In case of many African cities the countries, carries the legacy of Apartheid (lasted for 50 years) in spatial planning and urban form, brought by colonization (British /Dutch) and fascism existed long before Apartheid law. Since history segregation has shaped the South African urban form, colonization followed by Apartheid laws of 1948, all to ensure white people retain all powers and dominance in the city. Population registration act in 1950 officially classified people into 4 groups based on their race viz., white people, Asian people, coloured (mixed race) and black people. Apartheid law is the legal provision adopted in south Africa in 1948 based on racial discrimination (Lawful segregation based on race) where minority white people took decisions on what black people can do, where they can live and work. Black people were made to carry identification called passbook, to rigidly control their free movement. White people resided near the centres well serviced with railway networks and urban ambience while, black people were forced to settle in urban periphery within low graded housing units, their movement were rigidly control and they were made to travel a long distance. 1994 ended apartheid after democratic election led be Nelson Mandela.
References
The colour of Law: A forgotten history of how our government segregated America, Richard Rothstein, 2017.
South African cities: perspectives from the ivory tower of urban studies., by Susan Parnell.
In Many Industrialized cities in the west, zoning did not only separate uses of lands, but it also became a tool to separate people.Though zoning has been evolved as an attempt to protect residents form hazardous impact from the industries and mainly concerned for public safety and health, with time it also became a strategic tool to divide people based on class, incomes, and colours especially in the countries where industrialization started ruling the economy and cities thriving on the colonial rules. History of zoning is not free from criticism of creating and influencing discrimination among human beings especially through territorial apartheid system (colonial rule) and Exclusionary zoning policies.
During the modern city formation process, the revolution of industries and its impact basically gave rise to specific group called working class, middle class, and the elite. Although, working class people were key residents for the continuation of the industries, they were subjected to stratified racial discrimination, in terms of spatial locations and political will to address them. While garden city movement during 1903, gave innovative attempt to plan cities built up with relation to nature and nurture the environmental benefits of nature, it did embed locational discrimination/benefit based on class division, through hidden means of zoning approach.
As per the book, the colour of Law: A forgotten history of how our government segregated America, Richard Rothstein analytically describes, Spatial zoning act created during war and post war time in American history was not only the adoption of racial discrimination but was also the approach of economic zoning with disguised racial overlay of then federal and city government. The adopted city development strategy mainly revolved around the ideology where integration was intolerant and spatial and economic segregation/ discrimination was utmost to provoke lesser opportunities for African Americans and maintaining white supremacy all the way round, in the name of “maintaining social harmony, social security, prosperity and public peace”. He further illustrates the strategic economic policy, which was not leverage enough so that African Americans would afford the loan in subsidy to purchase a decent land for their housing. E.g., Racial zoning, Residential security map of Greater Louisville Kentucky 1936 (gateway to the south), then public housing policy in Richmond, San Francisco during after war industrialization e.g., establishment of Ford Motor company. Although these policies are out of the book in today’s time their effect cumulates and resonates in many social, emotional, and spatial aspects in history of American planning system.