Spatial planning legacies and unauthorized land occupations in South Africa’s urban peripheries
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 17587280 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Abraham R Matamanda (0000-0001-5260-5560, University of the Free State, corresponding author), Leemisa Simon Matooane (0000-0003-2665-9842, University of the Free State), Johannes Bhanye (0000-0001-9658-7755, University of Cape Town), Kgosi Mocwagae (0000-0001-8422-851X, University of the Free State), Lochner Marais (0000-0002-0299-3435, University of the Free State) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-23 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-21 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Planning Perspectives (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0266-5433 • E-ISSN: 1466-4518 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/02665433.2026.2615139 |
| OpenAlex | W7125367585 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 32 |
This article examines the drivers and implications, of unauthorized land occupations on urban development and spatial planning in South Africa. We argue that these unauthorized land occupations are embedded in various nuances, which are best framed and analysed from a spatial planning perspective. Employing a narrative case study, the qualitative research was informed by key informant interviews, focus group discussions, transect walks, observations, and photographs to capture the realities and lived experiences of the unauthorized land occupations. Thematic analysis has been used to analyse the data. The findings reveal the underlying challenges in land access, which compel the urban poor, particularly the youth and women, to access land on the peripheries. This study reinstates the housing scarcity problem, showing the slow progress in providing adequate housing. The role of agency and influential individuals in the community is emphasized through the organization and well-orchestrated process unfolding before and during the unauthorized land occupation process. Slow, reactive, and segregatory spatial planning and development processes impact the nature and extent of land occupations. Spatial planners must reconsider pro-poor, inclusive, just land development and access models that enhance urban livability. The failure to address these occupations has far-reaching implications: social protests, conflicts, urban health challenges, and persisting inequalities
Land use · Land-use planning · Spatial planning · Urban planning · Urban space · Local Economic Development and Planning · South African History and Culture · Urban Planning and Governance
Planning with Complexity
Navigating Terrains of War
Reconstructing South Africa’s cities? The making of urban planning 1900–2000
Conflicts Between and Within
A Century of South African Housing Acts 1920–2020
Reinforcing Housing Assets in the Wrong Location? The Case of Botshabelo, South Africa
The Impacts of Peri-Urban Expansion on Municipal and Ecosystem Services
Sample sizes for saturation in qualitative research
Temporalities of waiting in Africa
Theoretical Notes On `Gray Cities
Occupations as reparative urban infrastructure
(Im)mobility at the margins
Conflicts and synergies between customary land use management and urban planning in informal settlements
Peri-urban interface
Waiting for a house or building your own? Reconsidering state provision, aided and unaided self-help in South Africa
Making Mangaung Metro
Politics/matter
Uncovering informal urbanisation process in the city of Dar es Salaam
Displaced Urbanization
Collaborative Planning in Perspective
Explaining the apartheid city
Youth Politics
The Historical Context and Legacy of the Natives Land Act of 1913
Peripheral urbanization
Conceptualizing African Urban Peripheries
Waiting for the state
State Power, Violence, Crime and Everyday Life
A Step-by-Step Process of Thematic Analysis to Develop a Conceptual Model in Qualitative Research
| Highly cited | No |
|---|