Prolegomena There is no doubt that the year 2020 will go down in history as a year of major disruption towards humanity. It is critically important to analyse exactly what this disruption is. Such analysis should be rooted in the understanding of the world’s balance of power. Indeed, at a national level, the analysis for each country should also be based on the country’s balance of power relations. It is easy to sing a common chorus of despair regarding the massive disruptions that have been occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic. The reality is that society is made up of different social classes that have been affected differently by this pandemic. The global elites, that is, those who command the global economy and their immediate beneficiaries, are undoubtedly feeling the greatest pain from this pandemic. The global economy has been hugely impacted upon by the manner in which nations have had to respond to the pandemic. The closure of trade borders across the world has yielded negative consequences for the global economy as a whole. Those who had been at the helm of the global economy, those whom global trade had been exclusively benefitting, have been most affected. New Cities New Economies: South Africa and Africa’s Grand Plan, A Pan-African Economic Revolution By Tshilidzi Ratshitanga | Peer Review NEW CITIES NEW ECONOMIES 6 T H E T H I N K E R Massive urbanisation, modernisation and industrialisation, which can emerge through import substitution industrialisation and the expansion of existing industries, can enable the creation of a totally transformed society. The poorest of the world have not had much to lose, as their lives were already a catastrophe of abject poverty, unemployment, and underdevelopment. At most, what the poorest have suffered is the loss of loved ones, who have perished as a result of this pandemic. As such, the vehement attack on humanity by Covid-19 demands of us to see it as the most profound protest against global inequality. The ‘new normal’, which has been projected post-Covid-19, should not merely be a new normal insofar as the nature of work is concerned, it should also be a new normal against inequality, which had unfortunately become a ‘normal’ way of life in many countries prior to the pandemic. The massive shifts that are expected in world power relations post-Covid-19 should arguably turn patterns of prosperity in favour of hitherto marginalised groups of people across the world. The economic eco-system should have been disrupted in such a manner that it becomes balanced. This balancing act is what I believe should be the biggest outcome of the pandemic. This cataclysmic event is what will balance the scales of the global war against inequality. However, only those who are able to interpret and interact with the shift will benefit from its expected dividends. It can be argued that every dominant group in society achieved their position by exploiting opportunities that were brought about by shifts in the global balance of power as a result of disruptions from monumental calamities. In the context of South Africa, this is equally a moment to capture the opportunities that have arisen as a result of this pandemic. The catch is that only those who correctly interpret the situation and act in ways that ensure a resultant benefit will be favoured by history. This is the moment that South Africa can galvanise to address its historical ills, which continue to bedevil the nation. There is a danger if the attitude of the ruling class will be to wait for solutions from elsewhere. Another danger is that of committing all available resources to deal only with the immediate challenges posed by the pandemic, instead of making medium to long-term investments that would herald the new economy. The New Cities New Economies thesis that the book under profile proposes should be seen in light of the above analysis. This period of consternation and calamity should at the same time be seen by the South African government and all other relevant actors as an opportunity to build the united, democratic, and prosperous society of our dreams. Massive urbanisation, modernisation and industrialisation, which can emerge through import substitution industrialisation and the expansion of existing industries, can enable the creation of a totally transformed society. South Africa is not confronting a huge moment of opportunity for the first time. Huge opportunities existed during the toppling of apartheid. However, history now tells us that the very same people who had been toppled are the ones who were ready and who ultimately enjoyed and continue to enjoy the spoils of the post-apartheid era. We must be afraid, very afraid, should history repeat itself like this. The end of apartheid resulted in the dislodgement of the captains of apartheid, but that was not for long, as the prevailing new material conditions soon enabled NEW CITIES NEW ECONOMIES 7V o l u m e 8 5 / 2 0 2 0 South Africa is a country in transition. From its historical past, the country inherited a fragmented urban geography, a racially segregated society, and high levels of poverty, unemployment, and inequality (Robinson, 1997). them to become even more privileged and wealthy. Based on their continued control of the economy, these very same people stand to gain from the current disruption, as much as many currently stand dislodged. The millions of black people who are suffering from this unfortunate turn of events do not have the means to exploit the existing opportunities; hence we look to the state to salvage the situation. We dare not fail, not again. Below is a profile of the book New Cities New Economies: South Africa and Africa’s Grand Plan, A Pan-African Economic Revolution. This book sets forth a proposition that can contribute towards the blueprint that can herald the post-Covid-19 New Economy, through the creation of new cities that anchor new economies and redefine power relations across our society. Hopefully the powers that be will have the temerity to act in such a bold manner. Background The political atrocities of apartheid ended in 1994, although their psychological, social, and economic consequences remain embedded within both its victims and the soul of the country at large. Racial economic inequality in South Africa is the offspring of these atrocities. This has resulted in a racially divided country or, more