scholarly journals Urban tourism, aerotropolis and local economic development planning: Ekurhuleni and O.R. Tambo International Airport, South Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 123-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian M. Rogerson
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Tourism Development ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
Urban Tourism ◽  
Inclusive Development ◽  
International Airport ◽  
Development Programming ◽  
Development Goals

Abstract One vibrant topic within the emerging scholarship around geographies of tourism development and planning concerns that of tourism and local economic development planning. Across many countries tourism is a core base for planning of place-based local economic development programmes. In post-apartheid South Africa the country’s leading cities have promoted tourism as part of economic development programming. This article examines planning for South Africa’s aerotropolis around the O.R. Tambo International Airport in Ekurhuleni, which is adjacent to Johannesburg. Under circumstances of economic distress and the need for new sources of local job creation Ekurhuleni is undertaking planning for tourism development through leveraging and alignment to aerotropolis planning. The nexus of aerotropolis and urban tourism planning is analysed. Arguably, the strengthening of tourism in Ekurhuleni offers the potential for contributing towards inclusive development goals.

scholarly journals The Making of a ‘Big 5’ Game Reserve as an Urban Tourism Destination: Dinokeng, South Africa

2020 ◽  
pp. 892-911
Author(s):  
Calum Burton ◽  
Christian Rogerson ◽  
Jayne Rogerson
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Manufacturing Sector ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Urban Tourism ◽  
Small Enterprise ◽  
Big 5 ◽  
Game Reserve ◽  
Development Programming

Since 2000, against the background of chronically high levels of city unemployment and of the stagnation or rundown of the manufacturing sector, many urban governments across South Africa pivoted towards the building of competitive tourism economies as an anchor for local economic development, employment creation and small enterprise development. With the tourism sector being the most popular sectoral focus for local economic development programming in South Africa, the evolution of place-based development initiatives around tourism is a topic of policy relevance. This paper contributes to tourism scholarship concerning new product innovation and development for urban tourism in South Africa. It investigates the unfolding planning and challenges of a unique tourism development project for the creation of a ‘big 5’ game reserve located on the periphery of the country’s major metropolitan complex and economic hub, Gauteng province. The evolution of the project and the challenges of destination development are themes under scrutiny.

scholarly journals Power laws, demography and entrepreneurship in selected South African regions

2018 ◽  
Vol 114 (5/6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daan Toerien
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
South African ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Power Laws ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
Size Distributions ◽  
Skewed Distributions ◽  
Enterprise Growth ◽  
Different Parts

Statistically significant Pareto-like log-log rank-size distributions were recorded for population and enterprise agglomeration in the towns of three different regions of South Africa, and are indicative of skewed distributions of population and enterprise numbers in regional towns. There were no distinct differences between groups of towns of regions from different parts of the country. However, the regional agglomerations differed from those of groups of towns randomly selected from a database. Regions, therefore, appear to have some uniqueness regarding such agglomerations. The identification of Zipf-like links between population and enterprise growth in regional towns still does not fully explain why some towns grow large and others stay small and there is a need to further explore these issues. The extreme skewness in population and enterprise numbers of different towns’ distributions should, however, be considered in local economic development planning and execution.

scholarly journals Reframing place-based economic development in South Africa: the example of local economic development

2014 ◽  
Vol 24 (24) ◽  
pp. 203-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian M. Rogerson
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
Green Economy ◽  
Dynamic Nature ◽  
Five Dimensions ◽  
National Economic ◽  
Framework Conditions

Abstract Local Economic Development (LED) planning is a place-based approach to development planning and increasingly significant across much of the global South. One of the key challenges facing LED planning is the necessity to adjust planning in relation to the dynamic nature of both international and national framework conditions. The purpose of this article is to show this challenge by examining the dynamic nature of the national policy environment impacting upon LED planning in South Africa, a country which has a relatively long history of LED planning. Five dimensions of the changing landscape of national economic development planning in South Africa are identified. These relate to (a) LED within the context of new national economic and development plans; (b) initiatives for reindustrialising the South African economy, the associated importance of localisation and promotion of the green economy; (c) changing programmes around small business development; (d) shifts in rural development interventions; and (e) the fluid spatial context within which LED planning as a form of placebased economic development is embedded.

