ABSTRACT
Changed notions of urban governance are also important in understanding how processes of governance have to be analytically viewed in the African setting. This chapter explores the character and implications of these changes for Africa. It looks at how they have been shaped by wider international transformations and at the consequences these changes have on urban governance through an analysis of the shifting nature of the political economy of South African urban areas. The chapter focuses on the three largest and economically most important urban centres in South Africa — Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. It examines central tenets of the world/global city discourse and discusses some of the challenges highlighted in this discourse. The chapter also explores how the 'new urban governance' is centrally tied to new understandings of the geography of international capitalism. It also discusses emergent patterns of industrial and urban economic development in South Africa, and various policy initiatives undertaken by both non-state and state actors.
