Shaniq Ursula Pillay

The legacy of apartheid has led to the segregated urban development of Cape Town, South Africa. This has left previously disadvantaged people without access to basic public infrastructure. The government’s response in the form of its Spatial Development Framework(SDF)has fallen short on equalising the scales:it lacks implementable interventions and prioritisation of resources, and it generalises solutions tothe heterogeneous city’s characteristic wards.

A novel methodology is developed using geographic informationsystems (GIS). This numerically evaluates the success of the spatial standards proposed by the municipality. The study goes on to analyse the extent to which unequal spatial accessibility exists within the landscape of the city. Finally, this analysis highlights the gaps within the SDFand suggests more effective policy changes.

The study usesGIS tools that arevaluable in the process of urban development as theycan provide feedback, monitoring, contextual understanding, and comparative or measurable indicators.

The analysis reveals thatthe monocentric nature of the city limits disenfranchisedpeople from accessing economic opportunity. Fewer people livingnear totransport corridors indicatesless access to public transport for moderately disadvantaged and very disadvantaged residents (who live far away from these corridors). The application of the methodology developed reveals thathospitals, police stations and green spaces are significantly less accessible to moderately disadvantaged and very disadvantaged wards. Fire stations and education facilities exhibit the best accessibility scores across all wards.Thestudy suggests context-specific urban planning to highlight the relationship between socio-economic indicators and spatial indicators. It recommends incorporating qualitative metrics into spatial standards and guidelines. In addition, it suggests an assessment ofthe risks and consequences ofservice provision and therefore the relative importance of its demand.

The study can be validatedfurther by repeating its application in several contextsandapplying it temporally.