HOUSING, TRANSPORTATION, AND URBAN PLANNING--AN ASSESSMENT OF SOME MAJOR METROPOLITAN PROBLEMS

The strength of any country depends in large measure on the strength of its local government. Civil engineers in local government are primarily responsible for the schemes that make communal life tolerable and capable of expansion. Urbanization and the growing demands it brings to public services only serve to complicate the tasks of civil and municipal engineers. This paper discusses related points raised in an address delivered to the South African Institution of Civil Engineers and highlights work carried out by the author in Cape Town. The discussion is limited primarily to housing, transportation, and town planning. The focus is on the extent to which central authority affects local government's ability to manage urban development.