Gauteng SDI Rail Link - Gautrain

12• Contained urban growthThe notion to contain urban growth is embedded in governmentlegislation and policy, and is largely supported by all sectors of theprovince. This is supported by the fact that peripheral urbandevelopment is costly and particularly so for local government, which isthe provider of bulk infrastructure and services. There is generalconsensus in the planning arena that unlimited urban sprawl should becontained.• Re-direction of urban growthA necessity exists to re-direct urban growth. The aim is to densify theexisting urban areas, stabilise and limit growth in the economically nonviableareas, and achieve growth on vacant land within the economicgrowth sphere, as contained by the urban edge, in order to develop afunctional and sustainable urban system.• Mobility and accessibilityMobility is the ability to move people and goods from point A to B and isassociated with the use of vehicles for transport. Linked to this is theissue of accessibility, and access to mobility in particular. This is amatter of concern, due to the fact that a limitation to access, limits accessto job opportunities, social facilities, etc.In order to implement the four critical factors, which structure thedevelopment of the province, mobility and access need to underpin theprinciples of development. Hence, road and rail development should begeared at implementing the proposals contained above. However, sinceit will take major intervention to re-direct the growth pattern, thedevelopment of road and rail should equally facilitate the current situationand growth path.Hence, mobility and accessibility will have to focus on two criticaldevelopment paths. Firstly, they will have to support the existing urbanpattern, by improving access to the townships in particular and increasingmobility to job opportunities, and secondly, will have to provide improvedGauteng SDI Rail Link – Inception Report, 15 June 2000