Planning for Disability in eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality

This chapter delves into eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, which is one of the case studies used in this book. The biggest city under the control of eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality is the city of Durban, which is a coastal city on the Indian Ocean. This is the economic hub of KwaZulu-Nal province and attracts migrants from the province and beyond. One attribute which is unique to Durban is its high level of inequality largely reflected by informal housing development dotted around the city. For this reason, Durban is a polarized city which is evidently shown by the manifestation of informality in juxtaposition with formality – thus making it difficult to make provision for those who are vulnerable. Therefore, the thrust of this chapter is to illustrate the level of accessibility for people living with disability to public facilities within the municipality. However, given the size of the municipality, sites for observation were randomly selected with a focus on two major centres in the municipality – being Durban and Pinetown. Data was collected in specific sites associated with commercial and recreational activities within these two areas. Most of these areas, which included shopping malls and beaches (among others), show that the municipality has made strides to make all facilities accessible. Although there are areas that require some improvement, one can argue with certainty that the city’s urban infrastructure creates a more inclusive environment since it provides facilities that are user-friendly to people living with disabilities.