Abstract
Future orientation is mostly taken for granted by municipal planning in South Africa. The study was undertaken to assess the institutional readiness and investigate the extent and manner of engagement with the future in the municipal planning. The Municipal Systems Act (2000) makes it a requirement for municipalities to prepare and adopt Integrated Development Plans that will be a reflection of the municipal long term development vision. The general objective of this study is to explore ways of engaging with the future in municipal planning. The study made use of a qualitative research method wherein both primary and secondary data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews and content analysis respectively. An interview schedule consisting of 16 questions was used when conducting the interviews. Purposive sampling was used targeting officials, councillors and other stakeholders involved in the planning process in the Bushbuckridge Local Municipality. The findings of the study reveal that engagement with the future is very minimal and instead, issues such as uncertainties and urgency in the present are some of the realities that are taking away the future aspect from planning.
M.Ing. (Sustainable Urban Planning and Development)