precisely, a country of white prosperity and endemic black poverty and mayhem, leading to some calling the country’s much-lauded reconciliation a failure. The failure of South Africa’s reconciliation stems from the fact that, to begin with, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) only dealt with apartheid’s political atrocities; it never attended to economic atrocities, which remain a cancer that will continue to consume the very fabric of our democracy. Until South Africa chooses to confront this ugly truth, it will continue to slide down a slippery slope. There is a relationship between this ugly reality and the country’s pattern of negative economic growth. A country whose majority population is unskilled and unproductive cannot realise sustained levels of high economic growth. As a result of apartheid’s economic injustices, too few people are economically active in South Africa today, which has yielded many negative developments in the country. Racial economic inequality forms the heart of the current social contradictions that should inform the struggle for justice and total emancipation in South Africa. The viruses that have arisen out of this phenomenon include the demons of racism and white supremacy. Racial economic inequality is the bedrock of neo-apartheid, which must be totally dismantled in order for the country to move forward toward a prosperous and glorious future. The above notwithstanding, South Africa is a better country today than during the days of apartheid. Many good things have happened during the African National Congress’s 26-year rule as South Africa’s democratic government. Millions of people have benefitted from the ANC government’s housing policies, with over three million RDP houses having been built for the poor. Healthcare has been provided to many South African citizens, and, recently, free education has been introduced, even at tertiary level, subject to some conditions. Further, road, water, electricity, and sanitation services have all been expanded for the benefit of millions who were previously excluded from these amenities. About 13 million South Africans receive social welfare grants, which include child welfare, disability, and pension grants. Such a lengthy period of governance has not, however, been without its own problems for the ruling ANC, which is currently going through turbulent times. Spatial Reconstruction South Africa is a country in transition. From its historical past, the country inherited a fragmented urban geography, a racially segregated society, and high levels of poverty, unemployment, and inequality (Robinson, 1997). An important phenomenon of development is that of the city. Urbanisation, and cities in particular, are known to be potent instruments of economic and social development and are catalytic to the prosperity of nations. They are spatial expressions of the health of a country insofar as social, cultural, economic, and 8 T H E T H I N K E R NEW CITIES NEW ECONOMIES In the final analysis, unless a new vision for the construction of a new South African society is founded upon the total reversal of the racially fractured apartheid inherited national outlook, such a vision promises no stable future for the country. political phenomena are concerned (Hamann et al, 2015). Since the inception of its democracy, South Africa has been grappling with how to transform its cities into symbols of integration and sustainable development. Given the fact that the engineering of apartheid society was highly geographic, any serious attempt at dreaming up a new society has to examine the challenges of urbanisation in South Africa. Racial spatial geography is the rock upon which apartheid was engraved; hence, regardless of racial laws having been repealed, this rock still holds strong. The spatial settlement is a concrete phenomenon; it is incorrigible and hard to transform, let alone reform. The above leads one to argue that the spatial reconstruction of our country has become exigent. To undo apartheid, we have to dream anew; we have to garner the courage to redefine the form and character of our country’s geography, which is intertwined with the realisation of prosperity for the majority and the attainment of a non-racial and non-sexist society. Many people regard spatial planning as merely an urban and rural development endeavour, without realising that it is, in fact, the pulse of shaping a nation’s economy. In the final analysis, unless a new vision for the construction of a new South African society is founded upon the total reversal of the racially fractured apartheid inherited national outlook, such a vision promises no stable future for the country. It is already an established understanding that the world, and Africa in particular, is fast urbanising. Of the nine billion people projected to exist in the world by 2050, five billion are projected to live in urban areas, with the majority of this growth set to occur in developing nations (United Nations Human Settlement Program, 2015) African countries, like other nations in the developing world, need to plan for this massive urbanisation. Although this is a huge challenge, it presents opportunities to rectify current and past injustices. How the migration of people is managed in South Africa and the continent has significant implications for the unfolding engineering of a new society. The majority of the social, political, and economic ills of urbanity have a greater chance of being addressed through the total spatial re-engineering of society, if such an opportunity exists. Unlike developed nations, developing nations have this advantage because their urban development is not saturated. Hence, they have the opportunity to build on lessons learnt from the failures of urbanisation trajectories in other nations, as well as the abhorrent effects of colonial ideologies that bequeathed our nations with the fractured environments we now live within. The result will be a significant paradigm shift from current policy endeavours. Spatial Justice Social relations are generally understood to have an impact on power dynamics in society. Massey (1999) promotes the relational dynamic to space in order to elucidate the geography of power relations; specifically, in how spatial form is an important element in the constitution of power. Which actors stand most to gain or get constrained by spatial structuring is at the