Policy and Other Outputs

QoL 7 (2023/24) - Fieldwork Report

The GCRO recently released the results from the Quality of Life Survey 7 (2023/24). Along with the data and the key findings, a series of Technical Reports are also published to go hand-in-hand with the data. These reports include the Fieldwork Report, the Weighting Report, the Sampling Report, the Index Methodology Report, the questionnaire, and the Data Report. This report details how the fieldwork was managed.

QoL 7 (2023/24) - Weighting Report

As part of a series of Technical Report that accompany the GCRO Quality of Life survey 7 (2023/24), this report details how the survey data was weighted to the adult population in Gauteng.

QoL 7 (2023/24) - Sampling Report

As part of a series of Technical Report that accompany the GCRO Quality of Life survey 7 (2023/24), this report details how the sampling for the survey was done.

QoL 7 (2023/24) - Index Methodology

As part of a series of Technical Report that accompany the GCRO Quality of Life survey 7 (2023/24), this report outlines the construction of the QoL Index.

QoL 7 (2023/24) - Questionnaire

As part of a series of Technical Report that accompany the GCRO Quality of Life survey 7 (2023/24), this document outlines the questions that were asked in the survey.

QoL 7 (2023/24) - Data Report

As part of a series of Technical Report that accompany the GCRO Quality of Life survey 7 (2023/24), this report provides important details about the final dataset.

Using night lights satellite imagery to estimate spatial economic change in Johannesburg between 2011 and 2021

This Rapid Research Paper has been done as a proof of concept to show that night lights satellite imagery can be a valuable tool to help model spatial economic trends in the South African context, where there has historically been a dearth of reliable, regularly-updated, fine grained spatial economic datasets. The work was done on request from, and in partnership with, the City of Johannesburg’s Group Strategy, Policy, Coordination and Relations Unit. Using Johannesburg as a case study, this analysis employs open data, predominantly in the form of free-to-use satellite imagery on night lights, to investigate the spatial spread of economic activity across the City of Johannesburg, and to examine changes in that activity over the period 2011 to 2021.

Statistical surprises: Key results from Census 2022 for Gauteng

The GCRO, in its ongoing endeavour to provide reliable cross-sectoral information on Gauteng, welcomed the release of the 2022 Census by Stats SA on 10 October 2023. While the process of fully understanding the results has only just begun, the GCRO has compiled this Rapid Research Paper in order to provide an initial look at summary results for Gauteng province. Decomposing census data by geographical areas helps in understanding population distribution and migration patterns, and such information is invaluable for urban planning, service delivery targeting, infrastructure development, and disaster preparedness. Many findings from the Census 2022 release are surprising, even bewildering. We are agnostic on the validity of the numbers, and rather highlight what seems remarkable. The surprises are an invitation for deeper and more probing analysis.

Practice note on including children in spatial planning and design development processes

A collective of concerned individuals convened by the South African Research Chair in Spatial Analysis and City Planning in the School of Architecture and Planning at Wits University has co-produced this Practice Note on including children in spatial planning and design development processes. GCRO's Melinda Swift contributed as part of the collective.

There is much work required in Africa to bring the child’s voice into civic processes, and many contextual considerations to take account of, especially in relation to the poverty, vulnerability, and environmental deprivation of many children on the continent. There are some indications, however, of a growing awareness in places of the value of engaging children.

South Africa has a National Plan of Action for Children in South Africa which was coordinated by the Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities, and approved by Cabinet in 2013. It is an important document indicating South Africa’s acceptance of international treaties including the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child but does not address in detail the question of children’s participation in public policy and planning. However, the National Planning Commission, which prepared a National Development Plan (or NDP) in 2012, has launched an initiative called the Children’s NDP. This is an innovative initiative aimed at affirming children’s citizenship and agency.

The case for children’s participation relates to all forms of future-oriented policy making and planning. This Practice Note however deals specifically with the children’s participation in spatial planning and design development processes that help shape the future form of our towns and cities and is targeted at government officials and private sector professionals in the built environment sector. The Note provides a bit of theory, an introduction to some precedent on engaging children, and some guidance on the process and content of child-friendly planning and design.

COVID-19 governance, leadership and decision-making in Gauteng

In mid-2020, shortly after the first COVID-19 wave, GCRO was asked by the Gauteng Provincial Government's Office of the Premier, working with the Government Technical Advisory Centre (GTAC) to contribute to a 'deep dive case study' on Gauteng's response to the pandemic. GCRO was requested to look at aspects of governance, leadership and decision-making. This component of the case study was completed in January 2021 and integrated with other sections exploring, inter alia, the Province's health response, economic response, communications, and so on.

GCR Water Security Perspective

The water crisis experienced in Cape Town between 2016 and 2018, as well as other areas in South Africa, has raised questions around water security in the Gauteng City-Region. Cape Town has shown how quickly a large metropolitan area can enter a crisis if it is not prepared. As the GCR's population and economy continue to grow there is a need to continually review whether the region is water secure enough to sustain its people and ongoing prosperity.

