UPD3700 PROJECT Assessment 2 2026 Year Module 2026 |Urban Planning and Design|

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA (UNISA)
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering and Building Sciences



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SPATIAL TRANSFORMATION STRATEGY
FOR A SOUTH AFRICAN TOWN
Assessment 2: Project — UPD3700 — Year Module 2026


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Module Code: UPD3700

Module Name: Urban Planning and Design

Assignment No.: Assessment 2: Project

Due Date: 2026

Semester: Year Module 2026




Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for Urban Planning and Design (UPD3700)
at the University of South Africa.

,UNISA | UPD3700 Spatial Transformation Strategy — Polokwane



Contents


1 1. Introduction and Background 3

1.1 1.1 Overview of Polokwane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

1.2 1.2 Purpose and Scope of the Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3


2 2. Spatial Analysis 4

2.1 2.1 Apartheid Spatial Patterns in Polokwane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2.2 2.2 Depth of Spatial Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2.2.1 Urban Fragmentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2.2.2 Land Use Imbalances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2.2.3 Infrastructure Disparities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2.3 2.3 SWOT Analysis of Polokwane’s Spatial Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . 6


3 3. Legislative and Policy Framework 7

3.1 3.1 The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 . . . . . . . . 7

3.2 3.2 Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act 16 of 2013 (SPLUMA) 7

3.3 3.3 The National Development Plan (NDP) 2030 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

3.4 3.4 Integrated Urban Development Framework (IUDF), 2016 . . . . . . 8

3.5 3.5 Spatial Development Framework (SDF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8


4 4. Integrated Development Plan (IDP) and Public Participation 9

4.1 4.1 Understanding the Integrated Development Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

4.2 4.2 Principles of Public Participation in IDP Processes . . . . . . . . . . 10

4.3 4.3 Practical Stakeholder Engagement Strategy for Polokwane . . . . . . 10

4.3.1 Phase 1: Community Needs Mapping (Year 1 — 2026) . . . . . . . . . . . 10

4.3.2 Phase 2: Public Display and Comment Periods (Ongoing) . . . . . . . . . 11


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,UNISA | UPD3700 Spatial Transformation Strategy — Polokwane


4.3.3 Phase 3: IDP Representative Forum (Annual) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11


5 5. Spatial Vision 2030 13

5.1 5.1 Spatial Vision Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

5.2 5.2 Spatial Transformation Principles Applied . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

5.3 5.3 Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

5.4 5.4 Densification Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

5.5 5.5 Conceptual Spatial Plan — Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15


6 6. Implementation Strategy 16

6.1 6.1 Phased Project Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

6.1.1 Phase 1: Foundation and Policy (2026) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

6.1.2 Phase 2: Corridor and Node Development (2027–2028) . . . . . . . . . . . 16

6.1.3 Phase 3: Consolidation (2029–2030) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

6.2 6.2 Financial Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

6.3 6.3 Institutional Arrangements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

6.4 6.4 Risk Identification and Mitigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

6.5 6.5 GA7: Sustainability and Impact of Engineering Activity . . . . . . . 18


7 7. Conclusion 20


Reference List 21




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, UNISA | UPD3700 Spatial Transformation Strategy — Polokwane



1. Introduction and Background

South Africa’s urban landscape remains deeply marked by the spatial engineering of apartheid,
a system that deliberately located Black, Coloured, and Indian communities on the periphery
of economic centres (Harrison et al., 2008). More than three decades into democracy, these
inherited patterns continue to shape how people access work, education, and services. This
project prepares a Spatial Transformation and Development Strategy for Polokwane, the
capital city of Limpopo Province, aiming to guide the municipality towards equitable and sus-
tainable spatial development by 2030.


1.1 Overview of Polokwane


Polokwane, formerly known as Pietersburg, serves as the administrative, commercial, and
transport hub of Limpopo. The city functions as a secondary metropolitan centre with a pop-
ulation of approximately 130 000 in the central urban area and over 730 000 in the broader
municipal jurisdiction. Its location on the N1 highway corridor positions it as a regional gate-
way between Gauteng and the Limpopo River border. The city’s economy is anchored by pub-
lic administration, retail, health services, and a growing educational sector.


1.2 Purpose and Scope of the Strategy


This strategy is prepared in response to a municipal appointment to address persistent spatial
inequalities and to guide sustainable growth to the year 2030. It draws directly on the princi-
ples established in the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act 16 of 2013 (SPLUMA),
the National Development Plan (NDP) 2030, and the Integrated Urban Development Frame-
work (IUDF) of 2016. The strategy is theoretical in orientation and is grounded in observa-
tions drawn from published spatial analysis of Polokwane rather than primary fieldwork, as
permitted by the project brief.

Key Distinction
Scope Clarification: This strategy covers the Polokwane Local Municipality’s urban
core and its immediate peri-urban interface. It does not prescribe detailed engineering
designs, but sets conceptual spatial direction and a phased implementation framework
aligned to the municipality’s planning cycle through 2030.




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