Redressing inequality in South Africa: The spatial targeting of distressed areas

Uneven geographical development is deeply entrenched in South Africa with apartheid era spatial economic disparities persisting to the present day. This paper examines South Africa’s recent re-engagement with spatial economic interventions designed to help address the challenges faced by the country’s ‘lagging regions’ or what are designated as the ‘distressed areas’. Current moves to support such areas through infrastructural, manufacturing and tourism interventions are detailed and critiqued in this paper.