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The sub-Saharan cities are growing and changing due to immigration and modernization. One of the consequences of the current urbanization is that an increasing number of families residing in peri-urban areas of small rural towns lack access to basic municipal and ecosystem services. The purpose of the paper is to demonstrate the impacts of peri-urban expansion on municipal services provided by the governments and on ecosystems services through a case study of a small rural town called Makhado Biaba in Limpopo Province of South Africa. Makhado Biaba has been experiencing incessant rapid physical expansion over the years. Such spatial expansion into the peri-urban zone impacts the provision of municipal services such as water, electricity, sewerage, and refuse collection. In 2020, an exploratory mixed-methods study of some anthropocentric and ecosystem changes in Makhado Biaba Local Municipality in northeast South Africa was executed. Land use was mapped for the time period of 1990–2020, data were gathered through a household questionnaire in six villages, and interviews were held with municipal officials. Among others, the study showed that several municipal services are available in the peri-urban villages of Makhado Biaba Town despite the distant locations outside the urban core. However, services are not uniformly distributed due to that new peri-urban developments that are leapfrogging into vacant land without supporting infrastructure. The pace of the municipality in providing the necessary municipal services such as water and energy supply, as well as sanitation and refuse removal, is lagging behind the development of new and unplanned housing areas. The findings bring about information about the suburban livelihoods and how the administration of the peri-urban areas can respond to the needs of the inhabitants as well as to future challenges. For instance, to facilitate local development, recurrent and well-structured citizen dialogs with local groups to identify delivery failures are strongly recommended. In addition, the impact on ecosystem services by the city development and land use change stresses the need for guided urban development and expansion and also settlement upgrading programs in peri-urban zones to limit the bad effect on ecosystem services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faced with extraordinarily high unemployment, the long-term unemployed in South Africa increasingly have been securing livelihoods outside of standard waged work. Many are establishing unregistered, micro-enterprises that provide low-cost goods and services to low-income households. This paper presents the results of an exploratory study of unregistered (informal) second-hand tyre dealers in three South African cities to better assess their role in urban economies. Interviews with informal tyre dealers were conducted to understand how their businesses are positioned along the waste tyre value chain, their prospects for generating employment, and their potential to contribute to product reuse and repurposing. By extending the useful lives of tyres, informal dealerships can be analysed through a circular economy framework that acknowledges their varied environmental, economic, and social benefits. Concerns, however, are raised about the unregulated sale of second-hand tyres, some of which are unsafe and pose risks for road users. This in turn gives rise to difficult trade-offs between on the one hand the economic and environmental benefits of informal tyre sales and road safety on the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2015, the billionaire Douw Steyn launched a mixed-use megaproject 27 km north of downtown Johannesburg. Plans for Steyn City include 10,000 high-end residential units along with private hospitals, schools, a golf course, an equestrian centre and 2000 acres of parkland behind a 3-m-high perimeter wall. The launch attracted some critique in the media for the exclusive environment that the development sought to create, an ambition that seemed particularly incongruous given its close proximity to the poor settlement of Diepsloot. In response, the developers argued that the project had created more than 11,000 jobs and that wealthy people should invest close to places that need work and livelihood opportunities. This paper is based on interviews with workers who live in Diepsloot and travel each day into Steyn City to work for subcontractors building infrastructure, housing and social facilities. The empirical material shows that although these workers acknowledge the opportunity of employment, they are aware these jobs are uncertain, mostly low-skilled and insufficient to cover the basic costs of everyday life in Diepsloot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Successes and failures in the use of urban edges or urban growth boundaries as policy instruments to contain or direct urban growth in order to protect non-urban areas and encourage the development of more compact, contiguous urban areas (Nelson and Dawkins 2004) have been widely documented. This is true particularly for cities in the more developed world where edges and boundaries have been in place for an adequate period of time to allow for evaluation of spatial outcomes. More recently cities in the global south have also embarked on such policy evaluation (Lerise 2000; Mubarak 2004; Msoffe et al. 2011; Du Plessis 2013; Inostroza et al. 2013). The City of Cape Town (CoCT), South Africa, has since the early 2000s employed an urban edge line as a growth management