heart of the relational conceptualisation of space (Massey, 1999). Based on the role that space plays in informing power dynamics, Soja (2010) contextualises space in terms of its relationship to justice or injustice. According to Soja, ‘the “spatiality” of justice is an integral and formative component of justice itself, a vital part of how justice and injustice are socially constructed and evolve over time’ (2010). Therefore, seeking justice is a fundamental struggle over geography. Like other like-minded scholars, Soja believes that critical spatial thinking is pivotal to enhancing our understanding of almost any subject, social justice included. The concept of spatial justice acutely contextualises the South African situation. It provides the justification for why changes to the country’s urban structures 9V o l u m e 8 5 / 2 0 2 0 NEW CITIES NEW ECONOMIES should be conceived of in ways that impact upon the manifold injustices present in South African society, given the dialectical link between such injustices and the spatial patterns bequeathed by apartheid. The historical philosophy that guided the construction of South African urban spaces was based on exclusionary intentions (Lemon, 1991); hence, the book scrutinises South African patterns of urban development from the context of how proposed alternatives can impact socio-economic transformation. Spatial consciousness is central to what needs to be done to propel the South African nation forward. The racial-space-inequality nexus is a central theoretical pillar to the understanding of South Africa’s spatial dynamics in order to map a way forward. The nexus makes it possible to understand the link between racial exclusion and spatial formation, since this is the major defining characteristic of the legacy of apartheid colonialism in South Africa. This dialectic informs the South African urban complex, and is key to any development pattern that seeks to change spatial formation for the better. As Turok has observed, the post-apartheid government recognises the problems of a distorted urban form; however, its policies have been too short-term and sector-specific to chaperone significant settlement restructuring. Regrettably, some of the pro-poor policies have reinforced people’s exclusions by subsidising the cost of living in the periphery, rather than locating them nearer to jobs and other amenities (Turok, 2012). The legacy is so deep, perennial and divisive that, beyond supplanting the old laws, actual change on the ground is hard to come by. Unlike South Africa’s apartheid forefathers, the current government may not implement draconian laws to force inclusivity and uproot the monolithic legacy of apartheid. What is vividly clear from the account of apartheid’s segregated urbanisation is how it was engineered to crystallise social and economic racism. The legal instrument to foster racial segregation in South Africa was spatial separation. This should lead us to conclude that any project to transform society and level the playing fields of economic opportunities has to be intertwined with restructuring the spatial geography of the country. Neo-apartheid State Before delving into the New Cities New Economies proposition, the book highlights some critical factors that impact South Africa’s post-apartheid cities. One such reflection is with regard to the neo-apartheid state. To understand how South Africa has become a neo-apartheid state, we have to briefly examine neo-colonialism. As argued above, apartheid and colonialism are two sides of the same coin. Neo- colonialism defines the situation whereby a formerly colonised state appears independent, democratic and sovereign on the outside, but, in reality, its former colonisers control its economic system, which also implies its political power. Hence, neo-colonialism is exercised through economic means (Nkrumah, 1965). The majority of scientific studies carried out on the state of South African society (Statistics South Africa, 2017), including those on poverty and progress in relation to the transformation of the economy, all report a backward picture of persistent racial inequality akin to the days of apartheid. Such a society is indeed experiencing neo-apartheid. White people remain occupants of the highest rungs of economic prosperity and hold senior management positions in the corporate sectors. In addition, they live in the most affluent of suburbs, have access to quality health care and education, and are on the whole generally well-off. Many black people, on the other hand, experience abject poverty, play no pivotal role in the economy except as labourers (if they are lucky enough to have a job), live in squalor, scramble for inadequate public healthcare, and generally experience a less than desirable quality of life. Thus, neo-apartheid firmly entrenches white supremacy. The proposals in this book put forward a vision that will help to dismantle neo-apartheid and white supremacy. It should be highlighted again that, despite neo- apartheid and white supremacy, South Africa is a democratic state. However, as Nkrumah (1965) asserts: ‘A state in the grip of neo-colonialism is not master of its own destiny.’ Neo-apartheid is powered, on the one hand, by a deliberate and conscious disregard of democratic intentions on the side of the former oppressors, who still control the major levers of the economy while, on the other hand, it continues because the state seems defeated and unable to trace these tendencies and crush them, even as they continue to exist under the pretext of free-market independence. 