The South African functional metropolis: a synthesis

Abstract

Confusing usage of terms such as metropolis and metropolitan region in planning policy in South Africa has led to the need for a fundamental investigation into the morphological and functional properties of the country’s three largest cities. Using Gauteng, Cape Town and Durban as examples, the article distinguishes between different elements of functionality of metropolitan areas linking urban function to urban form. Starting at the global level and zooming in, the article examines metropolitan functional space at the national through the regional to the local level. Semantically, it distinguishes between the terms metropolis and megalopolis; daily and weekly urban systems; and between urban monocentricism, multinodality and polycentricism. Based on morphological differences, it classifies Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria and the Witwatersrand as metropolitan areas, but regards the sprawled urban agglomeration in Gauteng as a megalopolis. A case is also made for greater recognition of the daily urban regions of the three primary cities of South Africa as part of the larger urban system of each. Planning has focused for too long on metropolitan space inside the urban edge and too little on those parts of the cities that lie outside the edge

Die verwarrende gebruik van terme soos metropool en die metropolitaanse streek in beplanningsbeleid in Suid-Afrika lei tot ‘n behoefte aan ‘n fundamentele ondersoek na die morfologiese en funksionele eienskappe van die land se drie grootste stede. Deur gebruik te maak van Gauteng, Kaapstad en Durban as voorbeelde tref die artikel ‘n onderskeid tussen verskillende funksionele elemente van metropolitaanse gebiede waarin stedelike funksie en stedelike vorm verbind word. Beginende by die globale vlak en deur in te fokus op die nasionale, streek- en plaaslike vlak word daar in die artikel gekyk na metropolitaanse funksionele ruimte. ‘n Semantiese onderskeid word getref tussen die terme metropool en megalopool; daaglikse en weeklikse stedelike sisteme, en tussen monosentrisme, multinodaliteit en polisentrisme. Gebaseer op morfologiese verskille word Kaapstad, Durban, Pretoria en die Witwatersrand as metropolitaanse gebiede geklassifiseer, maar word die verspreide stedelike kompleks van Gauteng as ‘n megalopolis beskou. ‘n Saak word ook uitgemaak vir groter erkenning vir die daaglikse stedelike streke van die drie primêre stede van Suid-Afrika as deel van die groter stedelike sisteem van elk. Vir te lank het die klem in beplanning op metropolitaanse ruimte binne die stedelike grens geval en te min op die deel van die stede wat daarbuite val