Post‐apartheid residential mobility patterns in two South African cities

Pre‐1994 apartheid laws had a marked impact on urban land use patterns in South Africa. A new government came into power in 1994 and the Group Areas Act had been abolished. The resultant integration of residential suburbs was initially slow, but is occurring at an increasing rate. In this paper, relocation patterns in Johannesburg and Pretoria are analysed. Analysis of the process indicates that the socio‐economic status and the affordability levels of the home‐buyer will drive the relocation process. Integration levels will initially be highest in low‐ and middle‐income residential areas. Shopping centres in certain areas had to change their products and tenant mix to cater for the specific needs of new black residents, while the increasing integration of residential areas will also have an impact on the location of office firms. Attention is drawn to certain similarities with the process of residential integration in the USA.