The City of Cape Town and stakeholders to tackle rapid urbanisation beyond 2050. The Urban Planning and Design Department is hosting a two-day Planning Indaba where the officials will collaborate with the professionals from the private sector, academics, NGOs and colleagues from neighbouring municipalities and state-owned entities about the revision of the Land Use Model.
City’s intention is to produce a spatial perspective from the possible impact of long-term population growth on engineering and community facility infrastructure. The outcomes of the Land Use Model will inform the Master and Sector Planning processes where the medium to long-term operational and capital budgets are determined.
Planning Indaba
Indaba is being hosted at Kelvin Grove for two days, where it will welcome more than 180 representatives from the public and private sector that will exchange ideas, information and assumptions about the population growth, urbanisation and possible long-term scenarios of the Cape Town.
The city officials from the Urban Planning and Design Department will present the latest planning and spatial data, of the officials from other directorates, including Urban Mobility, Human Settlements, Economic Development, Infrastructure Planning and Environmental Management will give presentations on their strategies for urbanisation and role in implementing the spatial vision of the city.
Representatives from the other spheres of government, academia and the private sector are joining the city officials to facilitate work sessions on various topics related to the assumptions for future planning, the impact of urbanisation and growth management.
Land Use Model
It is the fourth edition of the city Land Use Model, and in the 2025 process, the project will consider the previous version generated in 2020 that was compiled in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. The model needs to be updated with new trends, estimates and assumptions that has emerged, considering the input from the stakeholders at the Planning Indaba that will assist the City of Cape Town with this task.
Apart from guiding the spatial policies of the city such as the Municipal Spatial Development Framework and District Spatial Development Frameworks. The Land Use Model informs the long-term planning of the city for engineering services.
The Engineering Services relate to the infrastructure that is needed to provide essential basic services such as roads, water and sanitation, electricity, public housing, community facilities, schools and health facilities.
Member of the Mayoral Committee for Spatial Planning and Environment – Alderman Eddie Andrews stated that soon, Cape Town’s population will pass the count of seven million by the year 2050.
Considering this, the City of Cape Town must plan as best as it can for the population growth and its associated needs. The growth must also be managed to ensure the right development that happens in the right places, as they protect the precious natural and heritage resources, that they invest in new infrastructure and upgrade the existing infrastructure to meet the demands of a growing city.
Besides from improving the resilience climate change of the Cape Town, these spatial planning tools must also guide the strategy and action plans that are leading towards greater inclusivity and spatial justice by improving the quality of life for all the residents.