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VOTING WITH THEIR FEET: POPULATION TRENDS AND POLICY-MAKING IN THE FREE STATE

ABSTRACT Apartheid planning significantly influenced settlement patterns and urbanisation trends in South Africa. In many cases, black urbanisation was channelled to former homeland areas. With the demise of apartheid and the normalisation of black urbanisation, new trends started to emerge. This paper examines post-apartheid demographic trends in the Free State and argues that these aspects should be more rigorously considered in future regional planning. In essence, homeland growth has been replaced by the growth in small and medium-sized towns—mainly due to farm worker urbanisation. Despite this trend, large numbers of people are still residing in former homeland areas. The cultural connection with Lesotho also results in an influx of Lesotho citizens to the Free State. HIV/AIDS is and will remain prominent in the Free State's future demographic trends. White people are also leaving the Free State in large numbers.