Measuring the growth potential of towns in the Western Cape, South Africa

Abstract

Urban settlements in the Western Cape sustain regional development and are vital to the national spatial economy, but because not all contribute or participate equally they do not grow at the same rate - some flourish while others decline. The Provincial Administration of the Western Cape therefore commissioned a study to evaluate and monitor their functions and performance. This paper assesses the study's methodology and procedures. It describes the variables used and explains how the raw data were transformed into comparative indices and combined into a single composite development potential index. It evaluates the sub-indices and the composite index by mapping the results and uses multivariate statistical techniques to explore the logic and validity of the results. It confirms that the indices created for measuring urban growth potential were well chosen and constructed, laying a sound theoretical and methodological base for future decisions about public investment in rural towns.

Demographic and Economic Changes in Small Towns in South Africa’s Karoo: Looking from the Inside Out

“…It is intriguing to note that the concern raised in 1985 by McCarthy (in Krige 1995) that small towns in South Africa were a 'research lacuna', is now, finally, starting to be addressed. The publication of a not insignificant number of papers on the topic in recent years (Atkinson 2003;Rogerson 2005, 2007;van der Merwe et al 2005;Xuza 2005;Parhanse 2007;Zietsman et al 2006;van Niekerk and Marais 2008;Halseth and Meiklejohn 2009;Ingle 2010) and the imminent release by Donaldson and Marais (2011) of an edited volume on the topic mark a clear shift in the priorities of urban geographers.…”

Rethinking Patterns of South African Urban Growth: 1911–2001

“…From the point of view of national policy, the release of the National Spatial Development Perspective in 2003 (The Presidency 2003) laid a basis for classifying regions and the settlements within them on the basis of perceived growth potential and, by implication, determined the level and type of support different areas should be eligible for. Significant work in the Western Cape has considered the growth potential of towns within this province (van der Merwe et al 2005;Zietsman et al 2006). Within this context, this study argues that a knowledge of urbanization trends over time can help in providing a better understanding of the degree to which almost all settlement types and rural areas are still experiencing population growth, a reality which should not be ignored in policy debates and interventions.…”

“…Urbanization patterns and the associated growth potential of the various settlement types are noteworthy themes in South African academic discourse (Todes 2001;van der Merwe et al 2005;Zietsman et al 2006;van Huyssteen et al 2009a;Todes et al 2010). The rapid growth of the core metropolitan areas and the key role which they play in the national economy is a well established theme of enquiry (SACN 2004;Todes et al 2010), while recognition of the role played 'city regions' in particular, is regarded as 'crucial for the achievement of the South African Government's national development goals and objectives ' (van Huyssteen et al 2009b, p. 175).…”

Measuring the Vulnerability of Subnational Regions in South Africa

“…Five studies that come the closest in spirit to our paper are the poverty maps compiled by Alderman et al (2000), the four deprivation indices at magisterial district level for 1996 by McIntyre et al (2000), the provincial indices of multiple deprivation 4 for 2001 by Noble et al (2006), indices of growth potential 5 for the towns in the Western Cape by Zietsman et al (2006) and an index for the non-economic quality of life at a magisterial district level by Rossouw & Naudé (2008).…”