Author(s)

H.S. Geyer

Abstract

Significant economic changes have occurred in urban South Africa since the first democratic election was held in 1994. The changing local political scene has partially caused these changes, but global economic forces also had an effect. This paper starts off by looking at how changes in globalisation trends have affected the economies of the peripheral South since the 1970s. It highlights Africa’s geographical isolation in the process of global regionalization and shows how it is affecting South Africa in its quest to meaningfully reconnect with the global economy. Moving its focus to urban development in South Africa in general, the paper shows what the urban economic profile looked like soon after the political take-over and discusses the different reactions to changing local economic conditions. The paper ends with an assessment of ho

Keywords