Spatial development initiatives in Southern Africa: The Maputo Development Corridor

Spatial development initiatives (SDIs) are becoming a critical feature in the planning for reconstruction in post‐apartheid South (and Southern) Africa. The SDI programme marks a fundamental break with the trajectories and initiatives for economic and spatial planning of the apartheid past. The objective in this paper is to examine the record and developmental impact of SDI planning in South (ern) Africa through the lens of the most well‐known SDI, the Maputo Development Corridor or Maputo SDI. The cross‐border nature of the Maputo SDI makes it an important case study in terms of a recent shift in focus of the SDI programme towards a greater role for strengthening the regional Southern African economy. It is argued that the case of the Maputo SDI represents one illustration of the construction or configuring of a ‘new regionalism’ in Southern Africa.