Abstract
Over the past few decades, particularly after the democratic dispensation in South Africa, the state of spatial transformation has not been documented extensively and adequately in the country’s cities. To deliver and promote sustainable development; economically, socially and environmentally; spatial planning is critical in creating more stable and predictable conditions for investment and development. Responsive spatial planning is critical for securing community transformation benefits and promoting the prudent use of land and natural resources for sustainable urban development. The paper aims to assess the strategies, procedures, and elements that inform spatial transformation in developing cities. A bibliometric literature analysis was adopted and applied to the study to examine spatial planning trends in developing cities. The results reveal the right to the city has been used as a tool for developing frameworks to guide spatial planning. These frameworks have been used in the production of space in cities while also allowing planners to understand spatial transformation as a socio-spatial (multidimensional) process. Evidently, spatial planning is an essential tool for promoting sustainable development and improving the quality of life. Overall, the paper recommends the need to develop strategic spatial planning processes as tools for economic bridging plans that can retrofit existing neighbourhoods to improve liveability in cities.