10 T H E T H I N K E R NEW CITIES NEW ECONOMIES What is required to move away from this conundrum is a radical shift; an entire reconstruction of society. Spatiality should be the core driver of such intent because it was through spatiality that racism became engrained in our society. What is required to move away from this conundrum is a radical shift; an entire reconstruction of society. Spatiality should be the core driver of such intent because it was through spatiality that racism became engrained in our society. In a similar manner to how Nkrumah encouraged the Third World to fight neo- colonialism, the masses of our people are well advised, as the true motive forces of change, to wage a war against neo-apartheid because, ultimately, its demise will be for their immediate benefit. Land Another critical factor that impacts post-apartheid South African society is land. Land reform continues to be one of the most contentious issues in the country and has taken centre stage in public discourse over the past few years. The dispossession of land from the native African people is one of the fundamental tools that colonialists used to disempower the development of African people. South Africa also suffered this fate when lands were ceased during the Settler wars, the Anglo-Boer wars and, finally, through the apartheid onslaught (Magubane, 1996). For far too long, the global elites have orchestrated schemes that render our people useless, hopeless and at war with one another in the scramble for the very few resources left after their dislodgement. At the core of the agenda of the global elites is the dislodgement of mankind and the amassment of wealth. This happens through the displacement of people. The world is filled with people who live in poverty, and, first and foremost, have been displaced from their land. Homelessness, poverty, ill-health, illiteracy, unemployment, inequality and conflicts all stem from the dislodgement of people and the theft of their land, which, in turn, prevents them from becoming productive citizens of society. No country can claim that it is poor if it has land. Who owns the land, what to do with the land, and how to make people a critical part of such an understanding, defines the difference between the failure and success of nations. According to the State Land Audit (South African Department of Land and Rural Reform, 2013), the South African government owns 14% of the land, while 79% is owned by private individuals, companies, and trusts. Seven percent of the land is recorded as ‘unaccounted extent’. The 1913 Natives’ Land Act was the legal instrument that was used to finalise the dispossession of black people from their land, separating them from productive land and confining them to Bantustans, the tribal homelands that were created to spatially separate whites from blacks during the apartheid era. n recognition of the full impact of this heinous act by the apartheid regime, when Nelson Mandela stood trial after being arrested as a ‘terrorist’ who had allegedly conducted a treasonous act, he exclaimed: ‘I am without land because the white minority has taken a lion’s share of my country and forced me to occupy poverty-stricken reserves that are over-populated and over-stocked. We are ravaged by starvation and disease’ (South African Department of Land and Rural Reform, 2013: 3). The most recent Land Audit (South African Department of Land and Rural Reform, 2017), which is Phase II of the audit process, reveals the ownership patterns of land by race, gender, and nationality. It reveals that white people own 72% of the land, followed by coloured people at 15%, Indians at 5%, Africans at 4%, others at 3%, and co-owners at 1%. Black people in South Africa constitute 79% of the population, while white people constitute only 9%. These statistics depict the debilitating reality of our country’s affairs, especially insofar as land ownership is concerned. The peaceful settlement that led to the democratisation of South Africa was facilitated through acquiescence over land and property. This was then engraved in the Constitution as the Property Clause. In effect, this agreement meant that, even if the racial discrimination laws that anchored legislated apartheid could be appealed, that would still not reverse the ownership of land and property away from those who had benefitted from these laws. This is why there will 11V o l u m e 8 5 / 2 0 2 0 NEW CITIES NEW ECONOMIES The amount of land owned by the government, especially in urban areas, is too miniscule to allow for massive state development. This explains why the tone of government development policies and plans, such as the IUDF, is slanted to influence those who actually own land and property. always be racial tension in South Africa, as the majority of the land remains in the hands of white people, as demonstrated in the statistics above. The amount of land owned by the government, especially in urban areas, is too miniscule to allow for massive state development. This explains why the tone of government development policies and plans, such as the IUDF, is slanted to influence those who actually own land and property. The government cannot enforce its vision, as it has no rights over the spaces where such developments ought to take place. The land question has to be addressed in South Africa in a way that totally cuts ties with the past. Hopefully the amendment of the Constitution regarding land and property rights, which is currently underway, may pave way for the restructuring of land ownership patterns in such a way as to boost the establishment of new, liveable, equitable and sustainably prosperous urban and rural spaces for the poor, thus writing an obituary for apartheid and its vestiges. New Cities New Economies Proposition The preceding chapters of the book narrate the spatial quagmire that South Africa finds itself in. Policy endeavours that have been implemented by the democratic government are not succeeding in obliterating the vestiges of apartheid; instead, in many instances, they are replicating and reinforcing apartheid’s visions. There is a clear need for a paradigm shift in the orientation of South Africa’s patterns of urban development. Current patterns require a framework that can assist in redirecting them towards the moulding of a totally new society, one that resonates with the aspirations that are echoed in the country’s democratic Constitution. The current developmental plans of the South African government do not emphasise spatial reconstruction as the overarching foundation for societal transformation and economic development. This is surprising because their aim is to eliminate the apartheid legacies which were primarily envisioned, propelled, and are currently being sustained by racial spatial engineering. Once and for all, the South African government and society as a whole need to elevate the issue of spatial justice as the core of all of South Africa’s developmental goals and programmes. This is the only way that these can have an enduring effect which will result in destroying the vestiges of apartheid and thus result in the birthing of a new nation. With the exception of agriculture and a few mining and tourism locations, the centrality