The dilemma between the pro-market and the pro-poor local economic development approaches in the democratic South Africa: Theoretical perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (8) ◽  
pp. 877-888 ◽  
Author(s):  
Themba Lukhele ◽  
Thanyani Madzivhandila
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
Poor People ◽  
Competitive Advantages ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Development Approach

Since the advent of the democratic government in 1994, there has been a serious contestation over the meaning and implications of local economic development in South Africa. Central to the debates has been on whether local economic development initiatives should take pro-market or pro-poor approach in the local government. To this end, the critical divide has been between those who believe that the local government should provide a direct solution by supporting projects for job creation and those who advocate for an indirect solution in terms of creating an enabling environment for local economic development. The article therefore argues that the pro-market local economic development approach often limit the local control of economic activities and resources, instead it is seen to perpetuate an exclusive economy. Against this background, the article applies the Economic Base and the Location Theories to explain, from a theoretical perspective, why the pro-market approach for local economic development planning in the democratic South Africa is preferable in the expense of the pro-poor approach. The article concludes that the pro-market local economic development approach is incapable of creating the inclusive local economies and lacks the determination for the realisation of real potential and competitive advantages for addressing local needs of the poor people.

scholarly journals Local economic development agencies and peripheral small town development: Evidence from Somerset East, South Africa

Urbani izziv ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol Supplement (30) ◽  
pp. 144-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faith Lawrence ◽  
Christian M. Rogerson
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Small Town ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Strong Dependence ◽  
Developmental State ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
Economic Development Agencies ◽  
Development Agencies

The activities of Local Economic Development Agencies (LEDAs) represent a channel for place-based development. In South Africa national government has supported the expansion of LEDAs to improve the weak performance of local economic development planning, one of the cornerstones of the developmental state. This article investigates the evolution and operations of a small town LEDA which is situated in one of South Africa’s peripheral regions. The local development facilitation and project work undertaken by the Blue Crane Development Agency (BCDA) in the small town of Somerset East in Eastern Cape Province is discussed. It is shown that this LEDA was innovative in development initiatives which were launched during the period 2004- 2014 for Somerset East and its surrounds. In terms of the projects and operations of BCDA considerable effort was made to identify catalytic opportunities and to support the unlocking of projects in this small town through development facilitation and project management. Nevertheless, the evidence from this case study demonstrates that despite successes, development agencies in South Africa have a strong dependence on parent municipalities which can determine the future direction and sustainability of LEDAs.

scholarly journals Tourism and Local Economic Development in King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality, South Africa: Stakeholder Perspectives

2021 ◽  
Vol 10(1) (10(1)) ◽  
pp. 145-164
Author(s):  
Thobeka Dlomo ◽  
Christian Rogerson
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Tourism Development ◽  
Stakeholder Perceptions ◽  
Stakeholder Perspectives ◽  
Local Municipality ◽  
The Impact

Over the past two decades a major burst of scholarship has occurred around tourism and local economic development futures in South Africa. This study addressed the question of key stakeholder perceptions of local economic development through tourism as the economic driver. In addition, it examines the challenges for enhancing the local development role of the tourism sector. Arguably, stakeholders at the coalface of tourism and local development issues, such as tourism business owners and local government officials, can offer useful insights into the everyday problems of maximizing the impact of tourism in local municipalities. The focus is on the King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality (KSDM) in Eastern Cape province. The results are presented and dissected from 33 interviews conducted with private sector stakeholders as well as 20 government stakeholders. Stakeholder perceptions were investigated concerning three major themes: (1) the role and prospects for tourism and local economic development, (2) the use of municipal assets for tourism development; and, (3) the challenges facing tourism businesses for local economic development The research findings underscore several factors that explain the decline of the tourism economy of KSDM since 2006 and reduced its contribution to local economic development. Central issues surround crime and safety, infrastructural deficiencies, and shortcomings of the local government itself, including its failure to maintain critical municipal assets essential for tourism development.

scholarly journals Towards regional economic development in South Africa: Conceptualising the ‘region’ associated with economic development through the Durban Aerotropolis

Urbani izziv ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol Supplement (30) ◽  
pp. 194-211
Author(s):  
Nomkhosi Luthuli ◽  
Jennifer HOUGHTON Houghton
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Economic Activity ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Regional Economic Development ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Development Projects ◽  
Regional Economic ◽  
The Social

This paper critically considers the conceptualization of the ‘region’ in regional economic development. It utilizes the Durban Aerotropolis in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa as a case of reference through which the conceptualization and underpinnings of ‘region’ associated with economic development are understood. This exercise is prompted by the nomenclatural shifts in local government from local economic development to regional economic development which is causing shifts in approaches to the implementation of economic development projects. The findings presented in this paper show that in the conceptualisation of the region in the instance of the Durban Aerotropolis, understanding the function, form and scale of a regional economic development project becomes pertinent to the social construction of the region with consequences for the project focus and implementation. In the discussion, function is examined as the purpose of a regional economic development project, form refers to the kind of economic development mechanism or strategy which could assist in fulfilling that purpose and scale speaks to the extent, reach and magnitude of the project, without which the implications are challenging practical enactment or implementation of regional economic development projects. The social constructions of region outlined in this paper thereby attest to the multiplicity of definitions which are typically based on the context in which the concept is being used and thus shows the ‘region’ inherent in regional economic development as produced through, and for, an assemblage of economic activity in space. From this we understand the region in regional economic development to be a social construct which presents itself as an assemblage of economic activity in space. Although we understand regions as spatially contingent, the theoretical and empirical conceptualisation of regions within regional economic development planning, policy–making and practice must draw on the specifics of contextuality to ensure its utility to economic development.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document