Possible directions that South Africa needs to follow regarding urban development, in view of the experiences in Chile and the Urban Development Strategy of the South African Government

Table of contents

1  Introduction  3

2  The Urban Development Strategy of the South African Government  4

3  The Housing Issue  8

4.  Urbanisation in Chile  10

4.1.  Applied Strategies in Chile (1958 1993 )  10

4.2.  Urbanisation in Chile and South Africa  11

5  National and International Aspects  12

6  Conclusion  13

  List of Resources  17

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1 Introduction

Apartheid has been overthrown, a democratic government has been elected and South Africa is opening itself to the world. But for the administration, the problems have grown more urgent, and the country now faces more than the already tragic heritage of apartheid. Due to decades of apartheid mismanagement urban areas are extremely inequitable and inefficient. They are the productive centres of the economy, but the majority of the urban residents live in very bad conditions and far away from their places of work. The quality of life of the South African people has to be improved massively, through creating jobs and deracialising the cities.

Estimates of the present urban population in South Africa vary between 19.6 million and 26 million. By 2020, 75 per cent of the population will live and work in the cities and towns. ¹ The rate of urban population growth will be higher than for the population growth as a whole. Whereas in 1985 there were 20.7 million of the total South African population, resident in and on the edges of urban areas, by 2020 that will have increased to 43.7 million. 2

In the future, the urban centres, especially the metropolitan areas will function to an even greater degree than today as the social, economic and demographic heart of the country.

“It is apparent that African urbanisation levels certainly increase markedly over the next decade, and it is important that all decision makers involved in forward planning take account of this phenomenon.“ 3

In this assignment I will give an insight to the Urban Development Strategy of the Government of National Unity (GNU) (Chapter 2). Special attention will be given to the housing issue in Chapter 3. In Chapter 4 I will discuss the experiences in Chile, how different political systems influenced the urbanisation process in various ways. Chapter 5 deals with some national and international aspects, which have to be considered when strategies for development are designed and Chapter 6 includes some final comments on the urban development issue.

¹ http://www.polity.org.za/govdocs/rdp/urban1.html page 2.

² Smith, 1992: page 232.

³ Nattrass, 1983: page 21.

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2 The Urban Development Strategy of the South African Government

“By mobilising the resources of urban communities, government and the private sector we can make our cities centres of opportunity for all South Africans, and competitive within the world economy. The success of this will depend on the initiative taken by residents to build their local authorities and promote local economic development.“ 4

The government has to simultaneously promote transformation of society and transformation of its own instruments of government, under heavy pressure from the global economy for cost-effectiveness, and from the social backlog within the country demanding jobs, salaries, infrastructure and social services. The first strategic decision of the new government is that such challenges are to be met by all the key role-players in the country, and not by the government alone. The idea of national unity, of partnership, of a clear understanding of the different interests became a philosophy of governance.

There are seven strategic goals in the Urban Development Strategy: 5

• To create more efficient and productive cities and towns with less poverty and sustained by dynamic economies, through the growth of local economies.

• To rapidly reduce existing infrastructure and service disparities.

• To provide better, affordable housing and shelter and greater security of tenure for urban residents within fiscal and other constraints.

• To tackle spatial inefficiencies, especially the mismatch between where people live and work.

• To improve the quality of the urban environment by better integrating environmental concerns within development planning and urban management practices.

• To transform local authorities into effective and accountable local government institutions.

• To establish safe and secure living and working spaces, marked by social stability.

⁴ Nelson Mandela, The Urban Development Strategy White Paper, http://www.polity.org.za/govdocs/rdp/urban1.html page 1.

⁵ http://www.polity.org.za/govdocs/rdp/urban1.html page 3.

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When implementing the Urban Strategy the focus is set on several mutually-reinforcing priority action areas:

1. Integrating the cities and Managing Urban Growth

The most important step on the way to integrated cities and towns is to focus on the creation of jobs, housing and urban institutions, rebuilding of the townships, reduction of distances between workplaces and residential areas and improving the urban transport infrastructure and mobility (especially the passenger transport). Better land use through reforming the urban land and planning system (making well located and vacant or underutilised land available for development) is also very important. The urban land development is still influenced by a large number of racially based laws which have to be abolished. More attention has to be paid to environmental issues. They must be integrated into local authority functions. The urban strategy emphasises the importance of a healthy, safe and dignified life. “It links urban development and management to holistic and integrated planning, public participation, and the improvement of environmental expertise. In this vein, the government will emphasise environmentally-sensitive land use planning and impact assessment, the sustainable use of resources and protection of ecologically sensitive areas, the protection of cultural heritage as well as pollution control.“ 6

The reform of the development planning system includes the connection of national and provincial levels of government with other parts of government which are charged with urban management (e.g. the local and metropolitan government). This will provide a basis for better communication and coordinated land use, transportation, environmental, economic, institutional, infrastructural and fiscal planning in urban areas.

2. Investing in urban development

The main investment will be concerned with the upgrading of existing and the construction of new housing; the restoration and extension of infrastructure services; the reduction of environmental health hazards; the confirmation of investments and the provision of job opportunities and social community facilities. Private sector investments are seen as a necessary support for the transformation of cities and towns. Public investment at all levels will be expected to relate to the economic or functional base and potential of an area.