The city outside the city: governance and growth on the urban periphery

Millions of South Africans are opting for a "third way" of urban living: low-density, spacious housing on the urban periphery under traditional land tenure. These settlements are the product of "co-production" between residents, traditional leaders, and a fragmented state. While they offer a powerful aspirational vision for many, they also present a looming governance crisis characterized by a breakdown in the social contract and a "fiscal exit" from municipal land taxation systems. Addressing this requires a paradigm shift in urban planning—one that moves away from the ideal of the "compact city" towards a serious engagement with the spatial and political realities of the exurban frontier.