of urban economics in the country’s economic sectors has been clearly demonstrated. The majority of economic activity in South Africa takes place in urbanised environments. Consequently, given the history of apartheid urbanisation, this is also where the greatest concentration of poverty lies. Urban poverty is a clear and present social ill, which reinforces high levels of crime in urban areas. The concentration of the country’s population in urban areas has not happened without a negative impact being felt in rural areas, which also require urgent attention in terms of development. This proposed policy framework is aimed at influencing the redirection of patterns of urban development in South Africa so that urban development, when partnered with rural development initiatives, can lead the way in guiding the nation towards prosperity and a high quality of life for all South African citizens. This policy framework is anchored in the New Cities New Economies proposal, which acknowledges the dialectical relationship between urbanisation and the economy. This urban development policy framework is believed to be the most appropriate way in which South Africa can totally de-apartheid itself. The New Cities New Economies thesis sets out a proposal that aims to fuel the long-overdue economic growth and radical transformation of our society. As such, the thesis can be considered as the gestation of an economic revolution, as the plan will not only serve South Africa but also has the potential to reverberate 12 T H E T H I N K E R NEW CITIES NEW ECONOMIES across the entire African continent. This grand plan is the promise of the South Africa we yearn for – the Africa we want. New cities herald new economies and, in turn, new economies yield jobs and empowerment, therefore destroying both poverty and apartheid’s economic legacy. The new cities should have a symbiotic relationship with the economy. As new cities herald new economies, new economies will then anchor and sustain new cities. The human migration patterns that have been projected to happen in the next few decades open up a window of opportunity for us. However, like many opportunities, that window will not remain open forever. It is projected that by 2030, 71.3% of South Africa’s population will live in urban areas; this will reach 80% by 2050. The entire urban population of Africa is expected to reach 60%, or 2.5 billion people, by 2050 (South African Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, 2016). These projections suggest a 30-year or so window of opportunity for African countries to respond with concrete plans to manage such large-scale migration. Some critically important questions that African governments need to pose include: where will all these people live? How will they live there? What opportunities does this migration present? What dangers does it pose? Current observations demonstrate that we are failing dismally to answer these serious questions. Instead, there appears to be an obsession with short-term interests based upon our leaders’ immediate political terms of office. If migration patterns are not properly mediated, more and more people will flock to existing and already overstretched cities, creating an archipelago of slums, which will add to those that are already scattered in and around current urban spaces. After a while, or over the next three decades at least, the destructive consequences of such non-action will become even more difficult to reverse than apartheid and colonial legacies. Hence, the result would be a new reality of dehumanisation that arises not out of an abhorrent and deliberately segregationist ideology, but rather out of the lethargic leadership tendencies of democratic governments. This is the context within which the New Cities New Economies visionary framework is presented; that is, as a developmental paradigm that is meant to contribute towards possible solutions regarding the challenges of human settlement patterns that are already bewildering humanity at this very juncture. Broad Features of the New Cities New Economies Policy Framework As stated earlier, some of the elements of the existing urban development policy, which are geared towards the reform of current cities, should be welcomed into the New Cities vision since they align with some of the progressive global trends for sustainable and smart cities. Although many of them may prove unworkable for the intended reforms of apartheid-planned cities, they can be incorporated into greenfield developments in the new cities. As such, the New Cities framework should embrace the spirit of the Integrated Urban Development Framework vision for South African cities, which is: ‘Liveable, safe, resource- efficient cities and towns that are socially integrated, economically inclusive and globally competitive, where residents actively participate in urban life’ (South African Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, 2016). Human Settlement Patterns Equitable, Integrated, Compact, Connected and High-Density Human Settlements The objective remains to offer people quality of life through the creation of equitable living environments, where people cohabitate in a safe, cohesive and socially-uplifting manner. As stated in the IUDF in 2016, the critical features for this include access to transport, safety and security, adequate healthcare, nutrition, housing, water, electricity and sanitation services. The new cities will be compact cities that are anchored by high-density human settlements. Such is the antithesis of segregated residential, social and economic settlement patterns of the old apartheid era, which remain stubbornly firm and have even been replicated by some of the contemporary private sector- led developments. The typical South African city has a very low-density ratio and, because of apartheid, the majority of the working people, who are black, live far away from employment centres, in conditions of poverty and 13V o l u m e 8 5 / 2 0 2 0 NEW CITIES NEW ECONOMIES This situation is unacceptable and must change. Taking advantage of mixed land use innovations, new cities should be built in a way that integrates economic activities with residential settlements and social amenities. underdevelopment. This situation is unacceptable and must change. Taking advantage of mixed land use innovations, new cities should be built in a way that integrates economic