instrument in its spatial development framework (SDF) (CoCT 2009a). However, in the most recent Cape Town Spatial Development Framework (CTSDF) of 2017, an urban edge line is no longer applied as an instrument to contain horizontal urban spatial growth. Instead, the latest CTSDF champions development that will support transit-oriented development in the urban core and notes the city's intention not to extend services towards the urban periphery in the short-term (CoCT (City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality) 2017a). This sees a considerable turn-around from the stated historic apprehension to persistent growth pressure to the northern and eastern urban extremities of the metropolitan area by using an urban edge (CoCT 2012a) and seems to suggest that the former urban edge policy was considered inappropriate or problematic to the CoCTs objectives for spatial development. While the spatial effect of the urban edge over the period of 16 years for which it was employed remains a valuable subject of research, this research is interested more in the reasons behind termination of the policy. The paper postulates that, despite a solid policy foundation, the effectiveness of its intent was gradually eroded by political decision-making counter to the policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The official moniker of the city of Msunduzi in Kwazulu-Natal is 'city of choice.' The economic revival of Msunduzi over the past decade has been driven by the influx of capital to a city that claims to offer significant advantages to the investor. This paper examines whether this marketing ploy has enlarged the choices of the poorer residents of the city, with particular regard to their food security. Using data from the 2008-2009 African Food Security Urban Network (AFSUN) baseline survey, the paper shows that Msunduzi's residents experience higher levels of food insecurity than like neighbourhoods in Cape Town and Johannesburg and many other cities in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. Unlike a number of these cities, the food sourcing strategies of households are severely constrained. Urban agriculture and rural-urban food transfers are limited, and the informal food economy is much less significant than elsewhere. The control of the urban food system largely rests in the hands of supermarkets whose location and pricing policies put quality food outside the reach of most poor households. Although many are forced to buy supermarket food, through lack of choice, food shortages and a lack of dietary diversity are endemic. Worst off are female-headed households whose levels of unemployment are higher than average and whose incomes are lower than average. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban renewal and its impact on inner city areas globally has been the subject of sustained investigation. Yet, research into the process of urban renewal in the global South remains under-investigated. This paper attempts to address this paucity in research by looking at the inner city of Johannesburg. The Johannesburg inner city has undergone numerous changes throughout its history, from being built-up to the economic centre of Africa, decentralisation and ultimately undergoing sociodemographic changes during and after the fall of apartheid. Some would argue that the inner city has fallen into a deteriorated state and is a 'no-go' zone, especially for middle-class suburbanites. Going hand-in-hand with the meteoric rise of social media, urban renewal initiatives implemented by the private and public sphere in many cities in South Africa have now gained momentum. This is especially the case in the inner city of Johannesburg where mostly white suburban youth, often part of the creative class, now access the inner city regularly through InstaMeets. However, this process is a double-edged sword. It is argued that while there are tangible benefits to renewed access to the inner city, in some cases, it can be considered voyeuristic and lead to displacement of residents with vulnerable livelihoods if not managed correctly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper provides a literature review of research published on South Africa's black townships in order to answer certain questions: how have the townships changed? In what directions are they changing? Which groups in the townships benefit from these changes? Which groups of actors who push for change in the townships can be identified? To what extent are these residential areas becoming multifunctional, shifting from their role as dormitory settlements to providing their residents with a higher quality of life than in the past? What new social and ethnic antagonisms arise in turn? The paper reviews township literature in four periods: up to the 1970s, the 1980s, the 1990s and 2000s (the bulk of the review is however on the last 20 years). