While most cities around the world struggle with inequality, in Johannesburg, South Africa, the challenge is compounded by the legacy of apartheid, which leaves a legacy of segregation between its predominantly black, disadvantaged areas and its historically white, prosperous neighborhoods.

After apartheid, the reformed national government focused on anti-apartheid planning efforts by expanding access to basic services - but city officials left out an important component in their definition of "basic services": transportation.

For example, subsidized units were built at the edge of the city; informal settlements, known as "townships," received improved water and electricity services, but were disconnected from the city's core, where jobs were located. Commutes were long, expensive and dangerous. Commuters spent more than 35 percent of their income on transport alone, sometimes traveling 4 hours with multiple minibus transfers to reach a job. With little pedestrian infrastructure, risks of accidents and road deaths remained high.

In 2013, former Mayor Parks Tau founded the City of Johannesburg's flagship Transit-Oriented Development initiative, called the Corridors of Freedom. The project kicked off what would become a core tenet of Johannesburg's strategic and spatial planning. Through the framework of Transit-Oriented Development, investments were to go to transit access and urban regeneration, public improvements that were historically neglected relative to other basic services.

Another aim was to redevelop areas into denser, mixed-income, more affordable neighborhoods. Instead of affordable housing units on the edge of town, the city partnered with private developers to integrate affordable housing options into their redevelopment plans along the Corridors of Freedom.

 In light of historical distrust between the city and the private sector, planners designed detailed precinct-level proposals for the Corridors of Freedom to ease the process for private sector investors. (This technical capacity in the City of Johannesburg's planning is noteworthy.) Examples of private sector interest include a niche group of developers willing to invest in affordable rental housing projects for young professionals.

The city's Transit-Oriented Development approach highlights coordination and collaboration with real estate developers within an overall strategy and vision created by the city. It also illustrates that jobs, housing and transport markets, informal and formal, are closely connected. Finally, it suggests that buy-in and longevity of long-term spatial transformation projects require collaboration between civil society, the public sector and private stakeholders.

Photo by Clodagh Da Paixao on Unsplash