activities with residential settlements and social amenities. Transit Oriented Developments (TOD) can enable the linkages between mass transport systems, residential spaces, and workplaces. Locating residential settlements along transport corridors will alleviate the current burden of travel times between homes and workplaces, what Joel Netshitenzhe (2018) refers to as ‘apartheid tax’ on black people. The IUDF reports that: ‘South Africans spend the longest time in daily commutes to and from work, while more than 50 per cent of poor urban residents spend more than 20 per cent of their declared household income on transport (South African Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, 2016). High-density living, as much as it advantages compact city design, can present social challenges. The creation of New Cities demands the inclusion of green and safe communal spaces. There is also the issue of taking account of African cultural practices and the integration of facilities that can accommodate these. This is something that both old and new developers of residential areas do not often consider. From time to time, Africans gather and conduct ceremonies as part of their spirituality. There are no facilities for them to do this in urban areas. In some residential estates, such activities are actually banned through residential association rules. New city spaces cannot fully emancipate people if they are designed in ways that still make them feel constrained in terms of their spirituality. It is worth noting that developers of urban spaces are typically willing to accommodate Christian and Islamic facilities. It is about time that Africans also enjoy social spaces that will affirm their spirituality by providing relevant amenities for African spiritual practices. New Cities will also need to be connected in two ways: first, in terms of how they link with other new and old cities through transport networks of different kinds – air, rail, and roads – and second, in terms of telecommunications networks that connect people across the entire world (City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, 2016). In order to become truly functional economic agglomerations, they need this modern connectivity for both institutions and ordinary citizens. The beauty of creating new spaces is that planners have the opportunity to lay out this infrastructure as they build; there will be no need to upset the aesthetics of these cities by having to install these technologies many years after construction has been completed. Such infrastructure can be laid out in a way that accommodates room for further improvements as and when technologies develop. Economic Growth and Transformation The earlier sections of the book demonstrate how economically unequal South Africa is, as well as how economic empowerment initiatives are not often linked with urban development initiatives in concrete ways. The construction of new cities provides the foundation to reverse the scourge of racial economic inequality. South Africa’s current economic empowerment policy – Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) – is driven by the philosophy that black people, who were excluded from economic activities during apartheid, should be allowed to buy shares in white companies. These companies then receive BEE points that grant them favourable incentives, including tax incentives and the ability to compete for state contracts. In the same breath, it has been reported how poor the average black person is in South Africa, which contradicts the possibility of masses of people benefiting from this policy. White companies that do not wish to do business with the state naturally do not feel compelled to abide by this policy; therefore, transformation of the ownership of companies is inconsistent across economic sectors. Only a few people have been able to benefit from this policy, while the majority are still 14 T H E T H I N K E R NEW CITIES NEW ECONOMIES The challenge is that the democratic government has not linked its vision of building an inclusive nation with the expansion of the economy in new spaces that would decentralise economic activity beyond the existing apartheid towns and cities. This path dependency syndrome is taking the country backward rather than forward. economically excluded from the mainstream economy, the platform that guarantees real wealth creation. The economic transformation possibilities that the New Cities framework will unlock for South Africa will not be based on retribution or the seizure of assets from those who were unfairly advantaged by apartheid. Black people will be able to be absorbed in the mainstream economy that will emerge from the new space economy of New Cities. They will not unnecessarily have to buy shares from white companies at massive cost in order to participate in the various industries that the construction of the New Cities will herald. Decentralisation of Economic Activity Opportunities for economic empowerment and transformation will emerge, first and foremost, from a consciousness of the fact that urban development has to be intertwined with economic growth interventions. These interventions will be consciously aligned with the vision for urban development, which should ultimately define the country’s new spatial geography. The book demonstrates how current patterns of urban development are not succeeding in linking human settlement with economic development and, as such, leave people economically vulnerable, even as they appreciate the brand-new houses that the state is building for them. The state must find new ways to approach human settlements in terms of their relationship with economic growth, development, and transformation. Modern industrial nations have heavily urbanised spatial forms. Rapid urbanisation is projected to take place in developing nations, raising concerns about economic sustainability. In the developed world, economic activity is decentralised. There is a multiplicity of economic activities throughout these countries: some anchored by specific industries, and others following similar patterns across different cities. South Africa, like most developing nations, has not yet reached saturated economic growth potential. There is room for the South African economy to grow in different parts of the country; the state needs to plan for this and lay out infrastructure accordingly. The