there were laws in the Cape Colony, Natal, and the Transvaal authorizing
the colonial governments to create and control urban "locations" for Af-
ricans, but many townships,
especially the large cities, had areas where
Whites and Blacks lived alongside one another. As the urban population
increased, so did slums, crime, and disease. In 1918, there was a severe
influenza epidemic. Five years later, the Smuts government enacted the
Natives (Urban Areas) Act, which empowered an urban authority, subject
to the approval of the government, to establish an African location. The
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