Spatial economic data: to transform policy and planning in South Africa

Abstract

South Africa is the most unequal country in the world, with uneven concentrations of wealth and income reflecting the spatial legacy of apartheid. Yet, a lack of granular data about spatial economic activity has hampered accountability and co-ordination in the government about the what and where of local jobs and investment. With the launch of the Spatial Economic Activity Data: South Africa (SEAD-SA) initiative, economic data at the level of neighbourhoods, cities and municipalities are now available to inform policy and planning for the first time. At the launch in June, representatives from academia, the national government, public agencies and city governments gathered to discuss the implications of this ground-breaking initiative.