Informal Sector [4 hours] • concept and characteristics of informal sector employment; • reasons for high informal sector employment in South Africa; • challenges facing South Africa’s informal sector (Case studies to illustrate the above in the South African context)
Strategies for Industrial Development [3 hours] • overview of apartheid and post-apartheid industrial development strategies; • concept and distribution of Industrial Development Zones (IDZs); • case studies of two Spatial Development Initiatives (SDIs); and • issues associated with industrial centralisation and decentralisation.
Secondary and Tertiary Sectors [6 hours] • contribution of secondary and tertiary sectors to the South African economy; • types of industries, such as heavy, light, raw material orientated, market orientated, footloose industries, ubiquitous industries and bridge (break of bulk point) industries; • factors influencing industrial development in South Africa, such as raw materials, labour… Read More »
Mining [5 hours] • contribution of mining to the South African economy; • significance of mining to the development of South Africa; • factors that favour and hinder mining in South Africa; and • a case study of one of South Africa’s main minerals in relation to the above points.
Structure of the Economy [3 hours] • economic sectors (primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary); • economic sectors’ contribution to the South African economy: value and employment; and • use of statistical and graphical information.
• recent urbanisation patterns in South Africa; • urban issues related to rapid urbanisation: lack of planning, housing shortage, overcrowding, traffic congestion and problems with service provision; • the growth of informal settlements and associated issues: case studies from the world and South Africa; and • case studies that show how selected urban areas in… Read More »
• the concepts of urban hierarchy, central place, threshold population, sphere of influence and range of goods; • lower and higher order functions and services; and • lower and higher order centres. Urban Structure and Patterns [4 hours] • internal structure and patterns of urban settlements: land use zones; concept of urban profile; and factors… Read More »
• the origin and development of urban settlements – urbanisation of the world’s population; • how site and situation affect the location of urban settlements; and • classification of urban settlements according to function, such as central places, trade and transport, break of bulk points, specialised cities, junction towns and gateway towns or gap towns.
• rural-urban migration; • causes and consequences of rural depopulation on people and the economy; • case study that illustrates effects of rural depopulation and strategies to address them; and • social justice issues in rural areas, such as access to resources and land reform.
• how site and situation affect the location of rural settlements; • classification of rural settlements according to pattern and function; • reasons for different shapes of settlements: round, linear, T-shaped and cross-road; and • land use in rural settlements.