Devolution, Urban Autonomy and Local Governance in the Cities of the SADC

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 612-635
Author(s):  
Marius Pieterse
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Local Government ◽  
South African ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Sustainable Development Goal ◽  
Development Goal ◽  
Financial Autonomy ◽  
Strategic Space ◽  
Urban Local Government ◽  
New Urban Agenda

This article considers the links between urban autonomy and the constitutional and legal powers, functions and responsibilities of urban local government in countries of the South African Development Community (SADC). It evaluates SADC cities’ constitutional status, their operational, functional and financial autonomy, their collaborative and strategic space and the different accountability structures to which they answer. It further reflects on structural and political challenges to effective urban autonomy in the region and suggests ways in which it may be better enabled, so as to equip the cities of the SADC for the role they must play in pursuit of targets in the New Urban Agenda and UN Sustainable Development Goal 11.

scholarly journals SOUTH AFRICA’S INTEGRATED URBAN DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL 11: POLICY MISMATCH OR SUCCESS?

Obiter ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela van der Berg
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Urban Development ◽  
South African ◽  
Sustainable Cities ◽  
Sustainable Development Goal ◽  
Development Goal ◽  
Development Framework ◽  
Strategic Goals ◽  
South African Cities

This paper critically questions the extent to which the Integrated Urban Development Framework, 2016 (IUDF) provides for strategic goals and policy levers towards the pursuit of sustainable cities in South Africa as understood in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11. Specific emphasis will be placed on the nine identified policy levers in the IUDF and whether these correspond with what is identified in SDG 11 as essential for the pursuit and maintenance of sustainable cities. SDG 11 has been heralded as “path-breaking” as it represents the strongest recognition to date of the significant role of cities in promoting sustainability on local, national, and global scales. The goal forms part of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted in 2015. SDG 11 specifically seeks to ensure that cities and human settlements become inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. The goal provides a broad framework for what the achievement of sustainable cities entails and lists specific targets to be met by 2030 to ensure urban sustainability around the globe. The South African government recently developed its first policy underscoring the country’s national urban agenda. Informed by SDG 11, the IUDF calls for the effective and improved management of urban spaces and recognises the need for South African cities to become “liveable, safe, resource-efficient cities that are socially integrated, economically inclusive and globally competitive”.

scholarly journals Sustainable Development Goal 11 and a New Urban Agenda for Caribbean Small Island Developing States: Policy, Practice, and Action

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle A. Mycoo ◽  
Keisha Bharath
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Small Island ◽  
Small Island Developing States ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Sustainable Development Goal ◽  
Development Goal ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
New Urban Agenda

Many Caribbean Small Island Developing States face the daunting task of fulfilling the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. As signatories to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, their governments committed to embark on a roadmap to achieve sustainable development within this time frame. In this context, Caribbean Small Island Developing States have embraced Sustainable Development Goal 11 in pursuit of creating inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable cities as articulated in various governance, spatial, socio-economic, and environmental policies. Notwithstanding this commitment, a tension exists between policy and practice. Several barriers to policy implementation have stymied efforts to make progress in fulfilling Goal 11. Enabling the impact of sound policy through well-informed practice is pivotal, if these states are to make advancements in ensuring that their population has access to basic services and live in safe, resilient, and sustainable cities without leaving any citizen behind. This paper firstly seeks to critically review existing policies and practice that impact on the attainment of Sustainable Development Goal 11. It highlights the drivers of unsustainable urbanization that are undermining progress in achieving this key sustainable development goal. In keeping with the United Nations declaration of a Decade for Action, this paper secondly makes recommendations for action that are fundamental to putting Caribbean Small Island Developing States on a trajectory leading to the fulfillment of Goal 11. It specifically recommends strategic actions within the context of a New Urban Agenda that are relevant to Caribbean Small Island Developing States that are encountering similar challenges. The experience of Trinidad is drawn upon to provide a narrative of gaps between policy and practice, and to distill key actions for attaining SDG 11 by 2030 and beyond.

scholarly journals Monitoring changes in South Africa’s surface water extent for reporting Sustainable Development Goal sub-indicator 6.6.1.a

2021 ◽  
Vol 117 (5/6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi van Deventer
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
South African ◽  
Aquatic Ecosystems ◽  
The South ◽  
Sustainable Development Goal ◽  
Development Goal ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Progress Reporting ◽  
Global Statistics

For the first progress reporting on the Sustainable Development Goal sub-indicator 6.6.1a in 2020, the South African and global statistics related to wetlands were compared. Firstly, in terms of the total wetland extent, the South African National Wetland Map version 5 (NWM5) represented 87% more inland, surface aquatic ecosystems than the Global Surface Water (GSW) product. More than half of the lacustrine systems and none of the palustrine and arid systems in NWM5 are represented in the GSW layer. Secondly, in terms of changes in the extent of wetlands, both the global and South African statistics showed a decreasing trend in the spatial extent of surface aquatic ecosystems in South Africa. These trends should be further investigated against systematic assessments of decadal drought periods. The hydroperiod information (permanent, seasonal and ephemeral inundation periods) of the GSW products show that South African lacustrine wetlands do not have a single dominant class (≥70% of the extent of a polygon) of inundation, but consist of a mosaic of these classes.

The UN, the Urban Sustainable Development Goal, and the New Urban Agenda

Urban Planet ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. 180-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Rudd ◽  
David Simon ◽  
Maruxa Cardama ◽  
Eugénie L. Birch ◽  
Aromar Revi
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainable Development Goal ◽  
Development Goal ◽  
Urban Sustainable Development ◽  
New Urban Agenda
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document