Beyond policy frameworks: listening to the voices of developers and municipalities in urban land development in South Africa. Final Report
Abstract
The aim of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of the perspectives and everyday experiences of developers and municipalities around urban land development in South Africa. More specifically, the objectives were to understand
- How urban land development and governance \"actually work in practice\"
- The political, economic, and social factors that influence urban land development and governance, and
- The interaction between developers and municipalities.
A case study method was used to conduct the research, allowing developers and municipalities to speak about the same development projects, and thereby the same issues. The main sources of data included (1) desktop material on the background of selected development projects and the company developing the project and (2) in-depth semi-structured interviews with developers and municipal officials involved in the projects. Although the study focussed on the perspectives of developers and municipal officials, consulting town and regional planners involved in the selected development projects were also interviewed. The types of development projects selected as case studies were fairly diverse and ranged from typical suburban residential estates, a commercial shopping mall, social housing projects, a theme-oriented tourism park, a precinct development, upmarket golf and coastline resorts, and a large-scale integrated mixed use development.
The report describes the aims and objectives of the study, and the methodology. This is followed by the abridged case studies, a discussion of recent trends in private sector development, followed by the findings and recommendations of the study. The full case study write-ups are provided as an annexure.
Citation
Business Enterprises at University of Pretoria (Pty) Ltd, Hatfield, South Africa, 40 pp.
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