a study of urbanisation in the province of kwa zulu natal

270 Jabu Ndlovu Street, Pietermaritzburg, 3201Tel: +27(33) 264 2500, Fax: +27 (33) 264 2739Private Bag X 9152Pietermaritzburg, 3200beiresl@kznded.gov.zawww.kznded.gov.zaA STUDY OF URBANISATION IN THE PROVINCE OFKWA ZULU NATALJANUARY 2010Liesel BeiresResearch and Development UnitBeiresl@kznded.gov.za1

It is the linkages between urbanisation and economic development that provided the rationalefor this study. In the context of global trends and the vast literature that has been written onurbanisation, this study intends to examine the indicators for urbanisation within the KZNprovince as well as to evaluate if there has been a change in dwelling location and type withinthe province.South Africa as a whole as well as KZN has experienced strong economic growth since the1994 political change took place within the country, up until this year where recessionaryconditions have taken hold of the economy. The evidence for this has been reflected in strongGross Domestic Product (GDP) performance, which in the last two years has been fluctuatingbetween the 4-5% levels. In the years 2000-2003 the KZN GDP, grew at a higher rate thanthe national economy at a level between 3,5%-4,5%, while the national GDP grew between2,5% and 3,5% (Robins et al 2006). In the years post 2000 one has seen strong national andprovincial performance in the residential, industrial, commercial and retail sectors of theproperty market. It is this background of strong economic and property performance that hasbegged the question of if urbanisation has increased in KZN.LITERATURE REVIEW1.1 Definitions of UrbanisationIf a simplistic definition of urbanisation is expressed it would be: “the increase of a country’spopulation living in urban areas” (Drescher et al, 2002). This can occur in one of two ways,either due to an increase in urban population as a result of natural population growth, or anincrease in urban population due to inward migration from surrounding rural areas. Drescheret al (2002) indicate that in the case of developing countries, the dominant factor that hasbeen driving urbanisation has been increases in natural growth rates, rather than rural- urbanmigration. This is however not to say that rural -urban migration has not been a prolific forcein developing countries’ urbanisation patterns. This is highlighted by the United Nations 2003report, which states that developing countries’ governments are more likely to intervene nowthan in the past in the internal migration patterns into metropolitan areas due to the perceivednegative consequences that this is having on developing countries.Although 8 years old preliminary statistics released by Stats SA in 2001 indicate that theprovince of KZN has a relatively low level of urbanisation of 45% compared to provinces suchas the Western Cape and Gauteng, which have urbanisation rates sitting at 90 & 96%respectively. In this regard KZN as a province still has a long way to go in its urbanisationprocess.3

There has been much debate that exists surrounding the dichotomous defining of urban andrural areas. This is due to the difficulty that exists in setting out the factors, which allows oneto arrive at a distinction between rural and urban areas. Stats SA (2006) indicate that thereare many areas that cannot unambiguously be defined as belonging to either a urban or ruralcategory, but rather fall somewhere in between. It is for this reason that Drescher et al (2002)indicate that it is better to think of an urban –rural continuum existing, rather than definitivecategories that make up either urban or rural areas. Urbanization can be viewed as a dynamicprocess, where areas are continuously moving along a continuum of becoming less rural tomore urbanised. Ledent (1982) expands on this thought process by indicating that whenthinking of the urbanisation concept, the emphasis should not lie so much on the absolutegrowth of either rural or urban areas, but rather on their relative growth.The idea of the cyclical nature of urbanisation is expanded by Zelinsky’s 1983 theory ofurban transition. This theory is based on the similar cyclical principles of the demographictransition, which link economic cycles to population cycles. Zelinsky’s 1983 theoryhypothesized that countries start from a low base where there is a low proportion of thepopulation that is urban and a low urban population growth rate. As a country goes throughthe development process this leads to higher urban growth. At the beginning of this processurban growth is generally driven by migration into urban areas whereas when an area isestablished the growth is maintained by natural population increases. In the later phases ofthe urban transition a country should reach a stage in which it has a high proportion of itspopulation as urban but a low urban growth.Zelinsky (1983) notes that each country may follow the urban transition at its own pace andthat not every country will reach the same level of urbanisation. A country’s urban transitionmay follow different patterns due to the historical period it took place in and the level ofeconomic development reached in a country.The theories of urban transition as well as overurbanisation are important for this study asthey support the idea of urbanisation being dynamic and cyclical as well as emphasising thaturbanisation is not a zero sum game. Taking these theories into consideration one wouldhave to determine where in the cycle of urbanisation KZN province fits. Is one still seeinglarge influx from rural areas into the major towns of KZN or are the towns growing mainly dueto natural increases in population? The importance of historical context as was mentioned inthe urban transition theory would also apply to KZN, due to the legacy that the policies ofapartheid left behind.The United Nations (2001) continues the debate regarding the validity of having an urban-rural dichotomy. They propose that urban-rural parts of countries are continuously becomingintegrated as a result of better transport and communication. This is resulting in the distinction4

etween rural and urban areas becoming blurred. That is why in many studies and researchdone on urbanization there has been a call to have three or fourfold classifications of areassuch as: rural, semi urban, peri urban and urban.In the case of South Africa, in the census run by Stats SA between the years 1980-1996, theonly criterion used to establish if an area was urban or not, was that it had to be governed bysome sort of local government. Stats SA found it increasingly difficult to use this singlecriterion since 2000, which establishes the viewpoint that a single criterion cannot sufficientlydistinguish between rural and urban areas. The call for increases in classification classes andvariables would allow for better results to be obtained in defining urbanisation in a country orregion.It is evident from the above debate that the definition of urbanisation is not a simple science ifone wants to define it in its entirety. It is clear that its definition and its determination in acountry or region is highly sensitive to time and classification variance.1.2 The forces that determine UrbanisationIn defining urbanisation it was established that it is a dynamic and cyclical process. However,a better understanding is needed of the forces that determine why urbanisation takes place.The simplistic definition of urbanisation indicated that it was the increase of a country’spopulation living in urban areas. The key to these urban areas and therefore to the wholeurbanisation topic is the idea of cities. There has been much attention given in the literatureas to what cities are and what they are not. Ballard (2002) indicates that cities provided thecontext for an enabled western, modern first world civilised way of life to progress. Mosttherefore saw cities as the paramount ideal for their society. It is this viewpoint that has driventhe motion of urbanisation as human beings throughout the centuries for numerous economic,psychological and environmental reasons have chosen to cluster their activities together.Alig et al (2003) indicate that there are six forces that shape and influence urban expansion:1.) The effects of the natural environment2.) The force of demographics3.) The effect of the economy. The specific elements mentioned in their discussion asbeing key sources of influence on urbanisation are those of: household income, levelof FDI, real estate markets and on a larger scale the exposure to globalisation.4.) The role of transport and the efficiency of the transport systems in allowing people tomove out of the CBD and establish what are known as commuter zones.5

5.) The trade off of consumer preferences for proximity to amenities and places of workcompared with the type of lifestyle that individuals and families are after.6.) The effect of government in shaping how urbanisation takes shape, by the policiesthat are implemented.What emerges from the above mentioned six points is that urbanisation is governed bypolitical, economic and demographic forces. The process of urbanisation is one that has bothmacro and micro forces that play pivotal roles in determining what path it is to take in aparticular country or region.1.3 Post Modern Urbanisation and the impacts of suburbanisation anddecentralisation.In considering so called recent urbanisation theories; it is evident that the ideas presented inthe post modernist papers regarding urbanisation cannot be ignored. One of the clear issuesthat emerge from these writings is the debate that surrounds the causes and consequencesof decentralisation and suburbanisation.Post modernist urbanisation writings can be defined as the summarized depiction of the majorchanges that have been taking place in cities during the last quarter of the twentieth century.Soja (1994) who bases his work on a case study done in the city of Los Angeles indicates thatthere are five geographies of postmodern urbanisation. The first one is that ofdeindustrialisation and reindustrialisation. Soja (1994) mentions that in recent economictimes there has been a shift away from industry and more focus given to the service sectorand tertiary functions. This has led to the growth of what is known as the FIRE sector(finance, real estate and insurance). These activities can be placed in outlying areas of citiesand therefore have added to the trend of suburban growth and decentralisation.The second is given the term of “glocalisation”, which is supposed to convey the idea that onehas had the globalisation of the local and the localisation of the global taking place. Thebackground to this geography is the much talked about spread of globalisation in recenttimes. This has been driven by the advancements in technology and communications, whichresulted in the compression of time and space, as well as the development of a world ‘culture’that permeates into all regions of the globe. The place where this is played out is in cities.There has been the formation of a global system of ‘world cities’, as cities on a world scalecompete against each other to attract activities to their shores. These activities may take theform of tourist events, headquarters of multinational companies or international sportingevents.6