In light of this the Office of the Premier in the Gauteng Provincial Government asked the GCRO to assist it in developing a Water Security Perspective for the Gauteng City-Region. The aim was to develop a perspective that frames the water challenges facing Gauteng, and the ways in which these challenges can be addressed. This would then lay a foundation for more detailed water security planning. GCRO worked with a team of water specialists including Pegasys Consulting and Mike Muller from the Wits School of Governance. The Water Security Perspective was completed in July 2018. Minor adjustments have been made to the version downloadable here, dated August 2019.

Gauteng can only claim to be water secure when all its residents have affordable access to safe and reliable water supplies, are not at risk of flooding, and have access to safely managed and dignified sanitation services. This will not be achieved by action in the water sector alone. The Water Security Perspective for the GCR outlines the region's sources of water and the hydrological systems on which these depend. It considers how the region's wastewaters are managed and the implications this has for adjacent parts of the country. It then considers the performance of the key institutions that supply, purify and distribute our water, and identifies some of the emerging challenges that face the GCR if it is to achieve, and then sustain, water security.

See GCRO's project page on ongoing water security research, here.

The Gauteng City-Region Observatory: A Case Study

This case study on the Gauteng City Region Observatory (GCRO) discusses the collaboration between provincial government and partner universities and was commissioned by the Department of Planning Monitoring and Evaluation in the Presidency to inform the development of similar policy research initiatives elsewhere in the country. The study outlines the purposes driving the formation of the GCRO, the principles informing its constitution and the ways in which it has delivered on its mandate since 2008.

The case study shows what is possible to achieve when using the resources in academia to support the development agenda of the public sector, and when there is commitment from government to generating evidence for policy-making. An important element of the partnership is dedication to building in-depth knowledge and identifying long-term trends. The GCRO is an exemplar of how the use of data and research can be increased in policy development and implementation. While the government partners are the primary clients, the research outputs are publicly available.

Gauteng 2055: A discussion document on the long-term development plan for the Gauteng City-Region

Between 2011 and 2013 GCRO provided research support to the Gauteng Planning Commission (GPC) for an emerging long-term development strategy for the city-region, known as G2055. During this time GCRO supported the preparation of a G2055 Discussion Document, providing maps, data and drafting on specific sections. The G2055 Discussion Document was launched on 24 May 2012.

OECD Territorial Reviews: The Gauteng City-Region, South Africa

"With 22% of the national population (11.2 million inhabitants), the Gauteng city-region is the largest and richest region in South Africa, contributing to one-third of national GDP. The area encompasses a series of connected cities, including Johannesburg and the national capital of Tshwane (formerly Pretoria), that function as a single, integrated region. Gauteng has been South Africa’s growth engine: for every additional 1% growth in population in the province, 1.6% is added to its contribution to national growth, implying higher productivity than in other parts of the country. Nevertheless, the city-region’s growth potential is constrained by deep socio-economic challenges, including high unemployment (26.9%) and low productivity growth. Its rapid demographic and economic development has also reinforced the spatial segregation instituted under apartheid.

Against the backdrop of South Africa’s achievements since the fall of apartheid, this Review evaluates measures to position economic development policy and to confront economic inequality in Gauteng. The issues of adequate housing as a catalyst of economic development and a vehicle for socioeconomic integration, transport mobility and public service delivery are examined in detail. The Review also assesses the economic growth potential of the manufacturing and green sectors, as well as governance issues, focussing on the potential of intergovernmental collaboration in advancing a cross-cutting regional approach for Gauteng.”

For more information on GCRO's contribution, go to the OECD project page.

Gauteng Growth Employment and Development Strategy (GGEDS)

The GCRO’s work on the responses of cities and city-regions to the global financial crisis indicated that creating ‘green jobs’, and investing in a low carbon future, would be key to counter-cyclical spending world-wide. As a result the Gauteng MEC for Economic Development, Firoz Cachalia, asked GCRO to draft a ‘green economy’ strategy to feed into the evolving Gauteng Growth Employment and Development Strategy (GGEDS). GCRO co-ordinated the project, which involved Prof Mark Swilling and his team from the Sustainability Institute in Stellenbosch, colleagues from the Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies, and Frank Spencer of G-Tech Energy.

A detailed strategy - ‘A developmental green economy for Gauteng’ - was presented to the MEC for Economic Development in January 2010. In April 2010, based on this work, GCRO was asked to assist the Department of Economic Development and the Advisor to the MEC to finalise the Gauteng Employment Growth and Development Strategy (GEGDS). This involved giving strategic advice on possible content and edits on drafts of the document.

Strategy for a developmental green economy for Gauteng

Late in 2009, the MEC for Economic Development in Gauteng, Hon Firoz Cachalia, approached the GCRO to develop a ‘green economy’ strategy for the province, as part of a broader Gauteng Growth Employment and Development Strategy (GGEDS). Although colloquially referred to as the ‘green jobs’ strategy, this is really about sustainable development.

The strategy is summarised up front, in some 20 pages of key points, economic impact, job creation, and related data. Thereafter, each key initiative is developed in greater detail, and the reader can follow the argument, modelling and outputs in greater detail. The strategy also summarises South Africa’s ‘green’ commitments – the policy framework within which the document has been written – and ends with both some international comparative examples, and alternative funding options available to support the green strategy.