Cities are being tasked with driving spatial transformation. This transformation objective must meet the need for inclusivity, mobility and access, economic development that drives local and national growth prospects and transforms space in a manner that is socially and environmentally sustainable. The introduction of the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (16 of 2013) (SPLUMA) is set to aid
effective and efficient planning and land use management. In the context of the spatial transformation agenda, SPLUMA has been proposed as a possible tool to effect spatial transformation. This study seeks to understand the extent to which SPLUMA could assist in achieving spatial transformation. The study is conducted through three phases including a desktop research phase, interview phase comprising
and a document development phase. While there is no agreed on definition for spatial transformation, it is often considered “a broad term used very loosely in public policy, academic research and popular writing” and in its crudest form is referred to as “major urban change or restructuring” (Turok, 2014:74). For the purposes of this research, a “framework lens” for spatial transformation with four key drivers including economic, social, spatial and governance aspects is explored. Furthermore, SPLUMA is interrogated in terms of four “levers” that could aid spatial transformation. These are:

Lever 1: Principles and normative direction to Spatial Development Frameworks (SDFs) and Land Use Management Schemes (LUMs),

Lever 2: The SDF,

Lever 3: SDF compliance and sector planning/implementation and

Lever 4: SDF compliance and land use management.

The “lenses and levers” helped to form the base structure from which this research is undertaken.