Climate Change and Sustainable Urban Development in Africa and Asia by Belinda Yuen & Asfaw Kumssa

Author:Belinda Yuen & Asfaw Kumssa
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer Netherlands, Dordrecht

• Backlogs in national infrastructure, which undermined both basic service delivery and high-end economic growth

• A shortage of skills, lack of support for small businesses, and economic concentration in the economy, leading to barriers to entry into various markets in the economy

• The exclusion of a significant proportion of the population from the formal economy

In response to the above constraints, AsgiSA proposed a large-scale state-led infrastructure development programme, specific sectoral development plans (including business process out-sourcing, tourism, bio-fuels and agro-processing), national skills development, an overhaul of regulation and policy-making and measures to eliminate the ‘second economy’ (RSA 2006).

In addition to the above policy frameworks, two key policies that capture the government’s vision for rural and urban development need to be highlighted: the Urban Development Strategy (RSA 1995) and the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Strategy (RSA 2000). The Urban Development Strategy was instituted in response to the legacy of decades of social exclusion within cities and the current economic marginalization found in urban settlements. This exclusion was manifested by the proportion of the urban population living below minimum subsistence levels, characterized by high unemployment levels, poor education skills and the spatial separation from the resources of the urban cores of South African cities.

The primary objective of the Urban Renewal Programme was to ensure that government policies on poverty alleviation, economic growth and environmental sustainability were implemented in an integrated manner. It is intended that the programme acts as a model for integrated governance in the future provision of government services. Eight urban renewal nodes were identified and are located in five of the nine provinces. They include two areas in the Western Cape, three areas in KwaZulu-Natal, two areas in the Eastern Cape and one main area in both Gauteng and the Northern Cape. These areas provide major opportunities for piloting development approaches that may be replicated in the rest of the country (DoH 1997b).

The Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Strategy (ISRDS) was introduced with the main objective of empowering rural stakeholders to use the Integrated Development Planning (IDP) process to select developmental activities according to their local priorities. The ISRDS identified 13 specific nodal points in which poverty is being tackled systematically. These were: four areas in the Eastern Cape, four areas in KwaZulu-Natal, two areas in Mpumalanga, one area in the Western Cape, one area in the Free State, and one area in the Northern Cape/North West (RSA 2000).

The ISRDS and the URP provide a framework for addressing poverty. The objective was to institute a sustained campaign against rural and urban poverty and underdevelopment, bringing in and utilizing the resources of all the three spheres of government in a coordinated manner. These programmes entail investment in the economic and social infrastructure, human resource development, enterprise development, enhancement of the development capacity of local governments, poverty alleviation and the strengthening of the criminal justice system.

The Integrated Development Plan (IDP) process and promulgation of the Municipal Systems Act (MSA) 2000 has resulted in a large number of responsibilities being passed on to local government (DPLG 2002).

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