South Africa's new challenges: planning inclusive connection spaces

The purpose of this paper is to define whether and how it is possible to create inclusive connection spaces through planning, by analysing some of the most segregated cities in the world. The starting point is an overview of the current urban situation in South Africa, twenty years after the first democratic elections. Scholars argue that, due to a history of colonialism and apartheid, cities there are increasingly segregated and fragmented. At the same time the political agenda is struggling to address the process of transformation in order to mitigate spatial inequalities and promote urban integration, while on the other hand taking global interests into account. Through the examination of three examples this work attempts to identify some progress in the creation of inclusive spaces, while looking at the complexities involved in operating in a South African context