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The South African Cities Network: The State of South African Cities 2004

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The State of South African Cities 2004

1. Collective contribution & collective challenges of SA cities

2. Analytical framework

3. City population trends

4. Economic trends and the productive city

5. Social trends and the inclusive city

6. Urban environment trends and the sustainable city

7. Governance trends and the well governed city

8. The challenges for the next ten years?

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1. Contribution & challenges of SA cities

The nine SACN cities make a huge contribution to social and economic life of SA

• Home to 16,5 million people – 37% of the country’s total population on less than 2% of its land area

• Approved R17,7 billion in new building plans in 2002 – 68,6% of the country’s total investment in new buildings

• Had 4,6 million dwellings in 2001 – 41% of SA’s total residential built environment

• Produced R380 billion in GVA in 2002 – 62% of SA’s total

Share of population

Cities37%Rest

of SA63%

Value of business plans

Nine cities69%

Rest of SA31%

02/03 total LG budget

Rest of SA35% Nine

cities65%

Employment provided

Rest of SA49%

Nine cities51%

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1. Contribution & challenges of SA cities

But they also represent some of the greatest concentrations of poverty in the country

• 1,2 million households continued to live in informal dwellings in 2001 – 33,8% of all informal dwellings in SA

• 989,882 households did not have water on-site in 2001 – 22,8% of households without this level of service across SA

• Of 7,8 million people of working age in the cities, 3 million were unemployed – 44,2% of SA’s total unemployed

It is vital for SA’s continued development and prosperity that the 9 cities function well

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2. Analytical framework

The cities were left huge challenges by apartheid …

• Distortions in where people lived, and so artificially undersized cities, deflected demand for access to urban lives, and highly mobile and unstable ‘floating populations’

• An artificially small urban middle-class, and so weak domestic demand, as well as under-invested human productive capacity

• Large numbers of people marginalised into under-serviced ghettos on the edge of cities, where they were materially & psychologically excluded from benefits of urban life

• Poorly designed & dysfunctional urban systems (to keep people far from each other, to impede movement, to keep some peoples’ service costs low, etc) having a high impact on natural resources

• A weak polity (eg poor relations between government and citizens, divided communities, etc) and weak institutions of government

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2. Analytical Framework

WELL-GOVERNED CITY

Key issue: Is the political & institutional context

stable, open and dynamic enough to accommodate

all interests

CITY POPULATION

Key issue: What will be the future size, form and

character of urban populations, given the

commitment that residents have to lives in the city?

INCLUSIVE CITY

Key issue: Do residents have the opportunities and

capacities to share equitably in the social benefits of city life?

SUSTAINABLE CITY

Key issue: How is the city impacting on the envelope of natural resources that sustains the settlement and makes it livable?

PRODUCTIVE CITY

Key issue: Can the local economy provide a

majority of residents with means to earn a

reasonable living?

And so a decade after apartheid, this report asks: