This document represents a response by the South African Cities Network (SACN) to the Draft Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Bill, published on 6 May 2011. The SACN is currently involved in a comprehensive study into the practice of spatial planning and land use management across the nine provinces in South Africa. The publishing of this Bill has come at an opportune moment, as it allows the organisation to usefully engage with this process, on the back of a useful and growing database of knowledge. This document has been compiled from the results of this ongoing study, the considered opinion of experts commissioned by the SACN to consider the Bill, as well as inputs from a workshop held by the SACN on 1 June 2011 which had representatives from most of its members. It does not provide a comprehensive review on the SPLUMB. Instead, it touches on a number of broad important themes that are critical going forward.