The idea presented by Soja (1994) is that each city has taken a bit of the global culture andmade it local. Cities today therefore have heterogenous populations and heterogenouseconomic activities, with many of the companies and headquarters residing in cities beingglobal operations. In many instances this spin off from globalisation has given rise to theconcept of dual cities, which are a mixture of third world and first world cities. This arises outof a situation where large global companies, which are supporting a growing globalbourgeoisie, locate in third world locations to make use of the abundant pools of cheap labourin these locations. This has resulted in many third world cities having a very rich and poorcomponent to them. This impact although as a result of globalisation is not a new factor incities. Benabou (1993) quotes Plato as saying that: “Every city, no matter how small, is in factdivided into two, one the city of the rich, the other the city of the poor.” There is a cyclicalpattern to be observed in this regard as previous spatial divisions in urbanisation patternsbetween the rich and poor will impact future spatial divisions.The third geography is entitled decentralisation and recentralisation by Soja (1994), in that heindicates that today’s cities are simultaneously being turned inside out. This is as a result ofthe rapid urbanisation of suburbs that has taken place. This has caused a breakdown of thetraditional density gradients in cities, due to the mass exodus out of the CBD’s. This in turnhas caused projects to be implemented that try and attract people back to the CBD’s, such asthe gentrification movement. The impacts of this will be discussed later on in the chapter.The fourth geography addresses the changes in social structures that are taking place withincities. Due to the rapid suburbanisation that has taken place in many cities one has had newpatterns of social fragmentation and polarization taking place. This has caused a wideninggap both socially and spatially between the wealthy and the poor within cities. This relatesback to earlier discussions surrounding the issues that urbanisation does not always havepositive impacts and therefore is a process that needs to be monitored.The fifth geography mentioned by Soja (1994) is the idea of the carceral city or city ofimprisonment. He states that today’s cities have in many instances become ungovernable,especially in relation to crime and unregulated inhabitants. This has restructured urban spacedue to the rapid increases of fortified spaces. These take the form of gated communities orwalled villages, which have a predominance of surveillance and security. This aspect of cityliving further enhances the segregationist tendencies of urbanisation, as well as enhancingthe divide between the haves and the haves not. This has to a certain extent driven themovement of suburbanisation as people try and escape the perceived insecure inner cityliving. This aspect of urbanisation is particularly evident in South African and KZN cities, as inthe last few years one has seen the rapid development of security estates and gatedcommunities. In the Ethekwini Municipality alone one has seen a rapid increase in gatedcommunities in Umhlanga, Hillcrest and Westville.7

The evidence of these five post-modernist geographies is prevalent in many cities today, aswell as in South African cities. In South African cities the geographies of the carceral cities, aswell as spatial divides between rich and poor are particularly evident. As economic maturationhas occurred in the South African economy one has also seen the rise in importance of thetertiary industries, which have driven the decentralisation movement, especially of the officesectors. These broad post modernist urbanisation trends give a good background to thisstudy as it gives a framework into which one can place the observed trends in urbanisation inKZN.Geyer & Kantuly (1996) gave birth to the theory of differential urbanisation in an attempt toexplain migration patterns within cities. Their theory hypothesizes that within cities one hasmigration mainstreams and substreams, which supplement each other and often operate inopposite directions. They indicate that the poor people tend to migrate to stronger economiccentres, which supports urbanisation while more wealthy people prefer the environmentalquality of smaller settlements supporting suburbanisation. The prevalence of one processover another depends mainly on the structure of society and the residential preferences. Forexample if a society were rich or young there would be a high probability of suburbanisationtaking place in that region. This theory would be an accurate description of the internalprocesses of urbanisation that are shaping most cities today.Madden (2000) supports the theory of differential urbanisation by stating that intrametropolitan shifts in the location of higher income people to the suburbs increases theconcentration of the poor in cities. Therefore rising inner city poverty rates are due to incomeselective suburbanisation of metropolitan residents. The sustainability of this form ofurbanisation is debateable. Madden (2000) indicates that suburbanisation results in anincreased pace of new construction of housing and infrastructure on the outer reaches ofmetropolitan areas, which encourages more people to move there, which in turn adds tocongestion problems. Once again we have a clear example of this happening in the HillcrestSuburb in the Ethekwini Municipality of KZN. Over the last 10 years there has been suchrapid expansion in housing estates in the area that the infrastructure has not been able tocope with the increased load. This led to a moratorium being put in place on all developmentfor a 1-2 year period. It is now an area which suffers from heavy congestion problems.Madden states that the movement of higher income populations from central and innersuburbs affects the quality of life for both central city and suburban residents and raisesissues of equity and fairness. He also indicates that the concentration of the poor in the largecentral cities threatens the economic productivity and competetiveness of cities and thereforeendangers national prosperity. He supports this argument by quoting studies that have shownthat large Metropolitan areas that cannot fully utilize the infrastructure and the locationadvantages of their large central cities have lower productivity and earnings.8

One of the spatial results that have arisen from the process of decentralization andsuburbanization is the development of what has been termed ‘edge cities’. Anas et al (1997)describe edge cities as large concentrations of office and retail space as well as residentialdevelopments. They also indicate that in most cases the initial design and construction of anedge city was the product of a single development company or individual. In the province ofKZN one has a classic example of what an edge city entails in the form of the node ofUmhlanga. This node contains premium retail, office and residential space and has beendeveloped as the result of Tongaat Hullett developers. Tongaat Hullett had the means and theownership of land to develop a node that was modelled on their concept of New Urbanism,which entails creating space where people can “work, live and play”.Anas et al (1997) indicate that the phenomenon of edge cities has been made possible by theubiquitous automobile access in the last two centuries. The impact of cheapening cars onresidential decisions has become an important factor in the spread of cities and the processof suburbanisation. This can be linked in with the earlier discussions regarding thesuburbanisation of higher income people. Those earning more are in a position to haveaccess to private transport, which in turn provides them with the means to live in suburbs andbecome commuters. There is a trade off that exists for commuters in this situation, in that asone’s income increases so does the value of one’s time. Therefore because commuters live inthe outer skirts of the city and are dependent on private transport they would face morecongestion, which is an externality that arises because the user of a motor vehicle does notpay for its marginal contribution to congestion. Commuters therefore have to trade offperceived increases in living conditions in the suburbs with increased time spent incongestion.The issue of transportation in the process of urbanisation and city development is animportant discussion. Anas et al (1997) indicate that understanding the forces of information,transportation and communication will enable one to understand newly emerging forms ofurban structure. This is because advances in transport and communication have shaped thespatial structure of modern cities.The prevalence and increasing dominance of private transportation, especially in SouthAfrican cities, has impacted the way in which the cities have developed spatially. In SouthAfrica there is added impetus to the issue of transport and the development of cities. This isdue to the inequality that exists particularly between the different races in regards to access todifferent modes of transport. This notion of inequality in transport is highlighted by a studyundertaken by Patacchini & Zenou (2004) in England. Here it was observed that whiteslargely had access to private vehicles while non – whites made use of public transport.9

