Post-Apartheid National Spatial Development Planning in South Africa - A Brief History

Since coming to power in 1994 successive ANC-governments have engaged in a series of attempts at national spatial development planning in South Africa. These engagements have received scant treatment in the planning literature. In this paper a broad overview of these initiatives is provided, with an emphasis on the different instruments; the context in which they were developed; the institutions that were proposed and/or created in support of the instruments; and the extent to which the instruments were implemented and what their levels of success were. The paper concludes with a call for comparative research, including South Africa, in this arena

The need for an appropriate system of urban development control in South Africa: Arguments and characteristics

Urban development control in South Africa has of late come under attack from a number of sources. This has led to a lively debate on the future of urban development control as such. In this article the need for a system of urban development control for South Africa is argued with the emphasis on the appropriateness of such a system. Six arguments in support of this view are presented. This is followed by a discussion of some of the characteris­tics of what is deemed to be an appro­priate system, or should otherwise form the basis of such a system

Challenging Times and Planning: Origins, Endings and New Beginnings?

Planning was born in and of crisis. Given the multiple challenges facing the world, it may rightly be asked whether Planning would not be willing and able to assist in taking these on. In this short commentary, it is argued that the chances of this happening are slim, but not impossible, should a number of changes be made that put hope, belief, reason, and dream to collective task again

Revisiting planning education at the University of Pretoria

This article discusses the way in which the Department of Town and Regional Planning at the University of Pretoria is using three sets of projects in which it has participated over the past twelve years in revising its planning curricula. These three projects, namely improving intergovernmental development planning; enhancing community-based planning, and presenting and participating in capacity-building and certificated short courses, are discussed, in conjunction with what faculty experienced and observed, and what lessons were learnt with regard to the Department’s planning curricula. This is followed by a discussion of the implications of the experiences and lessons learnt in the three projects for planning education on a more generic level

De kinderhuid spreekt!

Dat ‘de kinderhuid spreekt!’ zal ik U in het vervolg duidelijk maken. De dermato- venereologie is een deelgebied van de geneeskunde, dat zich bezighoudt met de diagnostiek en de behandeling van ziekten van de huid en de slijmvliezen. Dit vakgebied omvat ook de fl ebologie, hoewel dat in de naam niet tot uiting komt. Flebologie is een belangrijk onderdeel geworden. Door veroudering van de bevolking is dermato-oncologie eveneens een belangrijk sub - aandachtsgebied. Net zoals de gehele geneeskunde heeft de dermato-venereologie een enorme ontwikkeling doorgemaakt. De specialisatie tot dermatoloog kent vele subspecialisaties, waarbij voor ieder onderdeel specifieke kennis en vaardigheden noodzakelijk zijn. Algemene dermatologie, allergologie, oncologische dermatochirurgie, flebologie, proctologie en venereologie wisselen elkaar in de dagelijkse praktijk van de dermatoloog van patiënt tot patiënt af of van dagdeel tot dagdeel af en vragen ieder om een eigen benadering. De subspecialisatie kinderdermatologie neemt daarbij om meerdere redenen een bijzondere plaats in.Rede, in verkorte vorm uitgesproken ter gelegenheid van het aanvaarden van het ambt van bijzonder hoogleraar in de Kinderdermatologie aan het Erasmus MC, faculteit van de Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam op 16 juni 200

An Overview of South Africa's Metropolitan Areas - Dualistic, Dynamic and under Threat…

The article explores the threats posed to metropolitan viability and resilience in South Africa which is faced by continued spatial and economic concentration and duality - a trend also evident in a number of Central European countries. Examples are provided of trends and challenges impacting the resilience of South Africa's metropolitan regions, as identified in recent empirical studies conducted by the authors.1 The paper argues that the agglomeration challenges facing South Africa's metropolitan regions and complications brought about by intra-metropolitan inequality are key aspects underlying the resilience of these regions. The article also suggests that there might be value in greater collaboration in research and knowledge-production and sharing in metropolitan planning, development and governance, between South African metropolitan regions and those in Central European countries

Planning in the face of silence: A phronetic study of the restructuring of the planning function in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality

The article provides an overview of the transformation of the planning function of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (CTMM) read against the study by Flyvbjerg (1998) of the Aalborg Project. It focuses specifically on the human experience of the transformation process and the influence that power relations had on the outcome thereof. The study is historically situated within the broader context of the restructuring of local government in South Africa following the advent of a democratic dispensation in 1994. Theoretically it is dealt with both from the perspective of organisational theory and that of contemporary planning theory. The analysis shows that the CTMM is still a strongly managerialist environment where power is vested in the organisational hierarchy. It furthermore shows that democratic ideals are yet to precipitate in the day­to-day operational activities of the municipality. The lack of regard for people is highlighted as a serious flaw in the transformation process. The role of communication as a powerful tool in exercising power is confirmed. More significantly, however, it is found that failure to communicate can be used effectively by those in power to silence the objections of the weaker party in an unequal power relationship

City improvement districts in South Africa: An exploratory overview

This article discusses the City Improvement District as a recent phenomenon in urban South Africa. The reason for doing so stems from a lack of basic information on the concept in the local literature. The findings, based on a study conducted in the second half of 2004 and including all the Improvement Districts in operation in the country at that time, are presented in three key areas of the concept – land use profiles, financial aspects and services rendered. This is done within the context of the international situation with regards to the concept, and compared with an international study conducted in 2003, as basis