CAPE TOWN, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- South Africa must harness technological innovation and planning to reshape settlement patterns rooted in the country's colonial and apartheid past, Human Settlements Minister Thembisile Simelane said on Thursday.
Simelane was speaking during the Planning Africa Conference, held in Cape Town from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1 under the theme "Digital Technologies and Sustainable Futures: Pathways for Urban and Regional Planning in Africa." The conference brought together planners, government officials, academics and other built-environment professionals from across Africa.
Simelane said emerging technologies could help address deeply entrenched development challenges, while closer integration of technology and planning could support more sustainable urban and regional development.
"The theme also challenges us to embrace a blend of technology and planning as a catalyst for transformation and sustainable futures," she said.
South Africa's settlement patterns continue to reflect the spatial outcomes of colonialism and apartheid, she said, with many low-income households concentrated on the urban periphery and separated from employment, transport, education, healthcare and other opportunities.
"The location of homes, the distribution of economic opportunities and the availability of infrastructure are shaped by decisions made over generations about land, investment and access," the minister said.
She said substantial investment in housing and public services since the end of apartheid had not fully addressed the spatial mismatch, leaving households with high commuting costs and municipalities facing the burden of extending infrastructure across sprawling settlements.
Simelane noted housing delivery and spatial transformation should be treated as related but distinct objectives, with the success of development measured not only by the number of homes built but also by their location, access to opportunities and the quality of surrounding settlements.
"Spatial transformation must be measured not only by the number of houses constructed, but by where those houses are located, the opportunities they provide access to, and the quality of the settlements we create," she said.
Simelane called for housing development to be planned alongside water, wastewater, electricity, roads, stormwater systems and public transport, rather than treating infrastructure as a later-stage requirement.
Digital tools could support that process, she said, by improving planners' ability to analyze settlement change, identify suitable land, assess risks and monitor development.
"Geographic information systems, remote sensing, modeling and improved data management can strengthen decisions and give institutions a more reliable view of the work that needs to be done," the minister said.
She also urged planners to incorporate climate risks such as flooding, heat and water scarcity into land-use, settlement and infrastructure decisions from the outset.
