This book provides a theoretical and practical foundation needed to change the practice of land use management in Southern Africa.

It presents an overview of alternative land use management system for South African municipalities that is economically, socially, and environmentally more sustainable than many of the land use schemes in effect at present. Land use management is a component of spatial governance that controls the nature and extent of development to prevent harmful impacts on people and the environment. As the current system with its colonial/modernist planning and regulatory mechanisms were never designed to deal with rapid change, urbanisation, and informality, a different form of land development and land use management is necessary. This timely book reflects the culmination of many years of practical experience and research into various aspects of land use management by the authors and studies undertaken by their master’s and doctoral students. The book goes beyond an analysis of the problems and suggests concrete proposals that can be applied throughout Southern Africa based on a rural-to-urban transect.

This book is directed to a broad range of readers interested in spatial planning and land use management. It will be of interest to those in the fields of geography, urban studies, urban design, planning, and architecture.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

Change required

Land use management

Argument for change

Changing values

Democracy in South Africa

Local government transition

Complexity and general resilience

Structure of the book

2. Evolution of land use management

Early rules and generative codes

Regulation based on zoning codes

First zoning controls: France, 1810

German approach

Spread of zoning

Brief overview of the evolution of land use management in South Africa

Early beginnings

Influence of the discovery of diamonds and gold

First provincial planning legislation

Planning legislation 1900–1994

Situation prior to 1994

1994–2013: From development control to land use management

Development Facilitation Act, 1995

Draft Green Paper

2001 White Paper on Spatial Planning and Land Use Management

Land use management bills, draft provincial legislation and SPLUMA

Current land use management system

3. Planning theory and its applicability to the Global South

Introduction

Procedural Northern planning theories

Modernism and planning

Collaborative and communicative planning

Critical Northern theories

Marxism, power, and planning

Diffusion of power

Social justice and inclusion

Spatial theories: Smart growth, new urbanism, transit-oriented development, and liveability

Sustainability

Northern theories in an African context

Towards theories for planning in Africa

Sustainability

Tactical urbanism

Informality

Informal settlements

Informality and livelihoods

Complexity

Conclusion

4. Why the current system is inadequate for the South African context

Introduction

Problems of African land use management

Inequality and exclusion

Overview of the inadequacies of the current system

Traditional areas

Lack of recognition of African cultures

Urban areas

Informal livelihoods

Informal settlements

Backyard dwellings

Sprawling, poor quality, and unsustainable urban form

Control-orientated

Causes

Power, politics, and corruption

Conflicting and competing rationalities

Customary land tenure and contested leadership

Capacity, bureaucracy, and the aspirations’ mismatch

5. Principles and options for a land use management system to support sustainable and equitable settlements

Introduction

Principles

Acknowledge and work with change

Land use regulations can change

Regenerative sustainability

Social justice and inclusion

Economic development and livelihoods

Context matters

Other land use management systems

Restrictive conditions and covenants in title deeds

Plan-based controls

Site development plans

Form-based codes

Performance standards

Nomocracy

Basket of rights

Discretionary system

Conclusion

6. A Southern approach to sustainable land use management

Simplifying the system

Current system

Options to simplify the system

Rural regions

Natural areas

Commercial farming areas

Traditional rural areas

Urban spaces

Small towns

Peri-urban regions

Townships

Informal settlements

Suburbia

Central areas

Special areas

Industrial

Renewable energy

Mining

7. Conclusion

Glossary