Episode 15: “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”: Dr. Anele Horn - Efficacy of urban edges / growth boundaries in post-1994 South Africa

Talking Transformation

It’s estimated that between 1990 and 2015 South Africa’s population grew from 37 million to 54 million.

Much of this growth located within towns and cities, driven by the economic and social opportunities afforded in these centres and followed the global trend of mass urbanisation. Post-1994, many of the South Africa’s towns and cities were – quite literally - bursting at the seams. Growth of the formal and informal sectors have continued to push the limits of organic and managed growth and infrastructure: the pipes, the roads, the public transport and social amenities have been pushed to breaking point.

Concurrently, democratic planning conventions and policy have demanded compact and integrated cities and spaces and spatial transformation that is inclusive in terms of race and income and more efficient in terms of form and function. These objectives and outcomes – the polar opposite of the apartheid planning philosophy - were well defined in legislation in the Development Facilitation Act, the foundation of reformed planning legislation and more recently in the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act. Spatial targeting in our municipalities: defining where resources should be deployed and to maximise public spending and enable the private sector is an additional concept supporting the growth of our urban centres.

Today we consider the genesis of some of growth management approaches that have been introduced to meet these demands and directives. We consider some of the tools that have been employed, and in particular urban edges and growth boundaries. How did they come about, what led to their introduction and how effective were they?

Dr. Anele Horn has dedicated much of her career to understanding the issues of growth management. She has worked extensively within the metropolitan spatial planning teams in both Johannesburg and Cape Town where she was responsible for the conceptualisation and implementation of metropolitan growth management policies. In 2018 she completed her PhD dissertation investigating decision-making and the successes and failures of urban growth management in Cape Town to inform the doctoral research. She is presently based at the Centre for Regional and Urban Innovation and Statistical Exploration (CRUISE) at the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Stellenbosch and has researched and lectured there since 2011.

Anele's review of the past successes and shortcomings has direct relevance for our contemporary thinking and decision-making as we once again grapple with growing informality, load-shedding and worsening congestion. We hope and trust you will enjoy her insights!

Recorded December 3rd 2019.