably over the past fifteen years in
order to accommodate new shipping technologies such as containerisation. Trends in world shipping are such that the
old harbour is becoming obsolete and a new deep-water harbour is being built at
Coega on the Northern edge of the city.
The new harbour will allow the development of a dedicated export
processing zone as well as new industries in a way that is not possible with
the old harbour (x).
The city is also the centre
of various agricultural export undertakings, including hides and skins,
deciduous fruit and citrus fruit. These
exports are constantly subject to the fluctuations in global consumerism. Here there is nowhere to hide from the
competitive nature of these markets.
Tourism in the city has also
grown, with the near proximity of the Addo National Park and the fact that the
region is malaria free, helping to foster a growing industry (xi).
Figure 5: The cities tourism focus is the recreation potential of the cities beaches.
Globalization has increased
the competitive pressures on the various sectors of the economy in the city,
especially those that have to compete in this global market. As a coastal city, however, the city has
been able to benefit to some extent from export-orientated industries.
Social Globalization
The alienation produced by the
ever-increasing wave of new technologies is isolating a generation of older
workers who have the most difficulty in coping with the new ways. Retrenchment of workers, including middle
and upper management, that was previously unheard of, is now commonplace. An additional pressure are the affirmative
action policies and laws aimed at drawing black people into the economy. The welfare state, never fully developed in
South Africa, continues to struggle with the increasing mass of poor people
while resources are diminishing. The
state schooling and health systems likewise are under increasing pressure to
deliver from a base of inadequate resources.
Labour laws in South Africa are such that those few in formal employment
are fairly well treated and are somewhat protected from the competitiveness of
the economy by the power of the Unions.
Pressure from the global economy, however, is building up to privatise
and to reduce worker protection (xii).
The South African economy is by far the strongest in Southern Africa and
from within South Africa’s own poor rural communities, and from all over the
sub-continent, economic migrants are streaming into South Africa’s cities in
search of improvement in their lives.
In Port Elizabeth Congolese, Angolans, Ghanaians, Nigerians, Somalis,
Zimbabweans, Mozambicans and others have appeared all in the last ten
years. At the same time bright, skilled
(usually young) South Africans are leaving to find employment in the rich
Northern Hemisphere economies.
In Port Elizabeth
globalization has fostered the breakdown of traditional society and is creating
a new order in which only money counts and who has access to information and
the latest technologies.
Cultural Globalization
The internationalised imagery
of globalization in the form of television, American films, music, sport and
global products are an ever-present reality in South Africa’s cities, including
Port Elizabeth. Cultural globalization
with has as its temple the upmarket shopping mall. In Port Elizabeth the six malls that cater to this group are
pervaded with the paraphernalia of global wealth. Satellite television brings into any home or bar 164 channels
dominated by global sports, entertainment and news. The cities Southern beach front with its casino and plethora of
restaurants and bars is both unique in its specifics, but international in its
generalities. Deep-rooted ethnic
traditions such as the Xhosa Abaquetha (the
male circumcision “rite of passage” ritual) is not only difficult to stage in
an urban context, but is increasingly neglected and even abused by local
communities (xiii). The reaction are the chauvinistic movements of the
Africanists (the PAC, AZAPO and the Rastafarians) and the whites (the AWB) who
rally their disaffected supporters to repeated calls for a return to the true
values of past generations. The
apartheid years have left Port Elizabeth, along with other South African
cities, with a mosaic of different racial and ethnic areas, but also with
substantial economic differences between these areas.
Figure 6: Restaurants and bars on the Southern Beach Front.
Cultural globalization has
weakened the hold of traditional culture everywhere both by making it obsolete and
by the magnetic strength of the appeal of global goods and culture. What would you rather ride, a bicycle or a
BMW?
Political Globalization
Politically cities in South
Africa, including Port Elizabeth, are subject to the same global forces that
effect cities elsewhere. Multi-national
companies that will simply leave if conditions don’t suit them. Regional, national and international media
that both convey the messages of the global economy and expose the limits
within which the politicians work. The
reduction of exchange control has opened the doors to South Africans wanting to
invest abroad. In Port Elizabeth it is
estimated that around US $ 3million is leaving the local economy every week
headed for the offshore markets (xiv).
