Future-orientation Of Municipal Planning In South Africa : the case study of Makhado local municipality

Abstract

Planning in the 21st century finds itself hesitant in providing hope for a better future. The foregoing is due to complex and dynamic process such as urbanisation and globalisation that have created an unknown and uncertain future. As such, Literature reveals that little attention has been given to the relationship between planning and its orientation to the future. Meng (2009:48) goes as far as contending that “planning has been reduced to solving today’s problems rather than creating a vision of the future”. As a result, the aim of the study is to investigate whether local government’s planning systems, approaches and interventions are informed by a proactive engagement with the future; if so, what is the nature of such engagement.