The need for transport justice in Cape Town and the broader South African context: a review of the literature

Abstract

Historically, towns and cities have developed at easily accessible transport nodes. The macro accessibility focus of cities has not extended to the micro level and accessibility within cities is often problematic. Given the South African context and the legacy of apartheid, cities have been planned and developed, historically, to enforce racial segregation, where communities of colour have been located on the periphery with limited ability to access opportunity elsewhere in the city. Accessibility within cities has been further hindered by the silo-approach of transport and settlement planning. As a result, large unsustainable areas are found in South African cities, which contributes to transport injustice – the inability of marginalised communities to access opportunity, creating social exclusion. The paper aims to review the current literature on social justice, spatial justice and transport justice and how this is applicable to the Cape Town context and, more broadly, the South African context. Included in the review are concepts of intersectionality, Transit Oriented Development, transit corridors and public transport, as all have the ability to promote better social inclusion. The review is part of a broader research project that will focus on the concept of transit deserts and how this can be expanded to measure transport justice.