Although racial inequality in access to private transport is not peculiar to South Africa, due toour past there are wide discrepancies between races in the ownership of private vehicles.The table below, which reflects results obtained from the Statistics South Africa March LabourForce Survey 2003, indicates the extent of the racial inequality in access to private vehicleownership that exists in South Africa. It is clear that the Indian and White populations have alarge advantage over the African and Coloured population.TABLE 1 – VEHICLE OWNERSHIP BY RACE (in%’s)Household Vehicle Ownership African Coloured Indian White TOTALOwn A Vehicle 12% 30% 70% 95% 23%Allen (1999) presents the notion of the ‘rhetoric of freedom’ in relation to the usage of theprivate car in today’s transport system. He notes that the car was introduced to promotefreedom, yet in a manner it has reduced the freedom of many others in the process. Animbalance of power exists between those who have access to private transport and thosewho do not. In South Africa the transport system is largely dominated by access to privatetransport and this has to an extent marginalized those reliant on public transport.Allen (1999) indicates that a ‘car culture’ has developed in which a car is no longer just ameans of transport but a symbol of power and status. This has resulted in alienation betweenthose who own private vehicles and those who don’t. It is also evident that it is often theneeds of those who don’t have access to private transport that are marginalized in the pursuitto accommodate the private car. There is a negative relationship between the private car andpublic transport, in that accommodating the private car results in less resources beingavailable for public transport.In many South African cities there has been an emphasis on private transport systems. Ourexpanse of vast highways and road structures has allowed cities to become sprawled in manyinstances and made accessibility difficult for those in the outlying areas who are dependenton public transport. The increase in private car ownership in South Africa of late has causedincreased congestion, especially in the major metropolitan cities to become a serious issuethat needs addressing. It has also led to planners and city officials trying to promote compactand sustainable cities rather than have continued urban sprawl taking place. This is why onehas started to see the ideas of New Urbanism driving many of the new developments, as wellas a promotion of “back to city living”. This has mainly been seen in the promotion of CBDrenewal through the incentive schemes such as the Urban Development Tax Incentive Zonesas in the case of Durban in the eThekwini Municipality. This also is not peculiar to SouthAfrica and according to international literature seems to be a process or part of the cycle ofurbanisation.10

The term used to describe this movement back to the city is gentrification. In the process ofurbanisation one typically has two groups of people moving in opposite directions, the urbanseeking group and the urban fleeing group. The process of gentrification can be seen as thepromotion of the activities of the urban seeking group.The drivers of this gentrification or restructuring of urban space are factors such asdemographics, household structures, economic change, labour market restructuring and therole of property markets.Glass (2000) indicates that although the term “gentrification” is rather new with it first beingused in England, the concept is an old one, as throughout history cities have grown,stagnated and decayed and have then been in need of rejuvenation. He indicates that afterWorld War II (1939-1945), urban decline became a prominent concern and organisations;particularly government used various programs to attack the problem. These can be likenedto the urban renewal programs that one is currently seeing in South African cities.Visser (2002), writing specifically on South Africa states that gentrification will always result inthe displacement of one group of people. This is because the aim of gentrification is toupgrade an area and therefore remove the low-income occupants. Where these occupantsare displaced too is not always clear and has caused much debate in the literature regardingthis particular negative externality of gentrification.He indicates that in South African cities one had ‘white flight’ occurring during the 1980’s andcapital disinvestment in CBD’s due to the suburbanisation of high order functions. Howeversince the political change over in South Africa and the rising of the much talked about blackmiddle class, this group could be the drivers of the move back to the inner cities. An exampleof inner city gentrification in the province of KZN would be the Durban Point Development,which has resulted in the point precinct undergoing a transformation, both in terms ofdemographics and economic structure of the residents as well as in the architectural structureof the precinct.Although there is evidence of gentrification starting to take place in South Africa, it is not tothe same extent that has been seen on the international front. Gentrification is a phenomenonthat has had and is going to have impacts on the way that urbanisation takes shape in mostcities of the world today. Although it has not been much of a force in South Africa, as theeconomy and the middle class continues to grow the likelihood of gentrification occurring inour cities will increase. It is therefore an important element to consider when looking at thepatterns of development that take place as a result of urbanisation.11

From the above discussion it is evident that the forces laid out in the broad framework ofpostmodern urbanisation, are vital in explaining many of the trends evident in urbanisationtoday. The effect of modern transportation in allowing the formation of edge cities and theprolific spread of suburbs cannot be denied. The provision and affordability of the privatevehicle has allowed commuter zones to be established and has allowed for the sustainabilityof suburbs. It is also evident that in all cities one has two streams of movement of people andactivities as explained by differential urbanisation. The rise of gentrification has been aresponse to try and curb the flow of high-income earners and activities out of the city centre toincrease the sustainability of today’s cities.1.4 Urbanisation and IndustrialisationIt has been stated before in this chapter that there is a close link between industrialisation andurbanisation. In this context industrialisation would refer to the growth in industry andeconomic activity associated with the production of goods and services within a local regionor country. The close interconnectedness between industrialisation and urbanisation makes itdifficult to determine which comes first in the cycle and indicates that there is an endogenousrelationship between the two. Rondinelli (1983) indicates that urbanization andindustrialization seem to be have been concomitant phenomena each reinforcing the growthand spread of the other in Europe and the United States.The relationship between these two concepts would seem to be simple at face value asindustrialisation provides the economic activity that would attract residents to a city. However,there are elements to this relationship that need further examination.Drescher et al (2002) indicate that cities have been the engines of economic growth and thatindustrial capitalism was the initial powerful force that spurred urbanization. This is becausecapitalism results in the concentration of production and consumption in locations that affordthe greatest economies of scale. This resulted in urbanisation being an interdependentconsequence of the growth and expansion of capitalism. However as urbanisation increasedso did industrialisation, which can be attributed to the occurrence of greater agglomerationeconomies and knowledge spillovers. Krugman (1995) states that “Activities tend to clusterwhere markets are large and markets become larger where activities cluster”. This statementhighlights the endogeneity between industrialisation and urbanisation, as the one strengthensthe other.Henderson (2000) expands on the link between urbanisation and GDP prosperity, proposingthat a high degree of urban concentration is necessary in the early stages of economicdevelopment to create lasting efficiencies. The high density of people and firms can promoteeconomic efficiency through information spillovers amongst producers, more efficient12

functioning of labour markets and savings in transport costs. He states that a high degree ofurban concentration is essential for a country to kick start industrial development. Accordingto Henderson (2002) this results in higher GDP growth and therefore agglomerationeconomies can be viewed as the benefits accruing to the overall scale and diversity existingin urban areas.From the discussion on industrialisation and urbanisation it is evident that one cannotseparate the two processes. In this context one could suggest that there are two arms tourbanisation. The first arm would be the urbanisation of industrial areas and the second theurbanisation of residential areas. It is difficult to determine which of these processes occurfirst, but it appears that they rather mutually reinforce one another.1.5 Urbanisation and Migration in South AfricaSouth Africa’s historical legacy of apartheid and migrant labour system results in the study ofurbanisation having a unique element in this context. This is because in many cases thenormal trends and processes associated with urbanisation have been altered in South Africancities. This can mainly be attributed to the segregationist policies of apartheid, which madepermanent urbanisation impossible for most migrants of colour (Parnell & Mabin, 1995). Thekey aspect of urbanisation in South Africa is the addition of race requirements in spatiallocation. Parnell & Mabin (1995) indicate that there is virtually no aspect of urban society inSouth Africa that is untouched by racial policies or attitudes: “Race remains the ubiquitouslens through which the South African city is viewed”. Race and spatial location is an importantaspect to consider, as spatial location has important consequences for the individualsconcerned. It is very often the case that space and an individual’s identity are closelyinterconnected.The table below shows data taken from the March 2003 Labour Force Survey. This datahighlights the extent to which the legacy of apartheid has skewed the location of racesbetween the urban-rural divide.TABLE - RACIAL COMPONENTS OF URBAN/RURAL POPULATIONS (in %’s)URBAN/RURAL POPULATIONS AFRICAN COLOURED INDIAN WHITE TOTALRURAL 54% 27% 1% 14% 47%URBAN 46% 73% 99% 86% 53%The African and Coloured populations, who bore the brunt of forced segregation policies,have the largest percentage of their populations living in rural areas.13

