Library
One library, two publishers.
Glensburg Town Planners writes for property owners, developers and the people who advise them, on the planning law and the process that decide what a property may be used for.Its research arm, the Glensburg Cities Institute, studies how African cities are planned and regulated. The work of both is listed here, each piece as it is published.
5 publications
Latest
Briefing 2026/02
The Johannesburg Land Use Scheme: What Changed and What Applies Now
Since 1 July 2026, land in Johannesburg has been governed by the City of Johannesburg Land Use Scheme, 2018, as amended 2025.
- Law stated as at
- 21 min read
Briefing 2026/01
The Johannesburg Municipal Planning By-law: What Changed and What Applies Now
Since 3 April 2024, new land development applications have been made under the City of Johannesburg Municipal Planning By-law, 2016, as amended in 2023. What the amendments changed, who they affect, and what the text leaves unresolved.
- Law stated as at
- 14 min read
Guide No. 3
Student Accommodation Zoning in South Africa: A Landlord's Guide
What approval you need before you let a house, flat or building to students, how the rules differ in four cities, and why NSFAS accreditation is a separate question.
- Updated
- 21 min read
Guide No. 2
Best Town Planners in Johannesburg: How to Choose the Right One
What to check, what to ask and what to avoid before appointing a town planner in Johannesburg, with the law and the City’s own procedures as the yardstick.
- Updated
- 16 min read
Guide No. 1
Rezoning in South Africa: A Practical Guide
How rezoning works under SPLUMA and municipal by-laws: the process, realistic timeframes, costs, objections and appeals, with Johannesburg worked in detail.
- Updated
- 31 min read
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Eight formats, two publishers
Each format answers a different question
Start from your question: what changed, how the process works, how a matter was decided, or what the research shows. The foot of each format says how it is dated, numbered or published.
Glensburg Town Planners
Guidance for working within the planning system
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What changed?
Briefings
Each Briefing explains a change to the law or policy that governs land use (a by-law amended, a scheme replaced, a judgment handed down), when it took effect and where it applies.
Glensburg BriefingNumbered by year, with the law stated as at a date
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How does it work?
Guides
The planning process explained for owners and developers: when an application is needed, what the municipality looks at, how long it usually takes, and what to look for in a planner.
Glensburg GuideNumbered in sequence, with the date of the last update
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How was it decided?
Case Notes
Accounts of decided applications, appeals and judgments from the public record: what was asked for, what was decided, and the reasons given.
None published yet
Glensburg Case NoteNumbered by year, cited to the decision
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What does it mean?
Commentary
The practice’s reading of planning policy and practice, argued on technical grounds and kept clear of party politics.
None published yet
Glensburg CommentaryDated, with the policy or proposal named
Glensburg Cities Institute
Research on how African cities are planned and regulated
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What is the argument?
Essays
Analytical pieces of three to six thousand words, each arguing one question with evidence: about a regulatory instrument, a planning system or a comparison between cities.
None published yet
GCI EssayDated and referenced, with a stated review date
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What does the research show so far?
Working Papers
Research in progress, published to be argued with. Working papers carry a version number, invite comment, and are superseded rather than deleted when a later version or a journal article appears.
None published yet
GCI Working PaperNumbered by year, and versioned
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What did the study find?
Reports
Structured studies with a stated question, a method, findings and recommendations. Reports may be commissioned by cities, agencies or funders, who are named on the first page.
None published yet
GCI ReportNumbered by year, with the method stated
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What is the argument, in full?
Books
Book-length arguments, each its author’s own, published under the Institute’s imprint.
None published yet
Glensburg PressFormerly African Urban Institute Press
Editorial standards
How each piece is written and kept
These rules apply to every piece published here, the practice’s and the Institute’s.
- Dated
- Each piece is dated, and shows the date of any later revision that changed what it says. A working paper also gives its version.
- Law stated as at
- A Briefing states the law as it stood on a given date. A change after that date is not in it until the Briefing is revised or replaced.
- Sourced
- A piece that relies on a statute, a notice or a decision cites it by its official title and number, and lists its sources.
- Superseded, not removed
- When a later piece replaces one, the earlier piece stays at its address, marked as superseded, with a link to its replacement.
- No promised outcomes
- No publication quotes an approval rate for the practice, guarantees a timeframe or forecasts how a municipality will decide an application. A typical duration is given as a range, not a promise; a statutory period, as the law sets it.
- Not advice on a property
- No publication is advice on a particular property. How the law applies to one depends on its title deed, its zoning and its history, which a planner has to check.
Practice publications are written and published by Glensburg Town Planners. The Institute also holds itself to standards of its own, on independence, review and corrections. A question about a practice publication is welcome at planning@glensburg.co.za; one about the Institute’s work, at the same address, with the subject “Institute enquiry”.
Tell us about your property
The first consultation is free and carries no obligation. If your property does not need an application, we will say so.
What happens next
- TodayYou tell us about the propertyThe street address or erf number, and what you want to do.
- Within one working dayA planner replies
- First consultation, freeYou know where you standThe application route, the likely timeline, and what the municipality will want to see.