departments responsible for infrastructure development, however, are not necessarily contemplating new spatial forms. Instead, they are biased toward the idea of improving infrastructure along the lines of what currently exists, which was laid out to support apartheid’s segregated spatial plans. Hence, there is a lack of economic coherence in the overall manner in which the country is investing its resources. In 2014, then President Jacob Zuma launched the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Council (PICC), which was tasked with implementing Strategic Infrastructure Projects (SIPs). This was after the government made a commitment to recalibrate the economy through investment in infrastructure. How those projects are chosen and implemented is not necessarily consistent with the visions espoused in the Integrated Urban Development Framework, the Rural Development Framework, the Spatial Planning Land Use Management Act (SPLUMA), or the Human Settlements Department’s vision: Breaking New Ground. All these plans have their own visions; they may sound similar, but are not necessarily aligned. If the budget allocations of these various plans were to be consolidated, based on the vision of radically altering apartheid’s spatial legacy, the vision of building New Cities that are economically viable can be successfully realised. The country’s economic activities are currently tied up in the existing cities that were developed during the days of apartheid. If apartheid had survived, its government would undoubtedly have created even more economic nodes to expand their vision. The current cities were not all created in a once-off swoop after the declaration of apartheid; they evolved over time as the architects of apartheid considered them necessary to entrench their economic domination agenda. The challenge is that the democratic government has not linked its vision of building an inclusive nation with the expansion of the economy in new spaces that would decentralise 15V o l u m e 8 5 / 2 0 2 0 NEW CITIES NEW ECONOMIES economic activity beyond the existing apartheid towns and cities. This path dependency syndrome is taking the country backward rather than forward. Some of the New City models that the book explores include: • New capital city • New tourism-based cities • New academic cities (anchored by new universities and colleges) • New spiritually anchored cities (similar to Mecca, but anchored in African spirituality, religions and cultures) • New automobile manufacturing city • New innovation cities • New cross border cities • New entertainment cities (similar to Las Vegas- type cities) • New mineral beneficiation cities (gold, diamonds, platinum anchored cities) • New mining cities • New seaport cities Africa’s Grand Plan: A Pan-African Economic Revolution Our ultimate objective for Africa must be a continent that is united in both sentiment and prosperity. Africa should become an oasis of development, innovation, construction, and the attainment of human potential. The New Cities New Economies vision should boost massive urbanisation, modernisation, and industrialisation across the continent. This will define South Africa’s economic vision of a Pan- African revolution, transforming this vision into an African Grand Plan. The United Continent of Africa (UCA) will emerge when the continent’s economy becomes intricately connected. Africa’s leaders need to cooperate in terms of economic growth in such a manner that economic borders will vanish, and the African market will benefit all people. Many external actors vie for the African market, having realised how lucrative it is. South Africa’s declining economy can be rejuvenated by focusing investment in the continent. South Africa should study the value chain of goods and products that are consumed by the continent and plan to become the number one provider of such goods and products. This is an audacious undertaking, as there are already significant foreign agents supplying such goods and products to many parts of the continent. South Africa has a huge advantage to compete successfully with these external actors, as it is a fellow African country that has an added advantage through the Africa Free Trade Agreement. Success will require the country to take risks. Were South Africa to aim to launch one million companies to do business in various sectors in the African continent, it would then be appropriate to claim that its economic strategy is Pan-African in character. As an example, quadrupling investments in retail, property, and construction across the continent implies that South African products will have a bigger market than is currently the case. Financial services, transportation and telecommunications are ancillary sectors that are required to support the sectors mentioned above; thus, the value chain keeps expanding. South Af rica will need to invest its own resources to lay down the inf rastructure needed for such huge economic expansions. This is exactly what China and other countries are doing in Af rica; that is, paving the way through the creation of roads, railway lines, air and sea ports, which will also enable South Af rica’s manufactured products to move across the continent. This is not an act of charity; it is a partnership that will yield huge returns for South Af rica’s manufacturing sectors and employment possibilities. In the process, it stands to transform the economic inf rastructure of the countries that South Af rica will target for this economic expansion. The extension of the economic inf rastructure will itself boost South Af rican industries so that its raw materials will become hugely sought after for the development of this collective inf rastructure grid. To continue its economic revolution while realising its New Cities New Economies policies within its shores, South Africa should also aim to become a partner for the building of such cities and economies in countries across the continent – in Egypt, Tanzania, Rwanda, Morocco, Nigeria, and others – some of which are already building their own new cities. South Africa should compete heavily in order to deploy its human, capital and productive resources to the rest of the continent in a win-win economic partnership arrangement. It is not an exaggeration to state that as many as 120 000 new cities can be built in Africa as part of Africa’s 16 T H E T H I N K E R NEW CITIES NEW ECONOMIES