Spatial segregation has important consequences for the specific development of individualraces in terms of prosperity and poverty as well as the urbanisation of specific areas.Selod & Zenou (2004) further expand on the topic of spatial location of race groups in what isknown as “preference models”. These models explore the notion that racial groups prefer tolive together in communities with the same racial make up. This influences the location ofcommunities resulting in a trade off existing between racial preferences and commuting costsdue to location of settlements. In the models that Selod & Zenou (2004) have drawn up for thecase of the United States, racial composition accounts for 65% of housing segregation. Thiscan be linked to the case of South Africa, which has had a history of forced segregation ofcommunities. This has resulted in many of the now previously disadvantaged communitiesfinding themselves in rural areas and at great distances from urban centres.Stoll & Raphael (2001) indicate that the spatial mismatch hypothesis examines the involuntaryresidential segregation of blacks to the inner city, coupled with the movement of jobs from thecentral cities to suburbs. They state that it is a phenomenon that has disadvantaged blackpopulations both absolutely and relatively when compared to the white population. Whenincluding geography into the equation, Stoll & Raphael (2001) state that this leads to differenteconomic success rates for black and white communities. Geography adds a new decisionmargin, in that introducing space into the analysis admits a role for accessibility in determiningeconomic prosperity.When seeking for evidence supporting the spatial mismatch hypothesis in South Africa, onefinds that South Africa is a unique case when trying to fit this hypothesis. Even though theblack population is not the minority in this country, due to past policies of the Apartheid yearsthey are definitely part of the disadvantaged population. In that this country also has hadforced segregation, it is seen that the African population are mostly situated in rural areas,which have low economic opportunities. This has resulted in inordinately long commutingdistances and high transportation costs, especially for the black population. In this aspect onecould see the spatial mismatch hypothesis having merit, in that white and African populationshave had access to different opportunistic areas. Where things may be different, is that inSouth Africa one almost has the reverse of the spatial mismatch hypothesis because theAfrican population was largely segregated away from the city, compared to other countrieswhere the black population were segregated in the inner city.From these discussions it is evident that an analysis of urbanisation of South African citiescannot be separated from its segregationist past. This has led to unique forms of spatiallayout in cities, and continues to impact on the spatial growth of cities today, as the countryfights to get rid of its segregationist tendencies.14

Another issue that is closely linked to urbanisation and apartheid is migration. Once again,migration has unique characteristics in South Africa.As was discussed earlier in the chapter, there are two main drivers of urban growth, that ofnatural population increase and migration from surrounding rural areas. There are variousmodels that depict the rationale for the phenomenon of migration but Todaro’s (1969) modelis the benchmark in explaining migration behaviour. Prior migration models have emphasizedthe difference between incomes in rural and urban areas that lead people to be attracted tourban areas. However Todaro (1969) makes a key distinction in stating that the expectedrather than the real income differentials cause rural -urban migration. This is becauseincomes may not always be higher in urban areas, due to the high costs of living within cities.However it is the perception of rural inhabitants that city living is better that persuades them tomake the move. This can be used as an explanation for why one still has urbanization takingplace in the face of unemployment in urban cities. It is the inherent mindset of rural wageearners that conditions are always better in cities that drives migration rather than theactuality of the situation.Todaro (1997) states that migration in excess of job opportunities has been both a symptomand a contributor to African underdevelopment. He further defines the factors that influencedecisions to migrate, indicating that they are varied and complex, but can be categorised intofive broad areas. These are:1. Social factors (breakaway from traditional constraints/cultures)2. Physical factors (natural disasters)3. Demographic factors (high rates of rural population growth)4. Cultural factors (security of African urban extended family relationships)5. Communication factors (improved transport, education, radio, TV)These factors can be associated with the traditional “push and pull” theories that are oftenquoted as reasons for rural- urban migration taking place.The key conclusion to be taken away from Todaro’s analysis of migration is that there is aperceived bias towards urban areas, which is not always founded on economic principles.Migrants view cities as places of opportunity and do not always weigh up the costs associatedwith urban living. It is this that results in excess surplus in urban areas and causes urbanconditions to deteriorate.The problems associated with urban growth that takes place beyond optimum or equilibriumis many. Drescher et al (2002) indicate that the most dramatic outcome of rapid urbanisationis urban poverty. In South African cities the existence of urban poverty is a very real factorand has led to the rapid growth of informal economic activities and residences in an attemptto provide sustainable livelihoods. This is not a phenomenon unique to South Africa as globaltrends indicate that urbanization and informalization are increasing at a rapid pace worldwide,15

ut even more so in developing countries. The informal economy is a growing and significantrole player within today’s cities and it is a spatial form that is here to stay.According to the 2005 Labour Force Survey for South Africa, the informal economy made up27.1% of the total South African labour force. It is important that policy makers and cities worktogether with their informal economies, as it is the livelihood of a large number of itspopulation. The view is often taken that those involved in the informal economy are dirty,unsocial and unintelligent human beings who want to be in the situation that they findthemselves in (Bhatt, 2006). However this is clearly not the case and the challenge to cities isthat they should not be racing towards achieving a form of urbanisation that seeks after worldclasscity status without investing in their informal economies. If planners and economicdevelopers invest in the informal economy, they are investing in a sound economic base oftheir city.South Africa has had a legacy established of the informal economy being the secondeconomy within the country. This has led to a distinct separateness between the formal andinformal economy. If one examines the literature on this very topic one finds that this isempirically inaccurate and that having this type of mindset narrows the scope of policy focusin dealing with the informal economy and its impact on urbanisation. The way forward inaddressing the informal economy is to obtain an understanding of the linkages between itselfand the formal economy as well as understanding where informal workers fit into valuechains. It is this understanding that will allow interventions to be made that would increasepeople’s incomes as well as grow the overall economy and allow for more sustainableurbanisation to take place (Skinner, 2006).Another critical issue that faces the informal economy and its impact on urbanisation is that ofregulation. Global trends as well as South African trends have shown that cities have becomepre-occupied with regulating the informal economy rather than focusing on interventions thatwould improve conditions. The regulatory process has at times also been exclusionary by nottaking into account the different needs and concerns of those working in the informaleconomy. The key element that is brought out by international and South African literature isthat the informal economy as an urban form is here to stay. It is therefore an important pointof consideration, for a study on urbanisation, especially in South Africa as we have such alarge and active informal economy that penetrates most of our cities.The above discussion highlights the importance of migration for the spread of urbanisationand growth of city sizes. It is evident that the migration rate in many instances is above thenatural rate that would be determined by pure economic forces. This excess migrationcompromises cities’ abilities to adequately provide urban services to all its inhabitants and16

