The South African Cities Network (SACN), together with the national Department of Co-operative Governance, commissioned a study in early 2011 on provincial legislation dealing with spatial planning and land use management. This report looks into the status of spatial planning and land use management practices across the country. Through an examination of SACN member cities as well as key economic hubs across all nine provinces, an accurate picture of how spatial planning and land use management is carried out emerged. It also included an evaluation of important legal issues to be taken into account when designing new provincial legislation covering spatial planning and land use management. This report is a summary of these findings and makes important recommendations on how to tackle the vexing question of nationwide legislative reform going forward. The project had a series of other outputs including nine reports detailing practice, based on research and a series of provincial workshops, and a report setting out important legal issues and a framework legislation for provinces.