Secondary Cities and Local Governance in Southern Africa

Abraham R Matamanda is an NRF Y2-rated Urban Planner lecturing at the University of Free State (UFS) in the Department of Geography. He is currently Editor of the Town Planning Journal published by UFS and serves on the editorial board of Plos Water Journal. He is a fellow of the South African DHET Future Professorate Programme Phase 1, third Cohort. His research focuses on urban governance and planning, climate change adaptation, informal Global South urbanism, urban food systems, and housing studies. James Chakwizira is a professor of spatial and transport planning and lecturers in the department of Urban & Regional Planning, University of Venda and an extra-ordinary professor, Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North - West University. He has practiced in the public and private sector while leading multidisciplinary teams/units. His research focus on transportation studies, spatial planning and development, urban designing of precincts and neighbourhoods and climate change and adaptation.Kudzai Chatiza is a local governance, and spatial planning researcher. He is currently a research fellow in the Department of Geography, UFS and Director at Development Governance Institute. With over 30 years’ experience in decentralization, development and strategic planning, citizen participation, housing policy and practice, he teaches and supervises research students at UZ and Midlands State University. Kudzai also advises state and non-state development organizations on spatial planning and governance issues. Verna Nel qualified as a town and regional planner at Wits University and obtained her MSc and PhD through UNISA. After three decades of working primarily in municipalities, she was appointed as a Professor in the Urban and Regional Planning Department of the UFS and assumed the title of Emeritus Professor with her retirement from 2024. She has diverse research interests that include spatial and urban resilience, local economic development and spatial governance. Her most recent publication is a book on land use management in South Africa.​

• Chapter 1: Introduction, (Matamanda et al.).- Chapter 2: Rapid Urbanisation and Urban Governance Responses in Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe (Tazviona Richman Gambe).- Chapter 3: Exploring Nelspruit as a Historical Spatial Jigsaw Corridor Based Secondary City: A Spatial Governance Geographical Perspective (James Chakwizira).- Chapter 4: Governance in South African Secondary Cities (Marais and Nel).- Chapter 5: Transactional And Supplementary Strategies For Accessing Land Among Migrants On The Margins: An Ethnographic Study Among Malawian Migrants At Lydiate Informal Settlement, Zimbabwe (Bhanye et al).- Chapter 6: Public Land Management, Corruption and the Quest for Sustainable Secondary Cities in Zimbabwe (Chavunduka and Tsikira).- Chapter 7: Emaciated Potential: Reflecting on How War and Natural Disasters Stunt Beira’s National-Regional Importance and What Could be Done About it (Chatiza and Nyevera).- Chapter 8: Land-Use Planning for Climate Change Adaptation in Secondary Cities: Insights From Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe (Matamanda et al).- Chapter 9: The Intricacy of Water and Sanitation Management in Masvingo City, Zimbabwe (Gambe and Karakadzai).- Chapter 10: Governing Urban Food Systems in Secondary Cities: Contestations and Struggles From Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe (Mugumbate et al).- Chapter 11: Changing Centre-Local Relations and The Financing of Urban Development in Secondary Cities: A Comparative Study of Zimbabwe and South Africa (Chavunduka et al).- Chapter 12: Sasolburg: A Town Built Around the Chemical Industry Suffering Under Poor Governance and Its Environmental Legacy (Nel et al).- Chapter 13: De-Industrialisation, Urban Governance Challenges and Deteriorating Urban Infrastructure in Norton, Zimbabwe: Is the Town Ruralising? (Martin Magidi).- Chapter 14: Genius Loci: Unlocking the Particularities and Potentialities of Beitbridge in Zimbabwe to Enhance Public Place Quality (Nicholas Muleya)- Chapter 15:From A Pre-Colonial Dzimbabwe Capital to a Colonial Fort And Beyond: Understanding Masvingo City’s Governance Traditions and Growth Patterns (Kudzai Chatiza and Tariro Nyevera).- Chapter 16: The Future of Secondary Cities in (Southern) Africa: Concluding Remarks And Research Agenda (Chakwizira et al).