Volume II - The Northern Cape Provincial Spatial Development ...

CHAPTER 1
SETTING THE SCENE: DECLINING SETTLEMENTS
1.1 Context of the Study
The settlement system in the Northern Cape is characterised by many small isolated and fairly
inaccessible urban and quasi-urban settlements scattered across the vast area of the province.
Many of these settlements find it hard to provide basic services and sufficient income
generating opportunities to their inhabitants.
A general consensus in the international literature is that sustainable rural development is
closely bound to a vibrant and functional urban settlement system. Villages, towns and cities
are the “engine rooms” that drive regional development and economic growth. Unfortunately
not all urban settlements have the same growth potential. Growth trends fluctuate over time
due to many influencing factors. In a large province such as the Northern Cape these centres
make a special contribution towards meeting the general needs in both the towns, as well as in
the surrounding rural communities. They also affect global links, the national spatial economy
and sustainable regional development in the province. The Northern Cape Province
accommodates some 115 urban settlements of various sizes (mapped in Figure 3.1), some of
which have a solid economic base which stimulate energetic growth. Other towns are steadily
losing economic power, service-ability and infrastructural strength. This situation poses the
self-evident question whether there is an effective remedy for such a distressful picture?
A starting point would be the application of a comprehensive evaluation and monitoring of
the performance patterns of the province’s settlements in order to ascertain how the various
communities could be optimally supported by a system of dynamic town structures. The
problem should no longer be addressed in an ad hoc and superficial way. A systematic urban
audit on the role and functioning of the urban system within a developmental context is
essential in order to create an appropriate database to support informed strategic decisionmaking
by relevant role players in the province. A Provincial Spatial Development
Framework (PSDF) within the Northern Cape regional context must nurture sustainable urban
and rural development over the long term as a high priority. Towns with a real potential for
growth must be identified accountably in terms of their demonstrated capacities in the interest
of the region as a whole. Several towns in the Northern Cape are for some time already
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