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

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

2. The State of South African Cities 2004 • Collective contribution & collective challenges of SA cities • Analytical framework • City population trends • Economic trends and the productive city • Social trends and the inclusive city • Urban environment trends and the sustainable city • Governance trends and the well governed city • The challenges for the next ten years?

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 2. Analytical Framework And so a decade after apartheid, this report asks: PRODUCTIVE CITY Key issue: Can the local economy provide a majority of residents with means to earn a reasonable living? INCLUSIVE CITY Key issue: Do residents have the opportunities and capacities to share equitably in the social benefits of city life? 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? SUSTAINABLE CITY Key issue: How is the city impacting on the envelope of natural resources that sustains the settlement and makes it livable? WELL-GOVERNED CITY Key issue: Is the political & institutional context stable, open and dynamic enough to accommodate all interests