Abstract
Rapid urbanisation in the City of Johannesburg has intensified the demand for well-located, affordable land to support low-income housing development. While South Africa has significantly progressed in housing delivery since 1994, access to suitable land in urban centres remains one of the most intractable barriers to inclusive urban development. The City of Johannesburg faces acute land constraints, worsened by speculative landholding, weak governance structures, and poor intergovernmental coordination. Post-apartheid housing policies such as Breaking New Ground (BNG) and the National Development Plan (NDP) have aimed to promote integrated human settlements, yet implementation has been hindered by the unavailability of developable land in strategic urban areas. The problem extends beyond physical scarcity and reflects institutional fragmentation, bureaucratic inefficiency, and regulatory bottlenecks that restrict the release of land for affordable housing. This challenge continues to reinforce spatial inequality, limit access to basic services, and perpetuate informal settlements across the metropolitan region. The current study assesses the availability of land for affordable housing development in urban areas, using the City of Johannesburg as a case study. The objectives were to investigate the challenges affecting land availability, determine the factors for consideration in acquiring land for affordable housing, examine the role of government in securing land for low-income housing delivery, and identify ways to mitigate the challenges. The study was motivated by the persistent mismatch between increasing urban housing demand and limited supply of developable land, which undermines spatial justice and equitable access to housing opportunities. The study adopted a quantitative research methodology with a descriptive research design to analyse the relationships between land tenure security, zoning regulations, and infrastructure provision. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire designed from literature insights and distributed electronically to urban planners, municipal officials, developers, and land management stakeholders. The questionnaire used a five-point Likert scale to capture respondents’ levels of agreement on key issues related to land availability. A random probability sampling technique was employed to ensure representativeness, with a total of 59 respondents participating in the study. Data analysis included descriptive and inferential statistics such as frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations to summarise and interpret findings. The reliability for the study was tested using KMO and the Ballert test, while ethical considerations such as anonymity and confidentiality were observed throughout the research process. The study findings revealed that the scarcity of affordable, well-located land for housing in Johannesburg results from multiple interrelated factors. High land prices, speculative holding, limited public land release, weak land administration systems, and inadequate infrastructure provision emerged as major constraints. Restrictive zoning regulations, unclear land ownership records, and bureaucratic delays in land rezoning and service provision further compound the problem. The research also revealed that environmental risks, political interference, and poor urban planning limit land suitability. Conversely, effective government intervention through land-use planning, public land release, infrastructure investment, and public-private partnerships can play a pivotal role in addressing these challenges. The study identified measures such as land banking, flexible zoning, land value capture, and improved governance as key strategies for unlocking land for affordable housing development. The study concludes that the challenge of land availability for affordable housing in Johannesburg is primarily institutional and governance-related rather than physical. It recommends strengthening land administration systems, promoting...