The survey found that Soweto was a significantly differentiated locality. This differentiation is manifested in various ways- the quality of the accommodation, income levels, employment and educational qualifications are the key manifestations. Whilst most of Soweto's long-term residents were living in adequate accommodation, many residents, especially the more recent arrivals were living in small, poorly constructed structures that either did not have access to or had inadequate access to electricity and to a lesser extent to water. The lack of basic facilities was particularly acute in informal settlements, but many backyard structures, homes in site and service schemes and hostels also had inadequate facilities and limited space. There is no doubt that the limited facilities in many Soweto Homes added considerably to the difficulties of every life for the residents concerned. Probably the biggest issue facing the post- apartheid government is job creation. The survey confirmed the desperate situation around employment in historically - African townships and that younger people are generally in the worst situation. Sowetans between 20 and 29 has the highest levels of unemployment. What was noteworthy was that women were more likely to be unemployed than men. The massive levels of unemployment impacted on household income. It is evident that many Sowetan households at the time of the survey were struggling financially. Besides the fact that in many households there was only one breadwinner, in most instances Sowetans were not in highly skilled or highly paid jobs. A well educated, fairly well paid middle class was evident, however an encouraging finding was that 8,5% of adults had a post matric qualification. Clearly, Soweto has not been abandoned by the middle classes. Not surprisingly, a substantial proportion of this middle class was located in the private sector housing domain.

Although many of the larger corporations and some key institutions have left the CBD and relocated in the northern suburbs, the CBDD was still the main source of employment for Sowetans. An interesting finding is that one in five Sowetans worked in Soweto itself. This indicates that the area is generating its won economy and is no longer merely a labour provider for the historically white group areas.

Residents were also differentiated in terms of their urban histories. The survey found that the residents of council housing were most likely to have had a long urban history. Almost all had been born in a town or moved to one before 1970. Most had lived in Soweto for all or most of their lives. Most of the private sector housing occupants were also long-time Soweto residents-half were born in Soweto and only 3,4% had moved to the area after 1989. In contrast about a quarter of backyard structure, informal settlement and hostel residents had moved to Soweto post 1989. Very few backyard or informal settlement structures existed pre-1980. This part of Soweto's population starts burgeoning from the early 1980's, after the severe restrictions on housing availability had eased and influx control had been scrapped. For a substantial section of the Council house residents, backyard structure tenants were an important source of income. For the working class, who arrived in Soweto from other areas, the data suggest that backyard structures were the preferred accommodation and also the easiest to acquire. The findings around backyard structures have interesting policy implications. They illustrate that providing people with bigger plots can generate a good deal of extra housing, accommodate growing families comfortably or alternatively provide poor families with an important source of income and provide immigrants with affordable accommodation.

Soweto was also significantly differentiated in terms of family types. A large proportion, just under half, were nuclear family households- parents plus offspring and about a quarter of all households were headed by single women. The fact that females were the breadwinners, in about a third of all households, indicates that in many households women were not only primarily responsible for child-rearing and domestic chores but were also responsible for ensuring that the household had financial resources.

Marriage was a common phenomenon with very few married women had been married more than once. In many households husband/wife relations were characterised by abuse. Clearly, marital violence is a major problem in Soweto and unfortunately it reflects a national trend. Although most Sowetans have a long history of urban life, tradition around marriage is still significant. Nine in ten marriages involve the payment of lobola.

The health profile of Soweto suggests that most residents were adequately nourished. Very few respondents mentioned nutritional deficiency as a problem. The most common disease/injury reported for the twelve months prior to the survey was respiratory complaints. This was the pattern for all age groups. It suggests that at the time of the survey pollution might have been a common problem in Soweto. A substantial proportion of the residents described their health status as bad in the month preceding the survey. Poorer residents were more likely to describe their health status as bad, illustrating that poverty was impacting on the health of residents.

There was a heavy reliance on government provided facilities for medical care. About three-quarters of residents used a local clinic or a nearby hospital for medical problems. One in five residents, suggesting that most residents could not borne the costs of private medicine, used private practitioners. A very low number of residents consulted traditional healers. It may indicate that the use of traditional medicine is still stigmatised and residents were reluctant to admit that they consult traditional healers.

HIV/AIDS is possibly the major health concern in Soweto. Although there clearly has been a degree of success in HIV/AIDS education, the level of ignorance is disturbing. About the quarter of the population said that they did not know what Aids is This ignorance was most stark amongst that section of the population

that had minimal formal education. It perhaps indicates that AIDS education is not impacting on people who are semi or totally illiterate. Of further concern is that some of those who knew what AIDS is did not know how it is spread.

The data on crime and violence is a microcosm of the challenges facing South Africa as whole at this point in our history. The fact that most Sowetans felt that crime had increased in the last five years and that murder and rape were of high concern to most respondents. It illustrates the high levels of violence that often accompany crime. The data did not, however, indicate that Soweto is an area that is overwhelmed by crime and crime levels did not appear excessively high relative to other areas of the country.

The South African Constitution contains what is often described as the most progressive Bill of Rights in the world. The stated aim of the Constitution is to promote the achievement of human dignity, equality and freedom and the Bill of rights contain a number of provisions designed to pursue this goal. These rights will however only contribute to the achievement of substantive quality if they are given concrete effect. The findings in the section on human rights and the law demonstrates a wide-spread lack of knowledge of the rights guaranteed by the Constitution, as well as mechanisms to claim and enforce these rights. This, combined with patterns of entrenched and continuing socio-economic inequality, exclusion and marginilisation, present formidable obstacles to the effective enforcement of constitutional rights by those groups who need them most, like the residents of informal settlements and hostels. This prevents the construction of a human rights culture and ultimately possesses a threat to the consolidation of democracy.

The survey has illustrated the shocking legacy of apartheid, but has also shown that Sowetans were not just passive victims living in a barren landscape. Residents responded to apartheid planning by taking control of the urban environment and reshaping it so as to make Soweto a vibrant and desirable locality. The findings indicate, however, that the challenges faced by the post-apartheid government to create a well-resourced, just, equal and thriving city, which could take decades or even generations to achieve.

This concluding abstract is taken directly from the "Change and Continuity Survey of Soweto in the Late 1990's", 1999.

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