From the guest editor

Abstract

PLANNING FRATERNITY IN CONTEMPORARY SOUTH AFRICA
The variety of papers featured in this edition of the Town & Regional Planning Journal point to the complex and vast issues that confront the Planning fraternity in contemporary South Africa. Planning cannot operate in isolation, but must be inexplicably connected to the big issues in society. Is Planning an integral part of statecraft or is it operating at the margins? If politicians continue to view Planning solely as a mere technical exercise, does it have any real prospect of being the driver of change? Likewise, if Planners do not perceive the power of Planning as a political instrument for change, will it ever have any relevance? How does Planning engage with social power? How does Planning address
the spatial divides? Why is spatially focused national planning proving to be so elusive? How is Planning facilitating the involvement and empowerment of communities and society? Why does Planning not precede infrastructure investment decision-making?