Published every five years and coninciding with municipal election cycles, this report covers nine South African cities (Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, City of Cape Town, City of Ekurhuleni, City of Joburg, City of Tshwane, eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, Msunduzi Local Municipality, and Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality), is borne out of a close collaborative relationship among the country’s urban actors across all spheres of life.

The first edition, in 2004, provides a first-of-its-kind overview of how the nine largest cities in the country had performed between 1996 and 2001 against the thematic ideals of productivity, inclusivity, sustainability and good governance. It became a key reference work for public policy development across the spheres of government, strategic planning (particularly by provinces and the cities) and further academic work by a range of researchers.