The impact of urban sprawl on the inhabitants of the Ethekwini municipality and the provision of infrastructure

The control of urban sprawl is one of the critical issues challenging planners in many countries. Most of South African cities are expanding predominantly through the spreading out of new housing areas beyond the existing urban periphery in a comparatively unplanned manner. The urban periphery thus consists of development which is isolated and separated from each other by major roads or open spaces (Dewar, 1984). Urban sprawl is characterised by, an increase in the cost of providing for public infrastructure, more expensive development costs, reduction in transportation effectiveness and choice of mode, higher energy consumption, reduction in community interaction, greater stress, destruction of the environment and deterioration of the inner city. The concept of one family per plot has also contributed towards the sprawling nature of our cities. Land use patterns and transportation are interdependent. Being reliant on the motor car for transport leads to higher demand for land for the construction of roads and parking than other forms of transportation and encourages low-density urban expansion. This increases land development costs. Transportation by cars has allowed and encouraged radical changes in the form of cities and the use of land. Land in the outer parts of cities is generally cheaper and this leads to developers purchasing these lands, including agricultural land, for the development of houses. A questionnaire survey has been conducted within the study area in order to establish the impact of urban sprawl on the inhabitants. The information has been analysed, and policy guidelines and recommendations to manage urban sprawl and thereby densification of the study area has been suggested.