This volume of papers explores spatial determinants of well-being. The papers look at spatial inequalities related to public transport and decent work, early childhood development and violence against ‘othered’ bodies. They also explore opportunities for building neighbourhood wellbeing and lessons from COVID-19 best practices on…

Cities are about people, first and foremost. And, as the national Integrated Urban Development Framework states, South African cities should be safe, liveable, socially integrated, economically inclusive and globally competitive, with an active citizenry.   The 2021 State of Cities Report (SoCR) reaffirms an important…

The 5th edition of the State of South African Cities Report 2021. The SoCR is the SACN’s flagship output that presents a five-year perspective on the performance and analysis of the conditions of South Africa’s largest cities. The central concern of SoCRs is to produce solid and up-to-date information that helps inform and support the work of urban actors across different sectors of society, as well as research into how to make South African cities functional.

This report provides an overview of global, regional and national urban safety developments and policy provisions, and presents an analysis of the state of crime and violence in nine of South Africa’s major cities (Johannesburg, Cape Town, eThekwini, Ekurhuleni, Tshwane, Nelson Mandela Bay, Mangaung, Buffalo City and Msunduzi) for 2020/21 and for the 16-year period from 2005/06 to 2020/21. In addition, recognising that urban safety is not only about crime statistics, the report also profiles the work of the USRG and its member cities in 2020/21, highlighting knowledge-sharing opportunities, city practices and models (including those that could be adapted or replicated), the development of policy briefs and other knowledge products, and awareness raising/ lobbying efforts. Importantly, the report includes reflections on the experiences, practices and innovations adopted by individual cities.

The focus of this policy brief is to explore the potential of EPWP projects to promote urban safety and prevent violence. In South Africa, the EPWP emerges in 2003 as a nation-wide public employment initiative implementing state-owned enterprises in response to the theme of, “decent employment through inclusive economic growth,” that emerged out of the Growth and Development Summit (GDS) of the same year.

This Urban Safety Brief considers the imperative of partnership policing for ensuring safer cities in South Africa. It looks at how partnership policing can be used to address the complex crime and safety challenges faced by cities. The SA Cities Urban Safety Reference Group’s Briefs Series is designed to distil the state of current knowledge on urban safety related topics for a policy and planning audience. It is presented quarterly to the City Budget Forum and other key stakeholders.

The progress of the EPWP in the cities and the innovation and learning that have emerged through the RG are captured annually in the ‘State of the Expanded Public Works Programme in South African Cities’ reports. This publication constitutes the report for the 2020/21 period running from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021. The aim of the report is to present and analyse the progress of the cities in the implementation of the EPWP in the 2020/21 year and to further examine the successes, challenges, and shared learnings across the cities towards continuous improvement.

The main aim of this research is to obtain insights into the structure and operation of municipal performance management systems in South African cities, and the impact of these systems on what actually gets done, with particular reference to the built environment and spatial transformation.

This first volume contains papers that look at some broad topics of city diplomacy: the changing world of international relations, mobilising climate finance, knowledge co-production, and urban regeneration.

ICMs are firmly established as a critical component of South Africa’s government policy. After providing an overview of policy development and the changes in classification of ICMs in South Africa, the report analyses the socio-economic and institutional characteristics of the ICMs. Comparisons are made between the different classifications of ICMs and between ICMs and metropolitan areas, to highlight the different profiles of ICMs and the differences between ICMs and metropolitan municipalities,1 with the aim of enabling the classification system to build on these differences. The report concludes with a summary of the findings and the implications thereof.