An increasing number of flows of information and capital are beyond the
control of the state. Services that
were previously the exclusive preserve of the state and under the control of
politicians are increasingly being provided privately. In Port Elizabeth private security
companies, private clinics and private colleges are all booming and providing
services that the state cannot afford to provide neither financially nor
politically.
In Port Elizabeth political
globalization is characterised by the decreasing power of the state and the
increasing power of the global networks and economy. At the same time, those with means, are increasingly taking care
of their own needs in the fields of security, health and education and other areas
that were the traditional preserve of the state.
Physical Globalization
The deconcentration of the
Port Elizabeth Metropolitan Area is the most obvious impact of the forces of
globaslization. What was a provincial
city is becoming a small urban region and will eventually have a population of
around three-and-a-half million who will live in a multiple centered sprawl
covering around 625 square kilometres (xv).
Linked to the sprawl is the development of decentralised shopping malls,
office parks and industrial estates, as well as the spreading of work places
into the residential environment. Many
small businesses are now home based, and many people work from their motor
cars, using cellphones and laptops to stay in touch with their colleagues and
clients. The central core of the city,
especially the old CBD, have declined, a development hastened by the movement
of poor people into the centre.
Figure 7: Private transport driving decentralization of
the city.
Port Elizabeth is rapidly changing
under the influence of the global economy into a spread out polycentric urban
region.
CONCLUSION:
The Port Elizabeth Metropolitan Area in many ways typifies the impact of globalization on South African cities. This impact can be summed up by the following points:
1. The global economy has generated enormous pressure on
the economy of the South African city by forcing businesses to become globally
competitive. Coastal cities may benefit
more from this trend than South Africa’s inland cities.
2. Social and cultural globalization have increased the
pressure on traditional societies and culture making even more difficult the
process of urbanization of the African rural poor.
3. Globalization has diminished the ability of
politicians to respond to the pressures experienced by the people and has made
it easier for those with means to live outside the immediate control of the
State.
4. The physical impact of globalization has been to
hasten the growth of South Africa’s largest cities (Johannesburg/Pretoria, Durban/Pietermaritzburg,
Cape Town/Stellenbosch, and Port Elizabeth/Uitenhage) into urban regions.
REFERENCES:
- Information
supplied by the Department of Trade and Industries, Port Elizabeth, May
2001.
- Data
from the 1996 census supplied by the City Engineer’s Department, Port
Elizabeth Municipality, May 2001.
- See
discussion of the architecture of Central Port Elizabeth in “Towards a
Sustainable Conservation Plan for Central Port Elizabeth” by G McLachlan,
UPE, 1997.
- See
discussion of urban form in Cedric Price “Mean Time” Montreal, 1999; and
Luuk Boelens “About Eggs, Mental Maps and Public Space” TAN 1, 1997.
- See
Christopher, A. J. “Apartheid
Planning in South Africa: The Case of Port Elizabeth”, Geographical
Journal, Vol 153 No 2, July 1987.
- See discussion
of urban form in Cedric Price “Mean Time” Montreal, 1999; and Luuk Boelens
“About Eggs, Mental Maps and Public Space” TAN 1, 1997.
- Ibid.
- See
Maurits Schaafsma “Globalization: Making Contact”, TAN1, 1997.
- Information
supplied by the Port Elizabeth Regional Chamber of Industries, May 2001.
- Information
supplied by Portnet, May 2001.
- Information
supplied by Tourism PE, May 2001.
- See
“Financial Mail” 5 to 9 February, 2001.
- See G
McLachlan “Land for the Abaquetha:
The Adaptation of the Male Circumcision Ritual of the Southern Nguni to
the Realities of Urbanization”.
International Conference on “Making Sacred Places”, the Built Form
and Culture Group, University of Cincinati, Cincinati, USA, October 1997.
- Estimate
based on information from the Banking Sector, Port Elizabeth, January
2001.
- See City
of Port Elizabeth, “First Comprehensive Urban Plan: Draft” May 1999.