Grassy Park

Grassy Park
Street map of Grassy Park
Grassy Park  Grassy Park shown within Western Cape
Location within Cape Town  Grassy Park
Coordinates: 34°03′S 18°29′E / 34.050°S 18.483°E / -34.050; 18.483Coordinates: 34°03′S 18°29′E / 34.050°S 18.483°E / -34.050; 18.483
Country	South Africa
Province	Western Cape
Municipality	City of Cape Town
Main Place	Grassy Park
Government
• Councillor	Derek Smith (Ward 65) (DA) Basil Lee (Ward 67) (DA) Johannes Burger (Ward 72) (DA)
Area[1]
• Total	3.24 km2 (1.25 sq mi)
Population (2011)[1]
• Total	19,212
• Density	5,900/km2 (15,000/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)[1]
• Black African	7.7%
• Coloured	88.0%
• Indian/Asian	1.9%
• White	0.3%
• Other	2.2%
First languages (2011)[1]
• English	75.2%
• Afrikaans	21.8%
• Other	3.0%
Postal code (street)	7888
PO box	7941

Grassy Park is a suburb in the Western Cape Province of South Africa, situated on the Cape Flats in the City of Cape Town.

History

Grassy Park is situated on the Cape Flats.

Described by some as "apartheid's dumping ground", from the 1950s the area became home to people the apartheid government designated as non-White. Race-based legislation such as the Group Areas Act and pass laws either forced non-white people out of more central urban areas designated for white people and into government-built townships in the Flats, or made living in the area illegal, forcing many people designated as Black and Coloured into informal settlements elsewhere in the Flats. The Flats have since then been home to much of the population of Greater Cape Town.

Grassy Park began to develop in the early 1900s on part of the Montagu's Gift estate north of Zeekoevlei. At that time, the area was rural, under the administration of the Divisional Council of the Cape. By 1920, the estate had 2000 residents.^[2] From 1923, it was represented on the Southern Civic Association.^[3]

Grassy Park was proclaimed a local area in 1935^[2] - this meant that the residents received municipal services, for which they paid higher rates. It was later incorporated into the South Peninsula Municipality in 1996, and into the City of Cape Town in 2000.

The Apartheid regime in the mid to late 1960s moved people classified as coloured or black into the township for low-income families. Originally called Koek se bos, or Cook's bush, the apartheid regime cleared tracks of land for the coloured people that lived in areas that were designated 'white areas' by the regime. All people deemed coloured or black were removed from areas including Bergvliet, Bishopscourt, Claremont, Constantia, Newlands, Rondebosch, District Six, Salt River, Tokai, Woodstock and Wynberg.

By the late 80's and 90's, major areas of Grassy Park have deteriorated into urban ghettos. Gangsterism and drug abuse has increased and a number of informal settlements has sprung up in several areas. The area has seen constant fighting by the notorious Numbers gangs for control of Drug supply.

Grassy Park Today

Grassy Park's main area is an intersection called "Busy Corner" at the intersection of 5th Avenue and Victoria Road. Here you will find a hub of small retail outlets, the local Library, Police Station, a transport interchange which connects Grassy Park to Mitchels Plein, Retreat and Wynberg, 3 of the main transport veins on the cape flats. The area has several primary and secondary schools and is home to the SPCA and LOFOB.

Places of Interest

The Rondevlei Nature Reserve is located in Grassy Park, here you can see numerous birds, small mammals, and hippopotamuses.^[4]

The Cape of Good Hope SPCA can also be found in Grassy Park. It is the founding society of the SPCA movement in South Africa and the oldest animal welfare institution in the country. ^[5]

References

Communities of City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality, Western Cape Seat: Cape Town Cape Flats Athlone Crawford Gugulethu Hanover Park Heideveld Joe Slovo Kenwyn Lansdowne Manenberg Nyanga Ottery Philippi Rondebosch East Strandfontein Helderberg Faure Gordon's Bay Macassar Sir Lowry's Pass Village Somerset West Strand Mitchells Plain Khayelitsha Blue Downs Crossroads Eerste River Khayelitsha Kuils River Mfuleni Mitchell's Plain QQ Section Northern Brackenfell Durbanville Fisantekraal Kensington Kraaifontein Panorama Philadelphia Wallacedene South Peninsula Bergvliet Bishopscourt Capri Village Claremont Clovelly Constantia Da Gama Park Diep River Fish Hoek Glencairn Grassy Park Harfield Village Heathfield Hout Bay Imizamo Yethu Kalk Bay Kenilworth Kommetjie Llandudno Lotus River Masiphumelele Meadowridge Mowbray Muizenberg Newlands Noordhoek Ocean View Plumstead Retreat Rondebosch Rosebank Scarborough Simon's Town St James Southern Suburbs Steenberg Tokai Wynberg Table Bay Bakoven Bantry Bay Bo-Kaap Camps Bay Cape Town Clifton De Waterkant Devil's Peak Estate District Six Epping Foreshore Fresnaye Gardens Goodwood Green Point Higgovale Langa Maitland Mouille Point Ndabeni Nomzamo Observatory Oranjezicht Pinelands Robben Island Salt River Schotsche Kloof Sea Point Tamboerskloof Thornton Three Anchor Bay University Estate Vredehoek Walmer Estate Woodstock Zonnebloem Tygerberg Belhar Bellville Bishop Lavis Blikkiesdorp Bonteheuwel Bothasig Delft Edgemead Elsie's River Monte Vista Norwood Parow Tygerberg Blaauwberg Atlantis Bloubergstrand Century City Dunoon Joe Slovo Park Mamre Melkbosstrand Milnerton Parklands Table View