Developing Integrated Towns: Key Findings - Urban LandMark
Abstract
Recent research has shown that the current land use system in South Africa has not been fundamentally reformed since apartheid. This has led to an overburdened state, reduced capacity and inefficiencies in providing land to the poor. In general, land use opportunities for the poor within cities continue to be exclusionary, over burdensome or dysfunctional to pro-poor sustainable human settlement management.
Previous research has examined land use management and how it affects access of the poor to residential and economic opportunities in major cities. It is not clear whether the same issues would be faced by smaller towns. This project aimed to examine several towns and the municipalities in which they are located, in order to assess the extent to which their current land use policies and practices enable municipalities to provide the poor with access to well located land in a sustainable manner, in an effort to integrate them effectively into the daily workings of the town.
Six case studies were selected for this project: Pietermaritzburg/Msunduzi, Rustenburg, Sasolburg/Metsimaholo, Lusikisiki/Ingquza Hill, Ulundi and Dullstroom/Emakhazeni.In each case study, site visits were conducted to interview key respondents, take photographs etc. Two streams of information were required: one focusing on the municipality's land use management policies and implementation of these, and the other on the operation of the land market, both \"formal\" and \"informal\". Satellite imagery and GIS data were used to determine different types of settlement e.g. RDP housing, informal settlements, traditional authority areas.
The report consists of four sections. Section 1 is the introduction. Section 2 sets the groundwork for the detailed case studies. It clarifies the concept of land use management and its importance to an efficient, equitable and sustainable municipality. Section 3 presents the key findings arising from these case studies, with comparisons being made to earlier case studies of land management in five large cities (Durban/eThekwini, East London/Buffalo City, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Mangaung) and of integration in three cities (East London, Durban and Johannesburg). Section 4 provides concluding comments and reflections.
Citation
Wendy Ovens and Associates, Johannesburg, South Africa, 38 pp.
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