During the last few years urban problems have come to occupy a prominent position in South African politics. The virtual collapse of black local authorities, rent boycotts, the educational crisis, the mushrooming squatter camps on the peripheries of most cities and towns, and the recent acceptance by government that a non-racial system of local government be implemented, all testify to the importance of urban issues. In this book, leading academics and specialists in the field of local government analyse the causes, nature, and challenges of the myriad problems facing South African cities, both now and in the future.