The need for more appropriate forms of urban management: The case of land use controls and home businesses

Abstract

The problems which confront urban management in South Africa are likely to change significantly in the near future, as we are faced with cities here which compare far more closely to Third World cities elsewhere. This article focuses on one aspect of urban management, that of land use control and the management of home businesses, to demonstrate the nature of the problems emerging in our cities and the demands which these will place on the urban administrative systems. Drawing on a survey of home businesses in six residential areas in Cape Town, the article argues that present systems of land use control have broken down in both wealthier and poorer areas. However, the widespread (and unexpected) support for home businesses in these areas suggests that a more flexible approach to land use control, and a higher degree of use mix, will gain public acceptance. Some basic principles are put forward to inform a different approach to land use control.

Notes

Director of the Urban Problems Research Unit, and Senior Lecturer in the School of Architecture and Planning, University of Cape Town. The article draws on research commissioned and funded by the Sunnyside Group.