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will reflect on research currently in progress in Cape Town’s De Waterkant neighbourhood—an area also known as Cape Town’s ‘gay village’. This paper engages the literature of utopia as a framework of analysis for interrogating the performance of community—while at the same time problematising the terms “community” and “utopia” upon which much geographical description of the area is based. This research argues that both ‘comforting’ and ‘unsettling’ relational achievements amongst the human and non-human actors in De Waterkant function as building blocks of real or imagined community and further recognises multiple tensions that affect the formation of community and the pursuit of utopia in the South African urban context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines post-apartheid housing delivery in the Mangaung Local Municipality – previously known as the Bloemfontein–Botshabelo–Thaba Nchu region. The paper assesses housing delivery against the background of existing literature on housing delivery, as evaluated from a city perspective and against the notion of cooperative governance. It is suggested that various guidelines from policy and practice at the provincial level impact negatively on housing delivery at the local level. Furthermore, it is argued that despite some innovative attempts to address aspects of informal settlement upgrading, integrated housing development and participation have not received adequate attention. Finally, the paper also questions the lack of appropriate guidelines in respect of housing delivery in some hidden urbanities of South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small towns, internationally and in South Africa specifically, are generally experiencing a phase of slow economic decline. The process is not inevitable and as this paper illustrates, with reference to the former South African railway town of Alicedale, towns can be given a new lease of life. The key in this town’s revival has been the formation of a strong public–private partnerships, which has partially drawn in the community sector and focused on tourism-based development. The paper details the development process, key challenges experienced, and the results attained; it discusses the degree to which the community has actually benefited and speculates about the value of the Alicedale experience as an example for other small towns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theoretically, the evident demand for housing in growing cities, particularly in the Global South would result in vertical consolidation of properties. However, unlike places in Latin America, where market and state responses to urbanisation are pushing cities higher and higher, in South Africa, the densification and land use intensity has, generally, remained horizontal, rather than vertical in nature. Du Noon offers an interesting counter position to this narrative. Unlike other Reconstruction and Development Housing Programme settlements, many property owners are demolishing the state-delivered units and erecting double-storey rental accommodation. Drawing from interviews conducted with 21 of these structure owners, this paper explores the drivers of this 'vertical consolidation' in Du Noon drawing lessons for housing policy and practice in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban growth boundaries (UGBs) or 'urban edges' as they are known in South Africa have been widely implemented by cities internationally with the intention of curbing urban sprawl. However, technical complexities and high levels of contestation frequently present challenges for their implementation. In particular, it is important to ensure that their demarcation includes appropriate land reserves to accommodate urban growth. Drawing the boundary too tightly can stifle economic growth and lead to land price increases, while including too much land within the UGB may result in unchecked urban sprawl and its associated environmental, social and financial costs. The aims of this paper are firstly to review international and local literature with reference to the merits and appropriateness of UGB policies and secondly to consider methods used by cities internationally to determine UGBs and describe the method used by the City of Cape Town to review its UGB in 2010. The Cape Town method evaluates land reserves against urban growth forecasts and is consistent with methods generally used by US cities. However, a number of adaptations for local and rapidly urbanising third world environments are outlined. The Cape Town method is evaluated with reference to the literature and lessons learnt are discussed. Key findings include the value of rigorous, defensible methods and clear policy guidelines in a contested environment, the value of integrating UGB reviews within broader land-use planning processes, the usefulness of information generated for broader urban planning processes and the utility of accurate information on past trends in moderating growth expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much of the current planning discourse has come to reject master planned 'new cities' as both unrealistic and undesirable. However, with growing urbanisation challenges in the Global South, master planned cities, suburbs and communities have come back on the agenda driven by both public and private interests. This paper explores the WesCape Development (WD), a proposed satellite suburb to be located north-west of Cape Town, South Africa. Situating the WD in a longer lineage of utopian and new city planning approaches, I argue that the proposal is deeply flawed. Rather than being the solution to the urban ills facing Cape Town, it is an 'anti-urban' strategy which supports suburbanisation and assumes a particular and problematic urban growth scenario. It relies on 'environmentally deterministic' assumptions and depoliticised and deinstitutionalised designs. Ultimately, it tries to escape, rather than confront, the operational, political and social challenges of the city leading to the devaluation of planning instruments and citizenship engagement. The WD highlights the importance and power of radical and utopian thinking as well as the necessity of grounding and situating these impulses in