esults in the phenomenon of urban poverty, which at times can arguably be worse than ruralpoverty.South Africa as a country has had a history in relation to migrancy and in particular in relationto migrant workers. It is here that South Africa differs once again from the normal trendsdiscussed in the literature relating to migration and urbanisation. In most circumstances themigration that is under consideration in the literature is that of permanent migration. Howeverin the case of South Africa due to the political history one has had more temporary migrationthan permanent migration in South African cities. This can be attributed to the segregationpolicies that were discussed earlier in this section. These resulted in a migrant labour systemmostly made up of races of colour developing in South Africa. This system was based onworkers having a temporary abode in the cities, usually in hostels, but their actual home wasconsidered to be in the rural areas. This in turn set up a system of remittance flows, fromworkers sending back money to the rural areas to support their families. This temporarymigrant system has important implications for the form that urbanisation has taken in SouthAfrica, as it has resulted in strong ties between rural and urban areas.Posel (2003) in her paper regarding post apartheid migration observes that there have beenthree national trends that have arisen in the post apartheid period. The first and mostastounding trend is that internal labour migration has increased. Her study also found thatalthough internal labour migration has increased the permanent migration that was expectedto take place after apartheid has not taken place to the extent that was expected. The secondtrend that was observed is that female labour migration specifically has increased. This isattributed to the increase in domestic workers who are commuting between their own homesand living where they work during the week. The third trend that was observed is that ruralAfrican labour migrants have continued to retain economic ties with their households of origin.This reinforces the strong economic ties between urban and rural areas, which are a legacythat is continued from the apartheid era. The township areas surrounding all major cities inSouth Africa have largely made the dominance of temporary migration in South Africapossible. This urban form is also primarily a result of the spatial policies of apartheid and hashad significant impacts on residential urbanisation in South Africa.Under apartheid the township areas were established as demarcated residential areas forpeople of colour, primarily consisting of Africans. They have generally consisted of housingstock that has been of low value and therefore have greatly disadvantaged those living inthese areas. Access to tenure in these areas has been limited, disadvantaging those peoplethat wanted to move from these areas into the formal residential property markets. Due to thelow value of the properties there is little collateral or capital that they can put toward qualifyingfor mortgages.17

The Finmark Trust (2004) undertook a study on township retail in South Africa and inparticular in the province of KZN. In their study they identified five sub markets to be found inSouth African townships. These were:1.) The old township stock. This was stock provided by the government in the period1948 to 1960 and consisted of freestanding homes or semi detached houses andflats. This stock is generally old and in poor condition.2.) The private housing stock, which was formal housing developed by the private sector.This caters for the higher income brackets within the townships and was developed inthe 1980’s after the promulgation of the 99-year leasehold.3.) The housing developed as part of the Reconstruction and Development Programme(RDP). This was housing that was provided as part of the national housing subsidyprogramme and consisted of freestanding formal homes that were occupied on eitheran ownership or a rental basis.4.) The site and service stock, which was a scheme whereby individuals or householdwere given land, but were personally responsible for developing the top structure.The individual could do this incrementally.5.) The informal stock, which was made up of non-conventional materials and waserected without permission.These five sub- markets described by the Finmark (2004) study, all have different successrates in the possibility of selling the homes found in these markets. The overall result that thestudy produced is that the difficulty of reselling provides the greatest constraint for all five ofthese sub-markets, which “traps” the individuals in these areas.In their surveys carried out in the province of KZN, they focused on the five township areascovering the five submarkets discussed. The areas surveyed were Lamontville (old townshipstock), Inanda (Private sector stock), Newlands west (RDP), Ntuzuma (Informal stock) andUmlazi E (Site and service stock). The results proved to be interesting, in that in all five areas13-46% of households were considered to be multimodal. This implied that they have anotherhome situated in rural areas. This indicates that it has been the existence of townships thathas allowed the observed temporary migration patterns to occur in South African cities. Thesurveys also reinforced the difficulties with the resale ability of these areas, with 67-100% ofthe households indicating that they would or could never sell their homes. The two areas inwhich some households would consider selling was in Inanda (Private sector submarket) andNewlands West (RDP- submarket).The above study highlights that as was the case with the informal economy, township areasare here to stay in the near and extended future. It is another factor that needs considerationwhen determining the unique urbanisation forms and patterns that occur in South African andKZN cities. It is also clear that the unique migration patterns in South Africa are closely linked18

with the establishment of township areas, as these have made it possible for migrants to haveabodes close to cities, but also have their “true” homes in the rural areas.1.7 Provision of Urban Services in the province of KZNThe analysis below examines to what extent Urban services provisions has changed in theprovince of KZN and what we can infer about urbanisation from this data.1.7.1 Datasets usedThe main datasets used to undertake this analysis were the 1996 & 2001 South AfricanCensus, the 1998 October Household Survey, and the September 2000, 2003, 2004 andMarch 2005 Labour Force Survey (LFS) as well as the South African Advertising ResearchFoundation’s (SAARF) AMPS 2000 and 2004 dataset. Each of these datasets has theirstrengths and weaknesses and therefore different reasoning was applied to using them forthe various data that was required for this analysis.The 1996 & 2001 Census was used to generate population trends within the province, asalthough slightly outdated, it provides a holistic population survey and is the mostrepresentative in its sampling. It also allows for a relatively accurate 5-year change analysis inregard to population growth rates and changes in the racial compositions of the population.The LFS datasets were used to conduct a dynamic analysis of the changes in the provision ofurban services in the KZN province. The main service provisions that were focused on were:water, electricity, sanitation and refuse removal. The LFS was used for this purpose due tothe almost accurate repeating of questions regarding urban service provisions in eachconsecutive year. It is also a survey that has been weighted on the 2001 census, whichallows for better comparison.1.7.2 Population AnalysisIn the literature analysis, the importance of population as a determining factor in the processof urbanisation was established, particularly in relation to natural increases and migrationrates. Using the 1996 and 2001 Census data Table 3 below disaggregates the population intothe four main different races and their percentage representation.19

Table 3 – Population numbers and Racial Representations (Census)1996 2001 2009NUMBERS % VALUE NUMBERS % VALUE NUMBERS %VALUETotal Population 8,417,021 9,426,017 10,449,301African 6,880,652 82% 8,002,407 85% 8,917,120 85%Coloured 117,951 2% 141,887 2% 139,209 1%Indian 790,813 9% 798,275 8% 908,006 9%White 558,182 7% 483,448 5% 484,965 5%The data shows that between the years 1996-2001 the total population in KZN increased by11% and between 2001 and 2009 it increased by the same amount. This was mainly drivenby growth in the dominant race, which is the African population. Their proportionalrepresentation is the only one to have increased during the 1996-2001 period, with the otherthree races representation decreasing during the same time period.This growing dominance of the African population has important considerations forurbanisation, as trends seen in urbanisation in the province will be heavily influenced by thecharacteristics of the dominant race.Table 4- Racial Population Representation in KZN & Four major Districts (LFS 2005)ETHEKWINI ILEMBE UTHUNGULU UMGUNGUNDLOVUAfrican 66% 89% 96% 80%Coloured 3% 1% 0% 2%Indian 23% 9% 3% 10%White 8% 1% 1% 8%Table 4 above also shows the break down of racial representation in the four districtmunicipalities of Ethekwini, Ilembe, Uthungulu and Umgungundlovu. These four districts werechosen as a sample due to them covering the largest share of the province and containing themajor cities within their boundaries. The Ethekwini Municipality includes the greater DurbanMetropolitan area and stretches as far as Tongaat in the North, Cato Ridge in the west andClansthal in the South. The Umgumgundlovu District Municipality is made up of a cluster ofseven municipal councils and includes the provincial capital city Pietermaritzburg as well asthe other main cities of Howick, Hilton, Mooi River, Richmond and Camperdown. TheUthungulu District Municipality runs along the coast and consists of six municipal councils,which include the major towns of Richard’s Bay, Empangeni, Eshowe and Melmoth. Thefourth and final municipal district council in this sample is also a coastal one and is made upof four local municipalities, which include the towns of Ballito, Zinkwazi, Stanger and Mandini.Table 4 shows that out of the four district municipalities Ethekwini has the most representationof the other three races. The African race is predominate in all four district municipalities, butparticularly so in the Ilembe and Uthungulu regions. Once again linking back to the literature,20

