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Paper short abstract:

This paper considers how recognising translocality demands a reconsideration of the integrated spatial planning discourses prevalent in South Africa’s scholarly and policy discourse.

Paper long abstract:

Creating an integrated post-apartheid society has been one of South Africa's developmental goals since the dawn of democracy. Overcoming the segregated spatial legacy to create a more integrated socio-economic geography has been central to this goal. Yet the past two decades have seen contestations over what an integrated geography means and the relationship between urban and rural spaces. Little has been done by both scholars and planners to adequately consider how mobility and migration are (a) central to people's lived experiences; (b) transforming social spaces; and (c) creating forms of integration and disconnection. Recognising this not only challenges the state's predominantly unidirectional understanding of migration, but also the prevalent "urban planning" ideals that dominate the planning discourse. This mode of thinking has focused largely on the development of urban space, neglecting rural areas and thus the translocal nature of contemporary lives. Through an assessment of the Reconstruction and Development Programme' (RDP) and the Growth, Employment and Redistribution's (GEAR) housing policies, this paper argues that the focus on rural-urban dualism and the neglect of broader migration patterns have led to the planning and implementation of projects that undermine the broader post-apartheid socio-economic project.