the specificities and complexities of the city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that neighbourhood change in Hillbrow is not concomitant with the linear processes of urban decline and economic resurgence. Instead, neighbourhood change is shaped by situated histories, politics and economics, in addition to the activities of diverse local actors. It also argues that despite severe physical decay, a history of being redlined and limited public sector support for the provision of public services, Hillbrow remains a resilient port-of-entry neighbourhood to Johannesburg for many residents who desire to engage in local and transnational economies. Current debates on urban land markets, therefore, necessitate an awareness of the roles that port-of-entry neighbourhoods facilitate in (mega)cities, and alternative urban planning responses to conventional regeneration strategies that are based on liberal market rationalities alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few would argue with the proposition that land-use management is one of the most powerful tools in the context of planning, both in South Africa and internationally, with the potential to transform the urban landscape. Yet despite its potential, it has been neglected both in terms of academic enquiry and legislative reform. This has resulted in land-use management functioning as an undesirable and unwieldy tool that perpetuates the modernist ideals of land-use separation and sprawling suburbia, and most worryingly, the perpetuation of an urban form that is essentially anti-poor. This paper initiates a search for the appropriate criteria for a land-use management system in South Africa's urban areas. We argue for a land-use management system that moves away from the traditional exclusive emphasis on zoning towards a more flexible system based on a tiered set of plans. This system must take into account and respond to the dynamics of the urban land market, both its formal and informal dimensions, and directly address the poor and their needs as the central focus of land-use management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a brief overview of the relevant post-2000 South African policy for regional (provincial) spatial development within the context of the quantitative findings of a study conducted on the growth potential of non-metropolitan settlements in the Western Cape. The findings are presented at municipal level. Five indices (social needs, economic, physical environment, infrastructure and institutional) and 69 indicators were used to determine development potential and social needs for the 24 local municipalities and three district management areas in the province. The potential indicators for each index were subjected to a factor analysis to select appropriate core indicators for inclusion in the composite indices. Based on their overall performance in the various indices, the municipalities were classified into three categories-high, medium and low. The study results prioritise areas according to their developmental potential and social needs at municipal level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deploys the concept of community governance in problematising the relationships between community-based organisations which generate participation in decision making at local or neighbourhood levels. I integrate Bourdieu's 'field theory' with the concept of 'nodal governance'; conceptualising community governance as constituting a 'field of local power politics' in which community-based organisations enrol and contest each other. These organisations enrol and contest each other as they struggle for political legitimacy, control of knowledge and access to economic resources and power. It is against a backdrop characterised by the contestation-coalition oxymoron that I raise questions about the (anti-)democratic dynamics between and within participation-generating community-based organisations. This analysis is embedded in a case study of community politics in Yeoville, Johannesburg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a recent publication on 'Cityness and African Urban Development', Edgar Pieterse calls for a suspension of the 'humanist safety net' that frequently underpins policy prescriptions in most liberal (and social-liberal) democracies. While I support Pieterse's call, this paper sets out to demonstrate why it is difficult for most planners to suspend, let alone reject, the 'liberal moral project of planning'. To this end, the role of planning is reassessed by focusing on some of the entrenched liberal legacies in South Africa. Findings spotlight how mainstream practices are directed towards serving 'the public interest' through a liberal calculus of public morality and obligations; and I propose that before planners might begin to engage with Pieterse's project, we first need to challenge the current norms of planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post-apartheid South Africa has brought about internationally acclaimed legislation that promotes social equity and environmental sustainability. This paper presents findings of research conducted in the Municipality of Stellenbosch on the effectiveness of the participatory planning model, the Integrated Development Plan (IDP). While post-apartheid accomplishments are noteworthy, power dynamics and fiscal insecurity continue to shape outcomes. Innovative coalitions have emerged, instilling hope that true participation is possible after trust between all stakeholders mends historical tensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Second-homes