In an effort to realise spatial transformation, plans are currently underway by government to include the Integrated Urban Development Framework (IUDF) into the curricula of institutions of higher learning.<\/p>\n
In a statement released on Friday (13 July), government said that various stakeholders such as the Department of Higher Education, Committee of Heads of Planning Schools, and Local Government Sector Education and Training (LGSETA) had discussed ways to include the IUDF into a module for institutions of higher learning.<\/p>\n
South African Council for Planners CEO, Martin Lewis, said that the\u00a0IUDF is an important urbanisation policy in South Africa and organisations such as theirs are committed to ensure that the framework is integrated into their curricula.<\/p>\n
“A module will be developed and sufficient space will be available for institutions of higher learning to incorporate and evaluate what is required. An opportunity will also exist to address accreditation issues,” he said.<\/p>\n
Other issues being discussed include the\u00a0need for training of planners on IUDF and capacity building; the curricula and accreditation by institutions of higher learning as well as partnerships and having a Memorandum of Understanding among the stakeholders, he said.<\/p>\n
Moving to the city<\/strong><\/p>\n While the idea of relocating from the country or a small town to the ‘big city’ has developed into something of a cliche, there\u2019s a good reason more South Africans are continuing to make the move.<\/p>\n In a Econ3x3<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>report published by\u00a0Ivan Turok and Justin Visagie of the\u00a0Human Sciences Research Council in April<\/a><\/strong>, the pair found that that as many as 385,000 people were lifted from poverty between 2008 and 2014 after moving from rural to urban areas and that their poverty levels were halved together with a fall in unemployment.<\/p>\n The report found that two-thirds of South Africa\u2019s population now live in urban areas, up from only half in 1994. Notably,\u00a0the Gauteng city region has grown more rapidly than other places, with net in-migration of 1.4 million people between 2001 and 2016.<\/p>\n
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