Cape Town, South Africa

Caroline Boucher Env. Science 1/26/11

If an individual wanted to visit an exotic and foreign destination, where would they go? The list could be endless; however, one notable place is Cape Town, South Africa. Cape Town is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, as well as one of the most culturally diverse. The city government aims to ensure that these qualities are enhanced for present and future generations, and that residents live in a safe, healthy, and caring environment. Surely anyone that would visit the city would enjoy themselves and never forget it. About two thousand years ago the first human communities to inhabit the Cape Peninsula were the Khoisan people. They were ancestors of Bushmen and Hottentot tribes today. They were semi-nomadic and thus mainly hunter-gathers, but they also fished and grew a few plants. The tribes who lived along the Orange River herded and traded cattle for tobacco with the Xhosa tribes to the east. The Khoisan people lived in small, loosely knit groups of about twenty people. They were highly mobile on account of their dependence on game, and for the same reason widely dispersed territorially. Today, traces of their drawings, engravings, and carvings can still be seen in the caves around the city (1). The first European to discover the peninsula occurred in 1487, when Portuguese sailor Bartholomeu Dias set out with a fleet of three ships to find a sea route to the East. He sailed down the west coast of Africa, but before reaching the Cape he was caught in a ferocious storm that landed them further out into sea and away from the coast. Once the storm had passed they resumed their journey in an easterly direction, expecting to reach the west coast again. However, after a number of days' sailing without any sign of land, they changed direction and headed north. Then on February 3, 1488, they landed at the mouth of the Gouritz River on the east coast of Africa. They had unknowingly sailed around the peninsula - the first Europeans on record to do so. Dias named the Cape Cabo Tormentosa or "Cape of Storms" alluding to the storm he had

endured, but changed it to Cabo de Boa Esperanca, the "Cape of Good Hope", to please the king of Portugal, as rounding the Cape provided hope of a sea route to the East (2). The first settlement of the Cape was not until 1652 when the Dutch East India company sent twenty-three year-old Jan Antony van Riebeeck to establish a half-way point for ships sailing from Europe to India. There he built a castle and garden where ships could stop to find shelter, take aboard fresh supplies of water, meat, fruit and vegetables and even make any necessary repairs to the ship. To meet the demand of the food needed, local Khoisan people and even Asian immigrants were used as slaves to cultivate the gardens. This helped form the foundation of the mixed colored populations, and it also brought Islam to the Cape. In 1679, Simon van der Stel arrived as the new governor to the Cape. For the next one hundred years, he, his son, and later grand-son turned this vast region into rich farmland, planted about eight thousand trees, designed and built the biggest of the Cape's historic mansions, and even introduced wine production to the area(3). By 1780, France and Great Britain went to war against each other. The Netherlands entered the war on the French side. In 1781 the French sent troops and established a ranch to help the Dutch defend the city in case of a British attack. The French presence influenced local architecture and culture, but British occupation brought new parliamentary and judicial concepts and freedom for the slaves. Finally, in 1802, a peace treaty was signed between France and England and even returned the Cape to Dutch control. This period led to major developments and can be said to be the start of Cape Town as a city in its own right (4). During much of the 20th century there were no racial bars in Cape Town, both whites and nonwhites could vote and hold office. However, starting in 1948 with the election of the National Party and leading all the way up until 1994, South Africa had an Apartheid government system

under which the rights of non-whites were diminished and white supremacy reigned. But in 1994, Nelson Mandela and his African National Congress won the elections and ended the apartheid, bringing a new era to the country Today, Cape Town has a metropolitan municipality governmental system that is governed by a 221-member city council. The city is divided into 111 electoral wards; each ward directly elects one member of the council, while the other 110 councilors are elected by a system of party-list proportional representation. The Executive Mayor is chosen by the city council. The current mayor is Patricia de Lille, who was elected on June 1, 2011. Getting around Cape Town is easy. Public transport options around Cape Town include city buses, taxis, Rikkis, commuter trains and minibuses. The way most South Africans get around is by minibus taxi. They are cheap, efficient and plentiful. You can hail them like you would a cab anywhere in the world. Since 2007, Cape Town has been working on the first phase of an Integrated Rapid Transit (IRT) system to significantly improve public transport in the City. The first leg of this IRT system is the work of a Bus Rapid Transit system that emphasizes the need for integration of other transportation modes, especially rail, for the backbone of public transport in Cape Town (6). Cape Town is South Africas second-richest city, in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, after Johannesburg; it produces about $103 billion and accounts for 71.10% of the Western Capes economic activity. The majority of the citys economic activity is driven by small to medium enterprises, such as finance, insurance, real estate, business services manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, catering and accommodation. However, the remaining percentage of the citys economic activity is achieved by the booming tourism industry (7). Roughly 1.5 million travelers visit Cape Town from across the globe and keep the city packed

with tourists throughout the year. The location of the city, along with the stunning scenic views and a large number of tourist attractions, makes it one of the major travel destinations in the world. Cape Town is internationally recognized as a clean air city to live in. Although it is relatively pollution free most of the time, Cape Town does have frequent episodes of a brown haze. It is most common in winter months and spreads across the mountains that border the city. These episodes represent a major health risk to children and elderly citizens and even portray Cape Town in a negative way to tourists (6). There are no major problems with waste disposal in the City. In fact, it is the first municipality in the country to introduce waste management legislation that provides a safe and healthy environment. The laws include: recycling activities, and minimum requirements for waste storage. Also, even though overcrowding is not a major issue, diseases such as tuberculosis, tend to spread rapidly in the areas where poverty and overcrowding do occur. However, the city has managed to achieve the highest cure rate for the disease and even received an award by United Nations recognizing its efforts. In conclusion, it is safe to say that Cape Town would a marvelous city to visit. The city has been influenced immensely by many different cultures that no matter where you go, you will see the effects. The local government has made sure to make your visit a healthy travel. So what are you waiting for, start planning your next vacation!

References 1. http://www.bookcapetown.com/info/history-of-cape-town#moreDetails 2. http://cybercapetown.com/CapeTown/history.php 3. http://www.cape-town.info/pages/information/history-of-cape-town.php 4. http://www.rhinoafrica.com/south-africa/cape-town/history 5. http://www.history.com/topics/cape-town 6. http://www.capetown.gov.za/en/irt/Pages/default.aspx 7. http://www.mapsofworld.com/cities/south-africa/cape-town/economy.html