In South Africa, attention has been drawn to the destruction of Sophiatown in Johannesburg (Lodge 1983) and the razing of District Six in Cape Town (Hart 1988). In Durban, the implementation of the Group Areas Act (GAA) of 1950 in Cato Manor similarly reflected, at the micro-level, the conflicts and tensions which were evident in the broader society. The GAA was one of the key instruments used to enforce the ideology of apartheid. It served as a powerful tool for state intervention in controlling the use, occupation, and ownership of land and buildings on a racial basis. In terms of the GAA, separate residential areas, educational services, and other amenities had to be provided for the different race groups. The overriding goal was racial residential segregation (Maharaj 1992c). This paper examines the struggle to save Cato Manor from the GAA and its consequences.
