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Business clustering along the M1-N3-N1 corridor between Johannesburg and Pretoria, South Africa


X Pillay
H.S. Geyer

Abstract

As a communication axis between Pretoria and Johannesburg the Old Pretoria Main Road always served as a linear force of attraction of urban development. This force was subsequently strengthened, first by the construction of the M1 and N1 motorways and later by the N3. Anecdotal evidence points to these sections of the motorways being one of the fastest-growing urban corridors in South Africa. Using available aerial photography, together with the information from zoning and cadastral data, footprints of buildings within a 500 metre buffer from the centre line of the corridor were established. These footprints were used to identify 15 areas in which significant clusters of industry, commerce and services occur. A survey, combining different sources of information was subsequently conducted to distinguish between different groups of businesses along the corridor. Based on this information the types and rates of business clustering along these sections of the corridor from 2001 to 2012 were determined.

Keywords: Urban morphology; business clustering; corridor development; metropolitan development


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eISSN: 2225-8531