Raesetje Sefala’s Enduring Mission: Mapping and Addressing Spatial Apartheid in South Africa

In 2024, South Africa continues to grapple with the enduring legacy of apartheid, a regime that enforced racial segregation and discrimination. One of its most visible manifestations is spatial apartheid, the persistent racial segregation in housing. Raesetje Sefala, a 28-year-old computer scientist, is at the forefront of efforts to address this issue using innovative technology.

Raesetje Sefala’s Personal Motivation

Sefala’s motivation stems from her childhood experiences in a racially segregated neighborhood. Witnessing the stark disparities in living conditions and access to resources between her community and wealthier suburbs fueled her determination to make a difference. Despite never experiencing apartheid firsthand, she recognizes the impact it has had on her life and the lives of countless others.

The Challenge of Spatial Apartheid

In South Africa, the government census categorizes both wealthy suburbs and townships, which were created during apartheid and are predominantly populated by Black people, as “formal residential neighborhoods.” This categorization has significant implications for resource allocation. When townships are lumped together with wealthier areas, their needs are often overlooked, leading to disproportionate exclusion from essential services such as healthcare, education, and green spaces.

DAIR’s Approach to Mapping Spatial Apartheid

Sefala and her team at DAIR have embarked on a three-year project to map out townships in South Africa using satellite images and geospatial data. This data set aims to provide insights into how neighborhoods have changed over time in terms of population and size. By analyzing these changes, they hope to assess whether the lives of people in townships have improved since the legal dissolution of apartheid.

The Process of Data Collection and Analysis

The DAIR team collected millions of satellite images of all nine provinces in South Africa. They also obtained geospatial data from the government, which provided information on the location of neighborhoods and buildings across the country. This vast amount of data was then used to train machine-learning models and develop an AI system capable of classifying specific areas as wealthy, non-wealthy, non-residential, or vacant land.

Key Findings

In 2021, DAIR’s analysis revealed that over 70% of South African land is vacant. This finding highlights the stark contrast between the abundance of undeveloped land and the shortage of affordable housing, particularly in townships. Additionally, the analysis confirmed the significant disparities in land allocation between townships and suburbs, with townships receiving a disproportionately smaller share.

Sharing the Data and Its Significance

DAIR plans to make the data set freely accessible on its website from February 2, 2024. This data will be invaluable to researchers, public service institutions, nonprofits, and civic organizations working to address spatial apartheid. By identifying areas suitable for public services and housing, this data can contribute to more equitable resource allocation and improved living conditions for marginalized communities.

Conclusion

Raesetje Sefala’s work at DAIR represents a significant step forward in the fight against spatial apartheid in South Africa. By leveraging technology to map out and analyze the impacts of segregation, she and her colleagues are providing crucial information that can inform policy and decision-making. Their efforts hold the promise of reversing the legacy of apartheid and creating a more just and equitable society.

Raesetje Sefala’s mission to map and address spatial apartheid in South Africa is an inspiring example of how technology can be used to make a positive impact on society. By empowering communities with data and insights, she is helping to create a more just and equitable future for all South Africans.