Location analysis of informal businesses along the activity route in the township of Galeshewe, Kimberley

[摘要] Whether the South African public likes it or not, the informal economy is an important part ofmany urban inhabitants' lives, be it as a source of business and income or as a source ofservices to the community. The importance of the informal economy in developing nations isnot truly appreciated or planned for and in many cases is merely seen as a nuisance, thusignorant to the potential that exists in the informal economy.The Galeshewe Activity Route is located in the city of Kimberley and was envisaged to linkthe economic and social nodes of the township Galeshewe through a linear road networkthat would in turn attract investment and business to the areas along the Route. Thedevelopment of the Activity Route has led to an unplanned occurrence of informalbusinesses developing along the Route. Many of these informal businesses tend to beestablished at specific locations on the Route and seem to have thrived for years.The purpose of this research is therefore to add knowledge to the understanding of informalbusinesses. This dissertation aims to determine how factors such as the services andproducts provided by informal businesses, the land use layout of the Galeshewe ActivityRoute along which the informal business are located, and the informal business regulatoryframework influence the decisions informal business owners make in choosing the locationof the ir businesses along the Activity RouteUnderstanding the informal economy better will enlighten our knowledge in relation totownship economics, where the informal economy thrives and a large portion of SouthAfrica's urban population are inhabitants.

[发布机构] University of the Free State