Border Towns: an Overview
Presented at the ZIRUP Annual School
2013: Beitbridge
Percy Toriro
ptoriro@yahoo.co.uk
Definition
• A border town is a town or city close to the
boundary between two countries, states or
regions.
• Usually the term implies that it is one of the
things the town is most famous for.
• Border towns can have highly cosmopolitan
communities, a feature they share with port
cities.
• They can also be flashpoints for international
conflict
• (Wikipedia)
Zimbabwe border towns...
Federalism and Borders
• Where there is a federal system of
governance, there can be borders between
states inside a country
• This is not common in Southern Africa
(Nigeria)
• USA is a good example
Characteristics of Border Towns..
• There is a dominance of businesses and
industries that support the following:
– Warehousing
– Immigration
– Trade in foreign/imported goods
– Freight
– Clearing agencies
– Many transit vehicles (parking and movement)
• The town can also assume the character of the
neighbouring country
A character of the neighbour...
Services beyond its requirements
South African Border with Lesotho
Bostwana/SA Border
Culture
• Very cosmopolitan
• Demonstrates the extent of the hinterland
• Footprint very diverse
Borders, Towns, Complexity, & Conflict
Special Challenges of Border Towns
• Crime
• Infrastructure & Services
– Planning and providing for local, regional,
national, and international clientelle
– Beitbridge population approx 45000 res
• Mismatch between expectations and capacity
• Cohesion between local and international
agencies
Meeting the challenges of border
towns
• Joint planning..Vic Falls-Livingstone
coordination on environmental issues to
safeguard World Heritage status
• Beira Corridor Group in the 80s and early 90s
• SA Mpumalanga-Maputo corridor
• Limpopo Spatial Development Initiative?
Examples of Transborder Initiatives..
Beira Corridor
Limpopo Spatial Initiative
Border towns by the sea
• Borders can differ
– Sea ports (Cape Town, Walvis Bay, Maputo,
Durban)
– Airports (International: Joburg, Harare, Nairobi)
• These have completely different planning and
governance challenges
Border Town or Town near a border??
• There is a difference between a town near a
border and a typical border town
• Vic Falls
• Nyamapanda
• Plumtree
• Beitbridge (Africa’s busiest road border)
• The differences mean the focus, pressures, and
requirements also differ