egarding the uniqueness of the South African context, these two regions are the ones thatwere classed as the rural hinterlands during apartheid and therefore are still today more ruralin nature, when compared to Ethekwini and Umgungundlovu. This also ties in with thediscussion on the spatial mismatch hypothesis, which indicates, that it is often thedisadvantaged race that find themselves in the remote areas. This seems to be evident in theprovince of KZN.Table 5- Household growth in KZN (Census)1995 2006 2009NUMBER %VALUE NUMBER % VALUE NUMBER % VALUETotal Households 1,770,915 2,323,000 2,450,792African 1,342,961 76% 1,897,863 82% 2,020,746 82%Coloured 27,495 2% 31,868 2% 38,209 2%Indian 185,886 10% 211,045 9% 217,661 9%White 214,510 12% 182,223 8% 189,175 8%Once again it is the African race that is dominating household growth in KZN. During theperiod 1996-2001 the number of households in KZN grew by 31%. This is a substantiallylarge growth rate in the formation of new households. The African household representationgrew by 6%, while all the other races’ representation once again decreased. This rapid growthin household formation has obvious consequences for urbanisation rates and for the provisionof urban services. If household formation takes place at a faster rate than urban serviceprovision, there is going to be a drop in the level of urbanisation in the province. It is evidentthat in the period 2006-2009 the races have all kept their proportional growth rates inhousehold formation.The rapid growth in household formation, particularly amongst the African population could bean indication of the population group moving towards more nuclear and western family units.This is an important point as Russell (2004) indicates that wider kinship links are continuouslyexploited as an African strategy to secure livelihoods. He states that, “Both poor and non-poorhouseholds may manipulate household composition and structure as a coping strategy attimes of economic duress.” This was brought out earlier in the chapter in the discussion onmigration, where it was noted that many migrants are still temporarily migrating to urbanareas and keeping close economic and family ties with rural areas. However the importantconsideration is that although kinship may still be strong amongst the African population, newnuclear households are forming as especially the young migrate to urban areas. This is whatone could be seeing in the data on growth of households.The AMPS 2000 & 2004 data support the census 1996 & 2001 data, by giving a breakdownon the marital status in the province of KZN. In Table 6 below when one compares the overallstatuses between the years 2000 and 2004, one finds that finds that the number of singlepeople in the province has increased by 8 percentage points, while those married/living21

together has decreased by 6 percentage points. In Table 7 this change is broken downracially and once again it is the African population that is driving this change. This is seen inthat amongst the African population, those that are single increased by 10 percentage pointsbetween the years 2000 and 2004. The Indian race also recorded an increase in their singlecategory of 6 percentage points, while the coloured and white populations recordeddecreases. The increase in single people can and would translate into additional householdformations.Table 6- Marriage Statuses in KZN (AMPS)MARRIAGE STATUS 2000 2004Single 40% 48%Married/Living together 48% 42%Separated 1% 1%Divorced 3% 2%Widower 8% 7%Table 7- Racial compositions of Marriage Statuses in KZN (AMPS)MARRIAGE STATUS 2000 2004Black Coloured Indian White Black Coloured Indian WhiteSingle 57% 42% 29% 24% 67% 33% 35% 22%Married/Living together 34% 42% 60% 60% 27% 50% 55% 60%Separated 0% 0 1% 0 0 2% 1% 1%Divorced 1% 9% 2% 5% 0 4% 2% 7%Widower 8% 6% 8% 10% 5% 11% 6% 10%The formation of new households can be further explained by the age distribution of the KZNpopulation. Examining the data one finds that overall KZN as a province has a very youngpopulation. 61% of its population falls into the age category of 15-64, 32% in the 0-15 yearage group and 5% of the population in the 64> age group. If one further disaggregates thesecategories on finds that the highest representation is found in the 10-14 age group, followedby the 15-19 age group and then by the 20-24 year age group. Having a very youngpopulation will give momentum to household formation, particularly if they are choosing toremain single.Another important aspect of the population to consider is the education level. In the literaturethe all important link between education and urbanisation was made, indicating that highereducation levels lead to higher rates of urbanisation, due to the benefits of knowledge spillovers resulting from close proximity. Once again using the 1996 & 2001 Census data, onefinds that as expected there is a wide education gap between the different races.22

Table 8- Highest Educational level attained according to race in KZN (Census 1996 &2001)1996 2001AFRICAN COLOURED INDIAN WHITE AFRICAN COLOURED INDIAN WHITENo Schooling 27 3 7 1 26 4 6 2Grade 7 7 6 5 0 6 5 9 1Grade 12 11 19 27 35 16 29 34 40Higher 2 7 8 20 4 9 12 30Table 8 above shows that between the years 1996 and 2001, there has been an improvementin all four-race groups in achieving Grade 12 and higher educational levels. However there isstill a bias towards the Indian and White racial groups in attaining these educational levels. Ifone takes the year 2001 there is still a 24% gap between the white and African race inattaining Grade 12 level education. This indicates that there is still a large shortfall to make upin education levels, for all races but particularly inter racially. As attempts are made to reducethis shortfall, and thereby increase education levels, one can expect urbanisation rates toincrease as the KZN population becomes more educated.1.7.3 Urban Service provisionAs was stated earlier, the main urban services that were analysed were water, electricity,sanitation and rubbish removal. This was done using data that was collected by the ActurialSociety of South Africa 2003 for their Aids and Demographic Forecast Model. Further datafrom the South African National Population Census was also used, as well as data gatheredby the Independent Electoral Commission in 2006.In Tables 9-12 in the annexure, what is made evident is that in all the categories of urbanservices there has been very little to no change to at times a worsening of service provisionfor the period 1995-2007. One explanation for this could be that in the province of KZN in thelast eleven years one has had more rapid growth in households needing services, than inwhat the services have been provided. This could indicate that rapid urbanisation has beentaking place in the province of KZN. This could have been caused by movement of peopleinto urban areas but also may be a result of redefining of areas as being in need of urbanservice provision. The redefining and inclusion of outlying areas into urban areas has been aresult of the removal of segregationist apartheid policies resulting in former townships andoutlying areas now being included into urban areas.The two urban services that appear to be most needed within households, is water provisionand sanitation facilities. This is seen in the fairly high percentages of households that are stillusing flowing streams as their main source of water and pit latrines without ventilation as their23

main type of toilet facility. In 2004, 40% of households were using pit latrine facilities as theirmain type of toilet facility.If one further examines the data in the tables what it indicates is that in all aspects of urbanservice provisions, Ethekwini municipality is far ahead in provision, the next closest being theUmgungundlovu municipality. These are the two district municipalities that are the mosturban in nature and contain most cities within their borders. From the population data it wasseen that these two district municipalities are also the ones with the most representation ofthe Indian and White races. This once again indicates that there are racial disparitiesregarding access to urban service provision, with the two district municipalities, which havethe least urban service provision, having the greatest representation of the African population.1.7.4 Transport and AccessibilityIn the literature, the importance of transport and accessibility in the process of urbanisationwas established. The literature in particular Allen (1999) indicated that inequalities can exist interms of access to transport and very often cities are formed and spread due to thedominance of private vehicle transport. In the case of South Africa, with its highly developedand spread out highways and a freeway, the spread of cities has been made possible by theaccommodation of private transport. However what the data indicates is that the majority ofthe population in KZN is reliant on public transport. In Tables 13-16 in the annexure, transportdata was taken from the 2003 & 2004 Labour Force Surveys (LFS). The two aspects thatwere looked at were the means of transport used and the amount of time taken to reachdestinations. In both instances one destination of food markets was chosen as a generalsample of accessibility and amenity level.What the data indicates is that the dominant mode of transport in KZN and in its four mainmunicipal districts is that of Taxi usage followed by walking. It is seen that there is morepedestrian activity than use of private transport, yet as was mentioned earlier the SouthAfrican transport system is very much geared for the private vehicle. Once again the twodistrict municipalities that have the highest usage of private vehicles are Ethekwini andUmgungundlovu. This can be linked to the racial compositions of these municipalities, as wellas the level of wealth found within them and the level of urbanisation.If one examines the times taken to reach the destination of food markets, once againEthekwini and Umgungundlovu have the highest representation in the two shortest timecategories. This reinforces that these two municipalities have a higher level or urbandevelopment and amenity levels, which results in travelling times being less. The other twomunicipalities of Ilembe and Uthungulu have the highest representation in the longest time24

