Abstract
The ways in which cities function and are governed matter economically. While the growing literature on ‘global cities’ shows that city governments often pursue economic competitiveness, not much work has been done on whether the formal powers and competencies of cities and towns, as well as the ways in which these are wielded, are conducive to the achievement of developmental and socio-economic objectives. This article considers the interactions and interdependencies between local government law, urban governance, developmental objectives and formal as well as informal cross-border trade between cities in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. While supporting increased devolution of local government powers, it cautions that cities of SADC must take care to wield their powers in ways that ensure the economic flourishing of the majority of their inhabitants. In particular, this requires a change of mindset in relation to the municipal regulation of informal economic activity.
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Note
This article grew from a presentation during a research exchange visit at the World Trade Institute (WTI) in Bern, Switzerland, during November-December 2017. The visit was enabled by the Swiss Secretariat for Economic Cooperation (SECO), the WTI Academic Cooperation Program and the Mandela Institute in the School of Law at the University of the Witwatersrand. A version was also presented at ‘Spaces and Flows: Ninth International Conference on Urban and Extra-Urban Studies’ in Heidelberg, Germany in October 2018. I am grateful for the comments of Rodrigo Polanco, Clarence Siziba, Alexander Beyleveld, Elisa Fornale and other participants at these events.
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