SYSTEMS CONNECTIVITY FOR SOUND URBAN POLICY CREATION AND ENHANCEMENT: EXPLORING RURAL-URBAN INTERDEPENDENCIES AND LINKAGES FOR INCLUSIVE CITIES

This article is based on a study that investigated and examined the relevance of rural-urban linkages towards sustainable and inclusive development for both cities and rural areas. It argues that rural-urban linkages have great potential in facilitating sustainable development when harnessed and supported. The old definitive notion of rural and urban areas separated the two as distinct and independent regions. This led to biased policy initiatives towards urban development without consideration of the interdependencies between the two regions. The article is based on a desktop study involving the interrogation of literature and documents extracted from Google scholar, Ebsco and websites with news and policies and related material for data analysis. Emerging from the study are three main observations, that rural-urban linkages have huge potential that can help improve development; if not managed well, they can be manipulative and beneficial to one side and active participation in decision-making and implementation paves way for a sustainable future. It concludes that an in-depth understanding of these linkages can help harness the potential benefits that emanate from the rural-urban relationship. Policy recommendations are given that encourage inclusive city development rather than the separationist approach that dissects the existing rural-urban linkages

Urbanising Africa: the city centre revisited: Experiences with inner-city revitalisation from Johannesburg (South Africa), Mbabane (Swaziland), Lusaka (Zambia), Harare and Bulawayo (Zimbabwe)

Drawing on practical experiences of almost 15 years working within Gauteng Province and the City of Johannesburg my paper will focus on the location of poor communities within Johannesburg in relation to selected Inner-City areas and public transportation networks. The introduction notes the historical foundations and spatial legacies of the City (for example, the mining industry, pre and post apartheid doctrines and migration patterns). It acknowledges that these foundations, legacies and future characteristics City are shaped by diverse and complex rationalities that are frequently misunderstood or contradictory. As an example, the paper highlights contradictions and challenges resulting from the conventional, post-1994, housing supply rationale with the demands and needs of low income communities. A working definition of the “urban poor” within the City is proposed; the definition premised on Household Income and Unemployment Indicators. The paper considers the means and locations available to this group within and around Johannesburg focusing on Inner City buildings and informal settlements. The derived and relative benefits or challenges of these locations are also summarised. The spatial relationship between the urban poor, selected nodal areas and transportation networks has been analysed utilising GIS and supporting statistical information derived from contemporary data sources. Additionally, the paper highlights a number of the key development patterns and trends that are associated with the informal settlements and the interventions the City is considering implementing to address them. The findings illustrate the stark reality presented within Johannesburg; a reality that continues to afford a marginal existence to the majority of the Urban Poor. In recent years, the policy frameworks and institutional arrangements employed by the City of Johannesburg have been revisited with a view to addressing, more pro-actively, the accommodation needs urban poor and to augment Inner City regeneration initiatives. The paper concludes with an overview of this emerging policy and thinking, illustrating some contemporary successes and where further efforts and resources are required in the future

Frontiers of urban control: lawlessness on the city edge and forms of clientalist statecraft in Zimbabwe

This article develops the concept of ‘urban frontier’ to explore conflicts over state regularization of city edge informal settlements in Zimbabwe’s capital Harare. It conceptualises the presence of ‘lawless’ urban frontiers and ‘illegal’ territorial authorities in capital cities as expressions of a permissive form of central statecraft. In so doing, the article takes forward debates over the politics shaping the margins of Africa’s rapidly expanding cities, redressing scholars’ tendency to neglect central party-state strategic calculations and party politics in their analyses of unregulated settlements. Dominant interpretations generally hinge on state absence or weakness and emphasise localised influences. The case of Harare’s highly politicized city-edge informal settlements reveals the inadequacy of apolitical approaches particularly clearly, as all were controlled by the ruling ZANUPF party. The conflicts provoked by regularization provide a lens on disputes within the ruling party, which we interpret as disputes over different forms of clientalist statecraft. Analyses of urban frontiers can thus help move away from generic one-size-fits-all explanations of informality and patronage politics in Africa’s expanding cities

Zmiana w podatku miejskim w Harare (Zimbabwe) : studium przypadku : przewodzenie i zarządzanie komunalne

Zimbabwe’s urban systems are „bleeding” as explained by the many years of economic instability with Harare being the worst affected city given its primacy. Yet, little effort, if any, has been invested in trying to understand to the extent to which the colonially-set cross-subsidisation systems are still intact in terms of property rating and taxation. This present study examines the leadership role Harare has for setting pace for other cities of which this is a possibility if taxation systems are re-examined, if dead, rejuvenated for sustainable futures. Unless, the leakages are managed, the urban fabric will in the long-run, lead to serious challenges in terms of service delivery in the light of urban fiscal policy. Noted in the study are the discrepancies in charging and billing according to income grouping, activities individuals and private corporate entities use. Drawing from narratives from key urban management stakeholders (council officials and other relevant stakeholders), the study, presents these observations. The paper proposes a governance framework in which stakeholder interact to find working solutions to finance city growth through an effective taxation policy.Miejskie systemy Zimbabwe „krwawią” spowodowane wieloletnią niestabilnością gospodarczą, Harare jest najbardziej dotkniętym tą niestabilnością miastem, z uwagi na jego znaczenie. Jednakże niewiele wysiłku, jeżeli w ogóle, włożono w próbę zrozumienia zasięgu, w jakim wzajemnie, nadal, pozostają subsydiowane systemy kolonialne, w warunkach szacowania wartości nieruchomości i podatków. Prezentowany artykuł analizuję rolę lidera, jaką przyjmuje Harare w celu ustalenia tempa dla pozostałych miast, w których występuje możliwość ponownego zbadania systemów podatkowych, a gdy nie istnieją takie systemy, ponowne ich określenie w celu przyszłego zrównoważonego rozwoju

SYSTEMS CONNECTIVITY FOR SOUND URBAN POLICY CREATION AND ENHANCEMENT: EXPLORING RURAL-URBAN INTERDEPENDENCIES AND LINKAGES FOR INCLUSIVE CITIES

This article is based on a study that investigated and examined the relevance of rural-urban linkages towards sustainable and inclusive development for both cities and rural areas. It argues that rural-urban linkages have great potential in facilitating sustainable development when harnessed and supported. The old definitive notion of rural and urban areas separated the two as distinct and independent regions. This led to biased policy initiatives towards urban development without consideration of the interdependencies between the two regions. The article is based on a desktop study involving the interrogation of literature and documents extracted from Google scholar, Ebsco and websites with news and policies and related material for data analysis. Emerging from the study are three main observations, that rural-urban linkages have huge potential that can help improve development; if not managed well, they can be manipulative and beneficial to one side and active participation in decision-making and implementation paves way for a sustainable future. It concludes that an in-depth understanding of these linkages can help harness the potential benefits that emanate from the rural-urban relationship. Policy recommendations are given that encourage inclusive city development rather than the separationist approach that dissects the existing rural-urban linkages.</jats:p