research is a growing area of academic interest in South African urban studies. A number of exploratory investigations have indicated the economic impacts of second-home development. However, little attention has been given to the methodological challenges associated with conducting such research. In particular the ability of current methodologies to cost effectively identify second homes has proven to be limited. The paper provides an outline of how second homes have been identified in South Africa to date and explores a new methodological refinement to such an endeavour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers evidence on the sensitivity of child poverty in South Africa to changes in the adult equivalence scale (AES) and updates the child poverty profile based on the Income and Expenditure Survey 2005/06. Setting the poverty line at the 40th percentile of households calculated with different AESs the scope and composition of child poverty are found to be relatively insensitive to the scale used. The rankings of children of different ages, girls versus boys, racial groupings and children living in rural versus urban areas are unaffected by choice of AES, although some provincial rankings on the poverty headcount measure are. The proportions of children and households ‘correctly’ identified as poor for the full range of scales is extremely high. These findings support the argument that it may be appropriate for profiling poverty in South Africa to use a poverty line based on a per capita welfare measure. For the construction of the child poverty profile, per capita income is used as the welfare indicator with the poverty line set at the 40th percentile of household. The profile suggests that poverty amongst children is more extensive than amongst the population or adults even after the massive injection of transfers into households with poor children through the child support grant. The child poverty headcount, depth and severity are all highest amongst children age 0–4 and lowest amongst those aged 15–17, who are not yet beneficiaries of the grants. They are also highest amongst African and Coloured children. Large variations across provinces remain. The analysis underlines the importance of prioritising children in the fight against poverty, particularly in their earliest years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper revisits the city of Bloemfontein more than a decade and a half after the repeal of the Group Areas Act (GAA). The aim is to determine the extent to which apartheid residential property ownership segregation has changed. The scrapping of the GAA saw the movement of black property owners into the city’s former white neighbourhoods. Initially, the percentage in this regard was low, starting at 2.3% in 1995. Twelve years later desegregation levels in residential property ownership have increased to 11.4%. In contrast to 1995, desegregation has now taken place in all the former white group areas. The highest level of residential property ownership desegregation has occurred in neighbourhoods with relatively low municipal valuations and small stands in close proximity to former black township areas. It also transpired that single residential stands, as opposed to sectional title units in more densely developed residential complexes, are preferred by black residential property owners moving into former white group areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As small towns experience economic and social restructuring, many are pursuing tourism opportunities as one component of a more diversified local economic strategy. This paper is interested in the small town of Fouriesburg in South Africa's Free State. While the town was once a thriving service center for a surrounding rural agricultural region, this traditional economy has faded. Given that the nearby town of Clarens has developed a substantial tourism economy, we pose the question of whether there already exist indicators that Fouriesburg may be poised for a similar change. These indicators include location within the urban field, timing within the tourist area life cycle model, differentials/opportunities in property values, and the role of real estate agents as “gatekeepers” in directing investments. The findings suggest that, while Fouriesburg has potential for developing a tourism-oriented economy, many of the important policy and planning supports needed to assist with diversification are not yet in place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban change has systematically been researched for more than a century. One of the key foci has been the Central Business Districts (CBDs) of cities. The past decades has seen an extensive literature develop on CBD decline focusing on why such decay sets in and which strategies, as well as policies, that might be deployed to stimulate the revitalisation of these areas. The debates are, however, in the main developed within the context of large cities, whilst the geographical focus tends to be on countries of the post-industrial north. In the South African context, a small, but nevertheless significant literature has developed chronicling both CBD decline and subsequent revitalisation strategies deployed to reverse such decline. Similar to the international experience, the focal point has been South Africa’s main metropolitan regions, whilst secondary cities have remained beyond the investigatory focus. The aim of this paper was to provide an outline of the prospects and obstacles that face CBD revitalisation in the secondary city of Bloemfontein. It