In Search of an Urbanization Policy for South Africa: Towards a Secondary City Strategy
Abstract
The problems of urbanization are escalating at an alarming rate in South Africa. Most of them can be traced to unbalanced urban development, relative overconcentration and an inability to create sufficient employment opportunities in the country's urban centers. A strategy of growth point development and industrial decentralization has been used to address the problem, however, without much success. It is, therefore, necessary to examine alternative strategies for urbanization and regional development in South Africa. A strategy which currently enjoys international acclaim and is receiving growing recognition is the secondary city approach. Unfortunately there is much confusion and disagreement about the concept and it is often misinterpreted. It is therefore necessary to provide a proper perspective of the concept of secondary cities and to indicate the implications of its adoption as an urbanization strategy for South Africa. More specifically the study seeks to provide answers and greater clarity with respect to the following questions: How is a secondary city defined; how do secondary cities perform internationally; what requirements underlie a successful secondary city strategy; and how appropriate is the strategy to South Africa? The main emphasis of this investigation is a comprehensive evaluation of the international and South African literature on the subject of secondary urban centers. Thereafter a specific methodology is empirically applied to South Africa. A statistical, cartographic and qualitative analysis of the urban system offers comparative urban profiles of settlements, from which five secondary centers are selected according to recognized criteria.References
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