categories, which indicates that they may be more rural in nature and that amenities are moresprawled out.The transport data in Tables 15&16, which disaggregates according to race, shows that theAfrican population is the most disadvantaged in terms of means of transport and timeaccessibility. From the year 2003 to 2004 the increase in the African race using foot as theirmain means of transport was 6%, compared to a 1% increase in the African race usingprivate transport. This is minimal compared to the 8% increase in the White race using privatetransport as their main mode of transport in the same time period.In the literature it was established that the main enabler of suburbanisation has been the useof private transport and easy access to public transport. In the South African and KZN contextone could therefore infer that the suburb growth that has taken place has been largely drivenby the White, Indian and Coloured races which have had the most access to private transport.This can be linked to the discussion on Madden (2000) in the literature, which indicated thatthe have nots are very often marginalised into the poorer areas. The barrier of lack oftransport could be a contributing factor to this.The data indicates the racial inequalities that exist in KZN in terms of access to transport,which in turn will limit the location of certain races to certain parts of cities. The unequaltransport system that does exist in KZN would have and will continue to impact on the rateand pattern of urbanisation within the province. This is because transport has become aqualifier or a barrier limiting certain races in terms of location within the city. Those that havefree and easy access to transport have more freedom in location than those that do not.1.8 Home Ownership and Type of Dwelling DataTables 17-18 in the annexure show data on the types of dwelling and home ownership in KZNfor the period 1995-2008. This data was taken from the Statistics SA Quarterly Labour ForceSurveys and the Household Survey 2008. If one examines the data on the types of dwellingoccupied in KZN, the following points are evident. For the period 1995-2008 in all four of themunicipalities chosen as samples for this study there was an increase in households living informal brick structures on separate stands. The highest increase has been in the eThekwiniMunicipality. Although it could be argued that the increase over 11 years hasn’t been verysignificant the trend indicates that there has been urbanisation taking place in the KZNprovince as more and more households move into formal housing. The second point that isnoticeable is that in the municipalities of Umgungundlovu, Uthungulu and Ilembe there is stilla significant proportion of households that are living in traditional dwellings, with thispercentage being an average of 35% across the three municipalities. However in all of the25

four sample municipalities there has been a decrease of households living in traditionaldwellings, with the biggest decrease of 13% being in the municipality of uThungulu.If one compares the amount of household living in traditional dwellings in KZN with the rest ofSouth Africa one finds that there are more households living in traditional dwellings KZN thanin the rest of South Africa. This is in all likelihood due to the cultural background that prevailsin the KZN province. Most traditional dwellings are found in rural areas, therefore this is alsoindicative that a fair percentage of the KZN population still lives in rural settings. If oneexamines the decrease of households living in traditional dwellings together with what hashappened in the informal dwellings category, one is able to deduce more about urbanisationin the KZN province. In the municipalities of Umgungungdlovu, Uthungulu and Ilembe thenumber of households living in informal settlements have increased in the period 1995-2007.It is also evident that the municipality of eThekwini has the largest percentage of householdsliving in informal settlements with the figure of 17% staying constant from 1995-2007. Thiswould arguably indicate that eThekwini is the most urban of the four sample municipalities.This is because a high percentage of informal settlements are an indication of an influx ofpeople into the area. The presence of informal settlements are often seen as the by productof over crowding in cities. The data on informal settlements combined with the data showing adecline in households living in traditional dwellings provides evidence for rural urban migrationhaven taken place in the KZN province.Turning to the data presented on home ownership in Table 18 of the Annexure one finds thatthere has been a dramatic increase in KZN in the category of households “owning theirdwellings and having paid the off fully”. This percentage has increased from 37% in 1995 to75% in 2008; this is an increase of 38%. It is also evident from the table that the increase inthis category of owning had having fully paid off your dwelling has seen an increase across allrace groups, with the biggest increase being in the African race group which has seen anincrease of 38%. Alongside this data one finds that there has been a decrease in the categoryof “owned but not fully paid off” as well as the “rental” category, which has decreased for allrace groups except for the African race group. If one takes all this data on home ownershipinto consideration it indicates that there has been an increase in households living inurban/formal dwellings. This is especially the case if one takes into consideration thatmortgages/finance for buying homes can only be acquired on formal housing; therefore thefact that there has been such an increase in the category of “owning fully paid off homes”would be an indication of more households being active in the formal market.1.9 ConclusionThis paper has highlighted the varying and numerous theories that surround the process ofurbanisation. The literature has indicated that urbanisation has been the yardstick to measure26

humankind’s progress in the 20 & 21 st century. It has also indicated that urbanisation is by nomeans a standard process, but may take on forms and patterns that are unique to a specificcountry or area. In South Africa the history of Apartheid has had a significant impact on thespatial patterns and development of cities and has added uniqueness to urbanisation byintroducing many inequalities in the aspects of location and accessibility to amenities. Theliterature has also highlighted that development and urbanisation are two processes that gohand in hand as urbanisation is a by-product of development but also acts as a catalyst forfurther development. However it should always be remembered that urbanisation is not just acycle of progress but it will create pressures that will need to be addressed by local andnational governments.This study sought to address whether or not urbanisation has increased in the province ofKZN or not? The data analysis showed that population trends of household formation,population growth and marital trends are all being driven by the African race in KZN. This isan indication that urbanisation in the province is being driven by the movements and changesin the African race group. It is evident from the study that urbanisation in KZN, althoughcoming off a low base when compared to other provinces, is being driven by both populationgrowth and rural-urban migration.The data analysis also highlighted that there has been stagnation and at times worsening inurban service deliveries over the last eleven years, which would suggest that householdformation and demand has grown faster than supply. This is supported by the populationanalysis, which showed that there has been a substantial growth in the KZN population andhousehold formation in recent times. The age profile of the KZN population adds momentumto the urbanisation process, as the young age structure would suggest that the demand forhousing and services is only likely to continue in the future. It would therefore be ingovernment’s best interests to be aware that likely pressures of urbanisation are going toremain and if not increase in intensity in KZN as more of the population moves into urbanareas while at the same time natural population growth increasing in urban areas. The issuesof urban poverty as well as rural poverty are therefore going to remain as items on theagenda that need addressing.The data on dwelling types and home ownership further adds support to the study, showingthat there has been rural-urban migration taking place in KZN and in particular in all four ofthe sample municipalities. This was seen in the decrease of households living in traditionaldwellings and an increase in informal settlements and households living in formal brickdwellings in urban areas. The data also showed an increase in households owning andhaving fully paid off their dwellings which further supports that there has been a move towardsthe formal housing market which is an indicator of urbanisation within the KZN province. It isalso an indication of development having taken place in the KZN province as more of the27

population is qualifying for finance to enter the formal housing markets. Urbanisation is adynamic process which like most things in life has positive and negative consequences. Inearly stages of development strong urban concentration is necessary to create efficienciesand stimulate growth. However the negative externalities of poverty and pressure on servicedelivery need to be born in mind by local governments, as well as the fact that rural areas willneed more attention and upliftment in KZN as more of the population continues to seek urbanliving.28

ANNEXURETABLE 9- MAIN SOURCE OF WATER FOR HOUSEHOLDS IN KZN 1995-2007199520002007Water Source KZN Umgungundlovu Uthungulu iLembe eThekwini KZN Umgungundlovu Uthungulu iLembe eThekwini KZN Umgungundlovu Uthungulu iLembe eThekwiniPiped water in dwelling 36.69% 38.94% 22.54% 21.83% 59.13% 31.89% 34.03% 19.29% 17.76% 53.75% 28.20% 28.28% 18.25% 14.97% 49.03%Piped water in dwellinginside yard 11.40% 18.68% 8.54% 11.88% 10.80% 17.29% 27.93% 18.92% 16.65% 16.20% 19.46% 31.22% 23.69% 18.20% 18.59%Borehole/rain-water tank 6.17% 3.16% 10.33% 6.66% 0.53% 5.34% 2.40% 7.48% 5.91% 0.47% 5.22% 2.15% 6.48% 5.27% 0.46%Dam/river/stream/spring 23.34% 14.03% 45.97% 44.67% 2.56% 20.25% 11.74% 36.54% 38.35% 2.11% 19.20% 10.96% 31.63% 34.98% 2.12%Water-carrier/Watervendor 1.13% 1.37% 0.96% 2.31% 0.96% 0.96% 0.75% 0.79% 2.48% 0.81% 1.03% 0.61% 0.80% 2.86% 0.91%29

