Cape Town

Noted for its European and indigenous cultural influences, beautiful physical setting, and biological diversity, Cape Town is a major seaport and legislative capital of South Africa. Having endured apartheid for 50 years, with the ruling white population enjoying the privileges of power and wealth, the city is now coming to terms with its past. Still, a tenth of its citizens live in slums without plumbing or electricity. Slum dwellers have high rates of infectious diseases; HIV/AIDS is a serious concern. And infant mortality here is twice the rate of other city sectors. The city's water supply is a problem as well. Cape Town is addressing these concerns, however - an Integrated Development Plan is in place and aims by 2020 to achieve 100-percent improvement in literacy, poverty, and life expectancy at birth; to reduce violent crime by 90 percent; to reduce water use; and to double incomes. Cape Town provides a comprehensive overview of this unique metropolis - from its beginnings in 1652 as a supply base for the Dutch East India Company to its 21st-century role as an emerging international city.