To continue its economic revolution while realising its New Cities New Economies policies within its shores, South Africa should also aim to become a partner for the building of such cities and economies in countries across the continent – in Egypt, Tanzania, Rwanda, Morocco, Nigeria, and others – some of which are already building their own new cities. urbanising, modernising, and industrialising intent. Once that becomes the plan for the future, it becomes immediately clear why Africa can become the next most successful developing continent. Whoever leads such a revolution will also instantly become the next economic powerhouse of the world. Once one begins to think about New Cities from the perspective of Pan-African economic growth, fears about economic sustainability should dissipate. Based on the earlier motivation of a decentralisation of economic activities, cities can anchor different kinds of industrial activities for the South African and African infrastructure and consumer market. Africa has a huge network of human capital that is spread across the entire world. Currently, the continent is not doing enough to mobilise this resource for its development. Africans who are in the diaspora have amassed skills and experiences in areas that can be beneficial to the implementation of Africa’s Grand Plan. The United Continent of Africa Diaspora (UCA-D) is an untapped treasure that the continent could recruit in order to become heavily embedded in the urbanisation, modernisation, and industrialisation programs of the African Grand Plan. Future Research There is still a great deal of detail that needs to be carried out before implementing this new policy framework. Some future research areas include, but are not limited to, the following: a. Expansion on the new city models b. The location of such new cities, which is directly linked to the decentralisation and expansion of economic activities. c. A detailed study of the proposed economic activities that must anchor new cities. d. The financial modelling for the funding of the vision and identification of potential funding sources. e. Solutions regarding the impact on old cities and existing townships. f. Best design frameworks for different city types in different locations. g. The modalities of carrying out such a huge long- term vision; that is, government configuration arrangements. h. Legislative requirements for the promulgation of such a vision or certain aspects of it. i. A full industrial value chain of products that will be required for the new cities has to be produced so that we can understand the full picture of the impact on economic growth and black economic empowerment. j. The exact manner in which this policy framework will impact intergovernmental relations, in other words, the implications for all spheres of government. k. The approach towards the expansion of urbanisation in southern Africa and Africa as a whole, in terms of how such is interwoven with the South African vision. l. Detailed analysis of the post-apartheid emerging city models (e.g. Waterfall, Midstream, Sandton, Steyn City, Century City and North Coast). Under the New Cities New Economies Institute, several sectors of society will need to be mobilised behind this vision. Hence the following consultative commissions will be created: • New Cities New Economies Black Business Chamber of Commerce • New Cities New Economies Big Business Commission • New Cities New Economies Small Business Development Commission • New Cities New Economies Funding Commission • New Cities New Economies Manufacturing Commission • New Cities New Economies Construction Commission • New Cities New Economies Energy Commission • New Cities New Commission Transport Commission • New Cities New Economies Water Commission 17V o l u m e 8 5 / 2 0 2 0 NEW CITIES NEW ECONOMIES • New Cities New Economies Pan-African Economic Development Commission • New Cities New Economies Mining Commission • New Cities New Economies Education and Skills Training Commission • New Cities New Economies Health Commission • New Cities New Economies Innovation and Technology Commission • New Cities New Economies Spatial Planning, Architects and Designers Commission • New Cities New Economies Engineering Commission • New Cities New Economies Inclusive Human Settlement Commission • New Cities New Economies Legal and Legislative Framework Commission • New Cities New Economies Indigenous Knowledge, Culture and Heritage Commission • New Cities New Economies Social Amenities Commission • New Cities New Economies Governance Framework Commission • New Cities New Economies Industrial Development Commission • New Cities New Economies Women Empowerment Commission • New Cities New Economies Youth Empowerment Commission • New Cities New Economies Civil Society Commission • New Cities New Economies Labour Commission • New Cities New Economies State Owned Enterprises Commission • New Cities New Economies Government Consultative Commission • New Cities New Economies Financial Sector Commission • New Cities New Economies Telecommunications Commission • New Cities New Economies Land Commission • New Cities New Economies Community Mobilisation Commission • New Cities New Economies Environmental Sustainability Commission • New Cities New Economies International Investors Commission All these consultative efforts will culminate in the New Cities New Economies Convention which will ultimately become an annual event. The New Cities New Economies Movement advocates for the Pan- African economic revolution, which will be executed by the Pan-African developmental state and expressed through the Africa Grand Plan, starting in South Africa and spreading throughout the African continent. This oath is the promise of prosperity for all our suffering people in South Africa and the rest of the continent. Mayibuye! iAfrica! References City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. (2016). Spatial Development Framework 2040. Johannesburg. Goodlad, R. (1996). The Housing Challenge in South Af rica. Urban Studies, 33(9), pp. 1629–1645. Hamann, C. and Horn, A.C. (2015). Continuity or Discontinuity? Evaluating the Changing Socio-Spatial Structure of the City of Tshwane, South Af rica. Urban Forum 26, pp. 39–57. Lemon, A. (1991). Homes Apart: South Af rica’s Segregated Cities. David Philip: Cape Town. Magubane, B.M. (1996). 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