Human Interest

"I agree with you, I think that the images are chilling. And they communicate so well what is otherwise a very complicated and nuanced issue to discuss—separation, segregation, history, disenfranchisement. But the images cut right to the heart of the matter, which is that these separations are not right" This is a quote in the article from the man that took the pictures (Johnny Miller). These photos show us the lines of segregation that continues even in a post Apartheid South Africa. These are amazing images and really quite unbelievable. We think of different segregation here in America, but what these photos show are unlike anything that I have personally seen.  As stated in the article the author hopes to create conversations about these separations. We see planned spatial separations that we created by city planners and we must used these as lessons going forward and as jumping off points to discuss. These shocking images can help inform us as a society that we must improve our social issues and if we don't we will continue to see issues like this grow both here in South Africa and around the world. One can see while tensions would be so high as a clear divide in living standards can rightfully cause anger. Eventually this anger leads to hate and this hate leads to an up rise in the people. 

South Africa is one of the few countries that has a similar history in regards to racial segregation as America.  What makes their case unique is that the African population was there first and the English came in and created a system in which they were superior.  Although they have been officially desegregated for almost 20 years, these photos show that there are still underlying issues that exist.  These photos reveal that on one side of a particular area, the homes look like a typical suburban area where right across from that there are areas that resemble slums.  The areas that are more developed and wealthy have a majority white population and the poorer, less developed areas have large black populations.  The affects of segregation are long lasting and not solved overnight.  Just because government policies say that discrimination on a racial basis is illegal, doesn’t mean that society will neatly reorganize itself.  I think that the craziest part of this for me was that even the landscaping is vastly different despite the closeness of the two areas.  The wealthier part has lush green and the poorer parts have dirt and sand.  This an example of physical geography providing evidence for a societal separation.

Just because a formal social construct - an idea in the human mind - changes, does not mean that change, or desire to alter course, is reflected in the real world. While the idea of apartheid in South Africa came to an end, the real world in the form of urban geography has yet to catch up. The urban planning under apartheid still carries the legacy of color codes and demarcated boundaries between "races" in order to cement socioeconomic inequity. This situation in South Africa is similar to the United States after the Civil Rights movement ended the era of Jim Crow. Even though laws were passed, the geography remained largely untouched. Black neighborhoods remained socially and economically segregated - the only difference being that the law did not mandate this. The law never stipulated geographic changes or economic prescriptions like wealth redistribution. It turns out that human geography and philosophical principles can be at odds with each other, as demonstrated by the aerial photographs of South African cities.