The Civil Engineering Contractor November 2018 | Page 39

THOUGHT LEADERS
THOUGHT LEADERS
upgrading, legal pluralism, and multiplicity of land
tenure situations. Urban expansion involves transitions
from customary allocation of land to formal and mainly
informal markets, including rent-seeking behaviour of the
many stakeholders involved in the many formal/informal
steps along this process
Planners need to understand the interactions between
formal and informal land markets and beyond land
markets, to understand land tenure transitions to prepare
new land for urban use. A challenge that South Africa
is currently grappling with, is the tenure models over
tribal lands. Zoning and land-use regulations will have to
be respected and enforced. This will require courageous
leadership to avoid short-term decisions for political
expediency and a focus on long-term strategic decisions.
We need to guide spatial expansion by ensuring that cities
can proactively plan the entire arterial road network
through the acquisition of the right of way for the future
transport network, which will also serve as service
corridors for other utilities.
Transport has a long-term impact on a city’s population
and income. Beyond density, productivity is correlated
with urban form characteristics and transport grid
layouts. Transport costs create labour market friction.
Therefore, subsidising the transport of the unemployed
increases search intensity and the likelihood of finding a
permanent job.
Better data is a priority in preparing for a better
urbanised future. We need to use technology to build
consistent and reliable spatial data information for urban
planning purposes. Consolidating population data from
economic census and looking at that in conjunction with
the internal spatial organisation of cities; the density
of transport networks; the provision of infrastructure,
such as water, sewer, electricity, fibre, health services,
and disaster management plans; as well as looking at
survey data of the terrain and satellite imagery showing
vegetation cover and heating patterns of urban areas, all
need to be considered.
Whether urbanisation is Africa’s saviour or demise
will depend to a large degree on us as creators of cities
and our ability to influence politicians to make the
tough decisions around governance, land allocation, and
sustainable infrastructure investment that will pay off
handsomely in the long run. nn
About the author
Deon du Plessis is a Fellow of the South African
Institute of Civil Engineers (Saice) and currently
holds the position of function manager at SMEC.
Prior to his current position, he was Aurecon’s
technical director from April 2012 to July 2016
at eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal, covering the Head
of Buildings Unit that provide building structures
and building services. The position comprised the
disciplines of buildings civils, structures, HVAC, wet,
fire, and electrical services.
www.civilsonline.co.za
CEC November 2018 | 37
CEC November 2018 | 37