KENNETH DIOLE

The United Nations holds its landmark urban planning conference, Habitat, only once every 20 years.

Leading up to the 2016 conference in Quito, Ecuador, SA hosted a crucial preliminary consultation focusing on the rapid growth of informal settlements — an engagement I had the privilege of attending.

That forum acknowledged a sobering reality: unprecedented rapid urbanisation had triggered a housing crisis, driving chronic shortages of serviced land and placing immense pressure on infrastructure and public health.

Against this backdrop, then-Gauteng premier David Makhura revealed a staggering statistic: over 30,000 people migrated to the province every month.

Of these, 20,000 settled in the broader Johannesburg region, while the remaining 10,000 dispersed across the province. This influx created and continues to create a massive development challenge, particularly in providing adequate housing and social services for a ballooning population.

Today, this context — paired with the ongoing water crisis in areas like Midrand — highlights the urgent need for a comprehensive spatial planning review. As SA’s economic heartbeat, Gauteng will always attract those seeking better prospects. However, the resulting strain is visible in three escalating yearly crises.

Residential growth has far outpaced the construction of supporting schools, hospitals, and police stations.

Every year, thousands of learners remain unplaced weeks into the academic term. While a flawed online application system is often blamed, the deeper, systemic issue is that residential growth has far outpaced the construction of supporting schools, hospitals, and police stations.

The crisis in Midrand and the prolonged water scarcity in places such as Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria, reflect years of infrastructure neglect. Across Gauteng, approximately 46% to 48% of treated water is lost before it reaches a tap, leaking out through poorly maintained municipal pipes or lost to theft.

Gauteng’s population was estimated at 13.4-million in 2016; by mid-2025, it reached 16.1-million. This growth has far outstripped housing delivery. While the verified backlog stands at 293,000, some estimates of total need exceed 500,000 households, leading to the proliferation of informal settlements and “hijacked” buildings.

Interestingly, while the province saw 4,500 new units in private complexes in the past year — a high figure by global standards — it remains a drop in the ocean compared to the actual demand.

The rapid influx of people without a cogent, concurrent plan for infrastructure development — be it roads, schools, hospitals and clinics, and other social reproductive facilities — is creating a spatial planning catastrophe.

Local, provincial, and national governments must act with urgency, and citizens must pressure these spheres of government, starting with the local government elections later this year.

As long as the broader economy underperforms, Gauteng will remain the destination of choice for many. Consequently, issues relating to water, education, and housing will only persist and worsen. We have to acknowledge that these issues cannot be resolved with speed or short-term fixes but with delicate and dedicated long-term planning.