These orders were not enforced due to the efforts of a Men 's Committee and a Women 's Committee that had been formed to oppose the order as well as the Black Sash . The Women 's Committee was particularly successful at organising and gaining support from within and from outside of the community . In 1978 Crossroads was declared an 'em ergency camp ' thereby obliging the City Council to supply basic municipal services . Once Crossroads had been declared a legal settlement by the government they began to focus on dismantling the rapidly growing informal settlements in the surrounding area . The government 's focus on destroying these settlements was driven by a desire to neutralise the threat the government faced in the wake of 1976 Soweto uprisings
1976 Soweto uprisings
Soweto uprising
Crossroads, Cape Town