Although overlooked by both administrators as well as anthropologists,
and numerically rather marginal, the Bushmen have been always part
of the Namibian urban spaces on their erstwhile territories. Based on several
field research trips to the area of Grootfontein between 2007 and 2013 and
archival research, this article outlines the complex historical processes and
factors influencing the mobility of the !Xun Bushmen into, and out of, the
urban space of Grootfontein in the commercial farming area of Namibia.
Even though the mobility to its urban space was largely legally controlled
during both the German and South African rule, the Bushmen continuously
managed to penetrate it. With the development of the Blikkiesdorp settlement
in the township of Grootfontein in the early 2000s, when many Bushmen were
allocated a plot by the municipality, the number of !Xun in the town considerably
increased and they became an integral part of the afore-mentioned
settlement. This article argues that the reasons for Bushman urbanization
are far more complex than being solely economically motivated.