is argued that whilst generic revitalisation programmes in cities such as Cape Town and Johannesburg have seemingly stemmed further CBD decline, other strategies might be required in secondary cities such as Bloemfontein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neighbourhoods have not received much research interest until comparatively recently. Internationally, the paucity of research has now been addressed through a steady flow of new contributions. In South Africa, however, neighbourhoods remain largely ignored in the academic press. The aim of this paper is to make a contribution towards gaining greater insight into the development of South African neighbourhoods. Drawing on a detailed analysis of the Bloemfontein neighbourhood of Westdene, the authors show that post-apartheid neighbourhoods are diverse and fragmented urban spaces that fulfil very many different functions. In the process, our conceptual understanding of neighbourhood has to be adjusted from one representing a relatively homogenous residential urban space to one that incorporates a diverse range of urban functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recent study on the growth potential of towns in the Western Cape evaluated the growth potential of 131 towns qualitatively and quantitatively (Van der Merwe et al., Growth potential of towns in the Western Cape, Cape Town, Department of Environmental Affairs and Planning, 2005). Two of the several outcomes of this extensive study were first to index, rank, and categorize the towns according to their development potential and, second, to use these categories of town profiles to develop an investment typology as prescribed in the National Spatial Development Phramework (NSDP). Compared with the provincial mean, 79 (60%) of the towns score negative (‘low’ and ‘Very Low’) development index values, whereas conversely, 16 (12%) towns register ‘high’ and ‘very high’ growth potential index values. Three of the four towns with a ‘very high’ status on both the quantitative and qualitative development ratings are well-known tourism towns (Stellenbosch, George, and Paarl). In other towns (Hermanus, Knysna, Mossel Bay, and Oudtshoorn) with “high” values for growth potential on both indices, tourism also contributes substantially to their local economic development. The main objective of this paper is to emphasize the special role that tourism plays in the growth and development of small towns in the Western Cape. Unfortunately, in some urban centers, unrealistic expectations abound regarding the role that tourism might fulfill as an economic growth mechanism for a town. Although many of the towns in the province possess the resources and attractions to support tourism development, competition is strong. Other prerequisites (tourism infrastructure, potential investors, appropriate services, and skilled labor) are absent from many Western Cape towns. Some of these towns possess a unique place identity, and it will be wise to preserve these towns to qualitatively enrich the province’s small town heritage that will complement tourism development in general and also contribute to economic growth over the long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local economic development (LED) in South Africa has grown in significance since the 1994 democratic transition. This article examines the evolution of LED policy from 1995–2006 and specifically focuses upon the implications of the 2006 National Framework document. The 2006 LED Framework document is important as it represents the first national guidelines issued for LED in South Africa. The paper critically argues that a set of severe challenges faces LED in South African small towns and that LED policy needs to recognize these challenges and take on a specific focus on the needs of small towns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper, alongside others in this theme issue, is addressed at a gap in the literature, regarding the impact of post 1994 'upgrading' through the project-linked capital subsidy. In particular, it focuses on implications for the strategies of residents and their community organisations. Two recent informal land occupations are traced from invasion to formalisation. The strategies of the community organisations are examined in first securing access to land, and subsequently in securing the improvement of living conditions. The inevitable involvement in project-linked capital subsidy developments has particular implications for strategies of residents and their community organisations. The case studies expose the inadequacy of the project-linked capital subsidy as a mechanism for informal settlement improvement. The household-based entitlement to conventional ownership of a standardised capital subsidy unit assumes a trajectory of modernisation of lifestyles, economy and governance. However, the absence of any significant socio-economic upliftment within the intervention process, and the continuing incapacity of local governments to guarantee adequate delivery of services and social facilities subsequent to the once-off projectlinked intervention, places individualisation through the project-linked capital subsidy into question. For community-based organisations committed to the physical improvement of these settlements, the inability to access any alternative form of development poses a critical problem. The individualised development procedure undermines the very organisations that invested their limited resources to secure development in the first place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]