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Contemporary South African Urbanization Dynamics

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Abstract

The paper provides an overview of urbanization patterns and trends in the current era in South Africa, focusing in particular on the key dynamics and driving forces underlying migration and urbanization. It considers overall demographic trends with regard to migration and urbanization, and points to some of the difficulties with data, and with the analysis of trends and patterns. The paper explores the changing rural context and dynamics, and some of the significant processes in this context: large-scale displacement of black people off farms, the impact of land reform, and conditions in the former homeland areas. Circular migration continues to be an important way in which households in rural areas survive, but some are unable to move, and are falling out of these networks. International migration—the consequence of both conditions in the home country and the draw of the South African economy—is another significant process fuelling mainly urban growth. The paper demonstrates the importance of cities in terms of economic growth and employment, and thus their attractiveness to migrants. Continuing migration to cities is of course a challenge for city management, but important trends towards declining household size and the splitting up of households are also driving the physical growth of cities and demands for housing, services, and infrastructure.

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Notes

  1. Using a minimum population of 1,000 per locality, and a minimum density of 500 people per km2 at sub-place level.

  2. According to census figures, some 2.9 million black South Africans still lived on farms owned by others in 2001.

  3. Census data discussed in the previous section suggest that while there is considerable migration into smaller towns, this is matched by out-migration. These figures suggest that there must be considerable onward migration in these settlements and/or that different experiences between settlements are being aggregated in the figures.

  4. In 1986, there were 816,660 regular employees and 534,781 casual employees, although the latter figure dropped in later years (Wegerif et al. 2005).

  5. Of these, 90,282 were cases of restitution, while 73,903 were cases of redistribution or tenure reform.

  6. I.e., as employment opportunities for unskilled workers have declined.

  7. Obviously, these figures would be inflated by numbers of people making multiple visits, such as informal traders, shoppers, and even commuters crossing on a regular basis.

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Acknowledgments

Michael Aliber is thanked for his assistance with suggestions and comments on the rural section of the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Architecture and Planning, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Alison Todes

  2. Pretoria, South Africa

    Pieter Kok

  3. Democracy and Governance, Human Science Research Council, Pretoria, South Africa

    Marie Wentzel

  4. Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS and Health, Human Science Research Council, Pretoria, South Africa

    Johan Van Zyl

  5. Centre for Poverty, Employment and Growth, Human Science Research Council, Pretoria, South Africa

    Catherine Cross

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  1. Alison Todes
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  2. Pieter Kok
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  4. Johan Van Zyl
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  5. Catherine Cross
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Correspondence to Alison Todes.

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Todes, A., Kok, P., Wentzel, M. et al. Contemporary South African Urbanization Dynamics. Urban Forum 21, 331–348 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12132-010-9094-5

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