Spatial planning legacies and unauthorized land occupations in South Africa’s urban peripheries

This article examines the drivers and implications, of unauthorized land occupations on urban development and spatial planning in South Africa. We argue that these unauthorized land occupations are embedded in various nuances, which are best framed and analysed from a spatial planning perspective. Employing a narrative case study, the qualitative research was informed by key informant interviews, focus group discussions, transect walks, observations, and photographs to capture the realities and lived experiences of the unauthorized land occupations. Thematic analysis has been used to analyse the data. The findings reveal the underlying challenges in land access, which compel the urban poor, particularly the youth and women, to access land on the peripheries. This study reinstates the housing scarcity problem, showing the slow progress in providing adequate housing. The role of agency and influential individuals in the community is emphasized through the organization and well-orchestrated process unfolding before and during the unauthorized land occupation process. Slow, reactive, and segregatory spatial planning and development processes impact the nature and extent of land occupations. Spatial planners must reconsider pro-poor, inclusive, just land development and access models that enhance urban livability. The failure to address these occupations has far-reaching implications: social protests, conflicts, urban health challenges, and persisting inequalities.