TABLE 10 – MAIN SOURCE OF ENERGY FOR HOUSEHOLDS IN KZN 1995-2007Energy Source 1995 2000 2007KZN Umgungundlovu Uthungulu iLembe eThekwini KZN Umgungundlovu Uthungulu iLembe eThekwini KZN Umgungundlovu Uthungulu iLembe eThekwiniElectricity 54.47% 63.48% 44.10% 42.91% 74.07% 58.82% 69.62% 51.46% 47.90% 77.65% 59.31% 69.14% 56.25% 51.22% 76.51%Gas 0.46% 0.50% 0.43% 0.61% 0.41% 0.43% 0.38% 0.44% 0.56% 0.34% 0.41% 0.31% 0.41% 0.47% 0.31%Paraffin 4.55% 1.72% 4.65% 5.82% 3.93% 3.23% 1.04% 2.74% 3.71% 3.25% 2.90% 0.89% 2.10% 2.95% 3.29%30

TABLE 11 – MAIN SOURCE OF REFUSE REMOVAL FOR HOUSEHOLDS IN KZN 1995-2007RubbishRemoval1995 2000 2007Removed byLocalAuthorityCommunalRefuseDumpKZN Umgungundlovu Uthungulu iLembe eThekwini KZN Umgungundlovu Uthungulu iLembe eThekwini KZN Umgungundlovu Uthungulu iLembe eThekwini43,86% 42.45% 23.87% 23.83% 70.38% 46,55% 43.20% 23.59% 23.46% 79.47% 44,91% 39.80% 24.23% 24.30% 79.05%2,4% 4.47% 1.26% 1.97% 3.08% 1,48% 2.59% 1.21% 1.59% 1.53% 1,22% 2.10% 1.22% 1.41% 1.12%Own RefuseDump41,19% 44.64% 51.18% 54.07% 20.15% 40,22% 46.14% 55.19% 57.69% 14.86% 42,25% 49.45% 56.66% 58.77% 16.16%No RubbishRemoval11,22% 5.62% 21.26% 17.67% 3.20% 10,57% 6.12% 17.93% 15.58% 2.41% 10,48% 6.96% 15.98% 14.08% 2.42%31

TABLE 12- MAIN TOILET FACILITY FOR HOUSEHOLDS IN KZN 1995-2007ToiletFacilities1995 2000 2007KZN Umgungundlovu Uthungulu iLembe eThekwini KZN Umgungundlovu Uthungulu iLembe eThekwini KZN Umgungundlovu Uthungulu iLembe eThekwiniFlush orChemicalLoo42.58% 45.43% 28.06% 27.83% 65.38% 45.19% 48.24% 32.73% 31.55% 67.77% 43.42% 45.48% 34.02% 30.23% 64.98%Pit Latrine 40.93% 48.16% 39.27% 48.16% 30.07% 38.00% 44.72% 36.82% 46.66% 27.18% 39.68% 46.91% 37.78% 49.42% 29.41%BucketLatrine0.99% 0.81% 0.94% 1.05% 0.83% 1.11% 1.05% 1.40% 1.26% 1.03% 1.23% 1.04% 1.45% 1.49% 1.23%None of theabove15.01% 5.11% 31.06% 22.30% 3.35% 15.53% 5.81% 28.82% 20.28% 3.88% 15.58% 6.47% 26.63% 18.73% 4.30%32

TABLE 13- MEANS OF TRANSPORT USED (LFS 2004)TRANSPORT TO FOODMARKETKZN ETHEKWINI ILEMBE UTHUNGULU UMGUNGUNDLOVUOn Foot 23% 13% 16% 16% 21%Taxi 54% 56% 55% 31% 56%Own Transport 19% 27% 10% 7% 18%Bus 10% 4% 17% 35% 5%TABLE 14- TIMES TAKEN TO REACH FOOD MARKETS IN KZN (LFS 2004)TIME TAKEN TO REACHFOOD MARKETKZN ETHEKWINI ILEMBE UTHUNGULU UMGUNGUNDLOVU0-14 min 22% 29% 14% 13% 24%15-29min 28% 47% 30% 18% 37%30-44min 20% 16% 20% 25% 25%45-59min 11% 4% 13% 16% 7%>60min 18% 3% 23% 28% 7%TABLE 15- MEANS OF TRANSPORT USED BY RACE IN KZN (LFS 2004)TRANSPORT TOFOOD MARKETAFRICAN COLOURED INDIAN WHITEFoot 24% 21% 12% 4%Taxi 58% 36% 28% 2%Bus 10% 9% 1% 0%Own Transport 4% 34% 59% 94%TABLE 16 – TIMES TAKEN TO REACH FOOD MARKETS ACCORDING TO RACE IN KZN (LFS 2004)TIME TAKEN TO REACHFOOD MARKETAFRICAN COLOURED INDIAN WHITE0-14min 19% 44% 51% 58%15-29min 27% 42% 41% 33%30-44min 22% 9% 7% 6%45-59min 12% 4% 1% 2%>60min 21% 2% 1% 1%33

TABLE 17- TYPE OF DWELLINGS THAT HOUSEHOLDS IN KZN OCCUPY 1995-20071995 2000 2007Type of Dwelling Umgungundlovu Uthungulu iLembe eThekwini UMgungundlovu Uthungulu iLembe eThekwini Umgungundlovu Uthungulu iLembe eThekwiniHouse or brick structure on aseparate stand 42.37% 30.29% 31.88% 39.83% 45.30% 33.39% 32.69% 43.83% 44.21% 35.22% 32.96% 44.74%Traditional dwelling/hut/made of traditional materials 26.41% 51.85% 42.85% 7.16% 24.38% 42.66% 40.22% 7.38% 25.34% 38.82% 39.57% 8.59%Flat in a block of flats 4.79% 4.78% 3.10% 11.31% 4.91% 6.71% 3.85% 11.69% 4.65% 7.87% 3.79% 11.19%Town/cluster/semi-detachedhouse (simplex, duplex) 6.45% 2.06% 3.34% 9.68% 3.97% 1.88% 2.37% 7.25% 2.77% 1.73% 1.90% 5.97%House/flat/room, in backyard 5.31% 2.98% 3.49% 6.01% 4.24% 2.33% 3.04% 4.41% 3.78% 2.31% 2.88% 3.75%Informal dwelling/shack, inbackyard 1.45% 1.02% 2.71% 4.39% 1.94% 1.05% 2.74% 3.79% 2.68% 1.16% 3.22% 3.59%Informal dwelling/squattersettlement 6.58% 1.93% 6.34% 17.22% 7.07% 2.99% 7.13% 16.01% 9.06% 3.72% 9.05% 16.68%TABLE 18- OWNERSHIP LEVELS OF DWELLINGS IN KZN 1995-20081995 2000 2008Ownership of Dwelling KZN African Coloured Indian White KZN African Coloured Indian White KZN African Coloured Indian WhiteOwned and Fully paid off37% 41% 34% 24% 28% 75% 80% 32% 41% 31% 75% 79% 66% 50% 58%Owned but not fully paid off11% 6% 17% 31% 23% 6% 3% 7% 31% 42% 6% 3% 8% 27% 20%RentedFree as part of EmploymentContract21% 14% 42% 31% 39% 12% 10% 55% 25% 24% 15% 14% 21% 19% 20%10% 12% 1% 6% 7% 3% 4% 2% 0 1% 2% 2% 3% 1% 2%Free (Other)14% 19% 2% 1% 1% 3% 3% 2% 2% 1% 1% 1% 3% 2% 0%34

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