Social cohesion: views and experiences of the residents of Serala view neighbourhood in Polokwane.

Abstract

That South Africa is a divided society continues to be a worrying concern. Although the major dividing line is on a racial basis, economic class division is prevalent, especially in urban areas. In the light of fragmented post-apartheid urban development and an increasingly unequal South African society, the necessity for building social cohesion has become an urgent priority for urban development planners, designers and practitioners. For this reason, the formation of social cohesion also has to be fostered on a residential level, where the housing provision has been made to cater for people of diverse socio-economic backgrounds. To assess the manifestation of social cohesion in such residential developments, which is what this article seeks to achieve, a typical mixed-residential development was identified – Serala View – and used a structured questionnaire to interview the residents on the five predominant dimensions of social cohesion. The results from the study – which this article is based on –show that in general, the majority of the respondents have positive views of and experiences with the dimensions that determine the manifestation of social cohesion in a neighbourhood. However, the fear of crime in the neighbourhood has a negative effect on the establishment of social order and control. As such, it is recommended that strong security measures at the entrances of the residential neighbourhood should be established to monitor the people entering the neighbourhood.