Land-use mix in South African cities and the influence of spatial planning: Innovation or following the trend?

Abstract

Spatial development policies and planning instruments in South Africa have undergone fundamental changes since the dawn of the democratic era in 1994. The aim of these policies is the restructuring of cities with a specific focus on achieving compact mixed-use development and higher densities. This article provides an overview of the various approaches and indicators to analyse land-use mix and provides a comparative spatial and statistical analysis of land-use diversity patterns and trends in eight South African cities since 1994. The results indicate marginal changes in the overall city-level intensity of land-use mix over this period. It also confirms high levels of land-use mix within the focus areas identified by the Spatial Development Frameworks compared to the aggregate city-level figures, but only limited increases in land-use mix in these focus areas over the study period. A more inclusive understanding of the concept of mixed-use zones or nodes, supported by quantified indicators, is recommended to achieve meaningful implementation of the concept of compact mixed-use development.