Chemins de civilisation ?

Abstract

Ce sont les considérations économiques qui ont présidé à la construction des premières lignes de chemin de fer en Afrique du Sud, à l’époque de la colonisation britannique. Le maillage du réseau amorcé lors de la constitution de la Nation sud-africaine en 1910 est cependant ralenti pendant le régime d’apartheid. Nous faisons l’hypothèse que ce ralentissement est lié à un objectif de contrôle des mobilités par le régime d’apartheid afin d’instituer une politique de séparation systématique des différents groupes de population. L’enjeu pour les différents gouvernements en charge de la planification consiste aujourd’hui à dépasser cet héritage et à refaire du train un instrument de lien social et de cohésion urbaine pour tous les citoyens.

What Is Emerging? Understanding Urbanisation Dynamics in BRICS Countries Through a Geographical Approach, the Case of Russia and South Africa

“…From then on, the train became the transport mode of the segregated populations. Indeed, also at this scale, public transport enabled the daily commutes of the manpower living in the townships towards the employment areas; and in general to control the movement of the different population groups (Baffi, 2014). Hence, the tree-pattern shape progressively developed at the urban scale and became a key feature of the functioning of the apartheid city.…”

The South African Urban System

“…At this stage, the South African network fits with the model developed by E. J. Taaffe, R. L. Morrill & P. R. Gould (1963): penetrating lines appeared to serve different ambitions: establishing political and military connections, and producing agricultural goods for export. Hence, the railways network was developed according to what can be observed in other African colonies: the penetrating lines were connecting the main harbors to areas of agricultural production such as the wine lands or the breeding areas, especially to export ostrich feathers and sheep wool (Baffi, 2014). At the time, the networking of the colony combined with the influx of British and European immigrants, the economic dynamism of the settlers and the political and administrative organization contributed to structuring the space located at the tip of the continent, turning Cape Town into a proper bridgehead for Southern Africa.…”