Abstract
Urban renewal and inner city regeneration have become serious for the South African government which has invested in several structures to stem the tide of decline in its nine major cities. Commitment to alleviation of poverty has become very high on the government agenda and will stay one of the focal points of government. This is motivated by the fact that, currently around 24% of the population lives on less than $1 a day, below the poverty line defined by the World Bank. The CentraI Government has made numerous public commitments to development, a part of it concerning extensive infrastructure investment and service delivery. The paper will firstly explore the concept of sustainable development. The paper then looks at some past experiences in relation to public works programmes. Furthermore the paper will outline the challenges and problems of urban renewal projects in Johannesburg. Finally the paper closes with some recommendations for the future.