Tracking South Africa's changing rural and urban developments

The general absence of accessible, official data, on new developments and ongoing projects in residential, commercial and industrial areas, along with the rapidly evolving infrastructure and creation of unauthorised constructions, is a challenge for various sectors and companies. This lack of information hampers their ability to plan effectively, make informed business decisions, allocate resources efficiently, and mitigate risks appropriately.

Current data on new developments serve various purposes, such as population estimates, migration patterns, assessing poverty impacts, analysing land use across sectors, monitoring illegal developments, and addressing urbanisation challenges. Additionally, new development data contribute to evaluating risks associated with natural disasters, assessing insurance claims, devising risk mitigation strategies, identifying potential development sites, determining property values, and analysing market trends.

Through innovative technology usage, the GeoTerraImage (GTI) National New Development Index accurately monitors new developments in South Africa monthly, with the capability to increase the frequency to hours, if necessary, in selected areas across the country.

This index provides information on the number and types of new building structures, categorised as informal or formal housing, estates, complexes, or rural developments. This involves accounting for multi-storey flats, and townhouses, along with estimated population data. Additionally, it offers details on the actual land use, whether agricultural, commercial, or industrial, and provides information on the permanency and significance of the new structures.

The National New Development Index system has refined the independent monitoring of new developments in South Africa, maintaining and increasing data on over 30 million residential and non-residential buildings. This system provides accurate and timely information on both the decline or dynamic growth of urban and rural properties and associated buildings in South Africa. It simplifies the tracking of construction progress and timelines by monitoring new developments, noting when they commence, go on hold, or are completed. Additional information is provided on building characteristics, the use of the building, and the number of people who work or live in it.

Enumerating and categorising building structures highlighted interesting observations and new trends. One of these trends is the increase of medium to high-income residential housing units in underdeveloped and rural areas.

In today's dynamic world, proactive monitoring allows us to navigate the intricacies of population growth and urban development, empower rural communities, and manage demographic shifts and housing needs. Through this, we can chart a course towards a more resilient and prosperous future for everyone.