Urban Sprawl and Land Cover in Post-apartheid Johannesburg and the Gauteng City-Region, 1990–2018

Abstract

Johannesburg and the broader Gauteng City-Region in which it is located are considered to be the economic powerhouse of South Africa. This has led to massive population growth in the region, as well as severe inequality. Given South Africa’s history of racially excluding black South Africans from urban areas, ongoing research in this area has to analyse land cover and define ‘sprawl’ in a context where the technical language has politically loaded overtones. This article tries to understand the scale of informality within a broader examination of urbanization and sprawl. It concludes that in the absence of a formally adopted urban edge and under massive pressure from population growth (natural and via migration), formal dwellings (residential and economic) have grown unchecked, and informality is now growing at high speed and also largely without regulation or control. With no apparent political will to stop urban sprawl, both informal and formal covers are steadily pushing towards provincial borders, while densifying in Johannesburg in particular.

Politics, Planning and the Future of the Gauteng City-Region

“…Mabin (2013) reminded us that ‘space is an inherently political concept as illustrated by frequent eruptions in South Africa over ideas of “empty space” and “occupied space” in the peopling of the country over several centuries’ (p. 4). Southern cities, particularly those in former colonies, require a more nuanced understanding of the unanticipated spatial morphologies and evolutionary paths of these large urban areas, including predictable if less-than-desirable outcomes such as a rising wave of informality (Katumba & Everatt, 2021) and greater stress on the social fabric.…”

“…That, however, was not apparent, while the requirements of FIFA and the imminent World Cup created the impression of both consensus and collaboration. Coordination and integration are far from easily attained in any government, or in cityregions, as Healey (2007) has noted. When the FIFA World Cup was looming, cooperation across the government was the mantra and the practice.…”

Introduction: The urbanisation of imagination in South Africa

“…Against the orthodoxy of housing provision stands a concern that it should not occur through urban sprawl (Katumba and Everatt, 2021;Götz et al, 2014). This would place further costs on those least able to afford it, as well as on the environment.…”

Spatial trends in Gauteng

“…In some instances growth has been contained within these boundaries, while in others the boundaries have been adjusted in order to accommodate both public-and private-sector housing (Götz et al, 2014). Katumba and Everatt (2021) argue that the Gauteng Provincial Government has not been committed to an urban-edge policy. • Space for expansion left by apartheid planners.…”