Gqeberha

Gqeberha's city centre and harbour form a focal point for transport routes across Nelson Mandela Bay. The Baakens and Swartkops river valleys have influenced both settlement and movement, with crossings and changes in level shaping connections between urban areas. Development has extended north-west towards the other centres of the metropolitan area.

The municipality's spatial framework documents the separation of residential districts, the growth of commercial activity outside the historic centre and the resulting dependence on vehicle travel. More recent government proposals seek mixed-use development and better-located housing along the N2 corridor. These plans address the continuing effects of dispersed growth and apartheid spatial divisions in a city whose coastal, river and transport geography remains important to its form.