Organizing on the Streets: A Study of Reclaimers in ... - Inclusive Cities
Organizing on the Streets: A Study of Reclaimers in ... - Inclusive Cities
Organizing on the Streets: A Study of Reclaimers in ... - Inclusive Cities
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4.1 Salt River-Woodstock<str<strong>on</strong>g>Organiz<strong>in</strong>g</str<strong>on</strong>g> <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Streets</strong>: A <strong>Study</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Reclaimers</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Streets</strong> <strong>of</strong> Cape Town4. The Scoped AreasSalt River-Woodstock is an old <strong>in</strong>dustrial area <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> first r<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> neighbourhoods that surround<strong>the</strong> city centre (about 1 kilometre east <strong>of</strong> Cape Town). Salt River is a railway juncti<strong>on</strong> which makesit a central meet<strong>in</strong>g po<strong>in</strong>t <strong>in</strong> Cape Town. It is a work<strong>in</strong>g class, historically ‘coloured’, largelyMuslim, area. The area was orig<strong>in</strong>ally made up <strong>of</strong> ex-slaves who were given land <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> edges <strong>of</strong>city-centre farms when freed <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> 19 th century. Many dock workers, and later Jewish immigrants,took up residence <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> small cottage row houses that <strong>in</strong>tersperse <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>dustrial sites <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> area.Despite attempts dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> apar<strong>the</strong>id era to declare Woodstock and Observatory exclusivelywhite areas under <strong>the</strong> Group Areas Act, Salt River c<strong>on</strong>t<strong>in</strong>ues to reflect its historical demographicroots. Woodstock and Observatory, which are both adjacent to Salt River, are, however, bothgentrify<strong>in</strong>g. They have each recently been deemed ‘improvement districts’. 4 Alfred, a reclaimer <strong>in</strong><strong>the</strong> area, observed: “I d<strong>on</strong>’t have a place to stay… I used to work <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> c<strong>on</strong>structi<strong>on</strong> <strong>in</strong>dustry andwe have built most <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se build<strong>in</strong>gs you see <strong>in</strong> Albert Road but now I do not have a place to stay.I cry when I see <strong>the</strong>se build<strong>in</strong>gs.”Observatory hosts many University <strong>of</strong> Cape Town students. In Woodstock <strong>the</strong>re has been a wave<strong>of</strong> removals <strong>of</strong> people <strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>formal shelters or who have occupied build<strong>in</strong>gs and are unable to pay<strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g rents, to Delft. Light <strong>in</strong>dustry is still found <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> area, and <strong>the</strong> sub-standard liv<strong>in</strong>gc<strong>on</strong>diti<strong>on</strong>s <strong>of</strong> overcrowd<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> crumbl<strong>in</strong>g build<strong>in</strong>gs c<strong>on</strong>t<strong>in</strong>ues <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> area as well. There is alsoa new wave <strong>of</strong> immigrants from o<strong>the</strong>r parts <strong>of</strong> Africa, who have settled <strong>in</strong> sub-divided s<strong>in</strong>gleresidencyoccupati<strong>on</strong> <strong>in</strong> build<strong>in</strong>gs al<strong>on</strong>g <strong>the</strong> lower ma<strong>in</strong> road. There are men’s shelters that arehome to African migrants <strong>on</strong> nights <strong>the</strong>y can raise enough m<strong>on</strong>ey for <strong>the</strong> shelter (R25 a night).Unlike many areas <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> city dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> xenophobic attacks <strong>of</strong> 2008, <strong>the</strong>re has been no collectiveviolence aga<strong>in</strong>st migrants from o<strong>the</strong>r African countries <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> area, and many choose to reside <strong>in</strong>Salt River-Woodstock for its central locati<strong>on</strong> and affordable hous<strong>in</strong>g opti<strong>on</strong>s. 54.1.1 Buy-back Centres <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> AreaThe ma<strong>in</strong> buy-back centres are L&B Scrap; Uni-Scrap <strong>in</strong> Salt River; and Naledi, Sunsh<strong>in</strong>e andMetal Mania <strong>in</strong> Woodstock. These centres claim that <strong>the</strong>y buy <strong>on</strong>ly a small proporti<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>irscrap from street reclaimers. Mostly, <strong>the</strong>y buy from ‘bakkies’ [small pick up trucks] deliver<strong>in</strong>gfrom steel and paper companies, and do <strong>the</strong>ir own <strong>on</strong>-call collecti<strong>on</strong>. There are sign boards upwith set prices. 6 At Sunsh<strong>in</strong>e <strong>the</strong>y told us that <strong>the</strong>re are standard prices set by <strong>the</strong> end-users –who are big bus<strong>in</strong>esses <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> scrap <strong>in</strong>dustry. However, each buy-back centre determ<strong>in</strong>es whatit will pay reclaimers, and <strong>the</strong>re is little room for negotiati<strong>on</strong>. One owner <strong>of</strong> three centres <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>area told us that <strong>the</strong>re is no room to negotiate prices, and “If you want to negotiate you must lookfor different places” to sell to. At Naledi a worker told us that “<strong>in</strong>dividuals just accept what we<strong>of</strong>fer or <strong>the</strong> prices that are set”. He asserted that big bus<strong>in</strong>ess dealers do barga<strong>in</strong>. <strong>Reclaimers</strong> fromoutside <strong>the</strong> area said <strong>the</strong>y came to Salt River-Woodstock to sell because <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> prices <strong>of</strong>fered. Onebuy-back centre pers<strong>on</strong> said that despite M<strong>on</strong>days and Wednesdays be<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> days that municipalwaste was collected <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> area, Tuesdays and Thursdays were <strong>the</strong>ir busiest days because “[t]here is less waste from companies” delivered early and later <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> week. Likewise at Sunsh<strong>in</strong>eMetal <strong>on</strong> Albert Road <strong>the</strong> owner excluded street reclaimers from his descripti<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> valuecha<strong>in</strong>, say<strong>in</strong>g that he buys from “all people – plumbers, people from firms… people struggle <strong>on</strong>4 For more, see Jayne Garside, “Inner city gentrificati<strong>on</strong> <strong>in</strong> South Africa: The case <strong>of</strong> Woodstock, Cape Town,”GeoJournal. 30.1 (1993), pp. 29-35.5 General photographs which we took <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> area are <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> our research materials/files. Also seewww.michaelvr.co.za/render.php?pg=detailed.html&detailed:acode=4#6 For example, <strong>the</strong> sign at L&B reads: S/B R35.00; Copper R30.00; Brass R20.00; S/Steel R7.50; Alloy R4.50; BatteryR0.60; Lead R2.50.5