MSDF REVIEW
PHASE 1
SPATIAL ANALYSIS, TRENDS AND IMPLICATIONS
CITY OF CAPE TOWN
April/May 2003
DRAFT
CONSULTANT
Vanessa Watson
CONTRIBUTIONS: DATA, INFORMATION AND ANALYSIS
Spatial Planning: Metrowide
Sharon Pheiffer (Project Manager/Co-ordinator)
Sarah-Jane Peiser
Neil Eybers
Kier Hennessy
Spatial Planning: Information Management
Pauline Van Der Spuy
Ken Sinclair-Smith
Spatial Planning: GIS
Selwyn Willoughby
Tanya Kieswetter
Ross McDonald
Granville van Ross
Environmental Management
Keith Wiseman
Lorraine Smit
Helen Davies
Housing
Basil Davidson
Norah Walker
Jens Kuhn
Ronelle Buis (GIS)
Trading Services: Water and Wastewater
Heinrich Mostert
Gerard de Swart
Anic Smit
Roads, Transport and Stormwater
Wilfred Crous
Ron Kingma
Rodney Steinhofel
James Williams
Gregory Hendricks
Catchment, Stormwater and River Management
Brian Nicholson (Stormwater)
Barry Wood (Stormwater)
Isolle Murray (Stormwater, GIS)
i
Economic Development and Tourism
Carol Wright
Rae Wolpe
Amanda Van Eeden
SPATIAL PLANNING
Acting Head: Carne Blandy
PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT (DEVELOPMENT SERVICES)
Director: Japie Hugo
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1
PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THE DOCUMENT ..................................................................................... 1
2
INFORMANTS OF THE ANALYSIS. ...................................................................................................... 3
2.1
2.2
2.3
3
PLANNING VALUES AND GOALS ................................................................................................ 3
LEGAL REQUIREMENTS REGARDING THE CONTENT AND FORM OF AN SDF ..................... 5
ROLE OF THE SPATIAL PLANNING SYSTEM IN PROMOTING URBAN DEVELOPMENT ....... 6
POPULATION GROWTH AND DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE .................................................................. 8
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
4
POPULATION ..................................................................................................................................... 8
CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL ORGANISATION .......................................................................... 12
SOCIAL ORGANIZATION ................................................................................................................... 13
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................... 13
ECONOMY, EMPLOYMENT AND POVERTY ...................................................................................... 14
4.1
ECONOMY AND EMPLOYMENT .......................................................................................................... 14
4.2
THE CHANGING SPACE-ECONOMY OF CAPE TOWN ............................................................................ 16
4.2.1 Spatial trends in industrial activity ............................................................................................. 17
4.3
SPATIAL TRENDS IN FORMAL OFFICE AND RETAIL ACTIVITY ................................................................ 22
4.3.1 Small business in the CMA ....................................................................................................... 28
4.3.2 Spatial trends in employment distribution ................................................................................. 30
4.3.3 Spatial pattern of informal business .......................................................................................... 38
4.3.4 The Cape Flats and the Metropolitan South East ..................................................................... 42
4.3.5 Spatial trends in public sector investment ................................................................................ 45
4.4
POVERTY ........................................................................................................................................ 52
4.5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................... 57
5
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT .................................................................................................................. 59
5.1
BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................ 59
5.2
AREAS THAT SHOULD BE IDENTIFIED AS ENVIRONMENTALLY IMPORTANT ................... 60
5.2.1 Ecological Resources ............................................................................................................... 60
Primary biodiversity conservation network ............................................................................................ 60
Secondary biodiversity conservation network ........................................................................................ 60
Coastal zone .......................................................................................................................................... 61
River corridors, catchments, floodplains and wetlands ......................................................................... 62
Implications for the SDF .................................................................................................................................... 63
Air pollution ............................................................................................................................................ 63
Fire Risk Management Areas ................................................................................................................ 64
5.2.2 Heritage Resources .................................................................................................................. 65
Urban conservation and heritage areas ............................................................................................................ 65
5.2.3
Economic Resources ................................................................................................................ 66
Agricultural land ................................................................................................................................................ 66
Strategic mineral resources ................................................................................................................... 67
Scenic resources ................................................................................................................................... 67
5.2.3 Geo-Physical Aspects ............................................................................................................... 68
Aquifers and aquifer recharge areas ..................................................................................................... 68
Areas of geo-physical prominence and unstable slopes ....................................................................... 69
5.3
URBAN EDGE AND MOSS STUDIES .......................................................................................... 70
5.3.1 Urban Edge: Current status ...................................................................................................... 70
5.3.2 CMOSS: process, and mapping methodology and criteria ....................................................... 72
5.4
INFORMING THE SDF .................................................................................................................. 73
5.5
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................. 74
6
MOVEMENT AND TRANSPORT PATTERNS ..................................................................................... 77
6.1
LIMITATIONS ON INFORMATION .............................................................................................. 91
6.2
VEHICULAR MOVEMENT PATTERNS ....................................................................................... 92
6.2.1 Slower growth of volumes on historical routes ......................................................................... 97
6.2.2 High growth in volumes on roads connecting the CMA in a N-S direction ............................... 99
6.2.3 Large increases in volumes within the northern sector of the CMA ....................................... 100
iii
6.2.4
Multidirectionality of movement patterns ................................................................................ 101
TIME PERIOD .............................................................................................................................................. 101
AVERAGE PER STATION ........................................................................................................................... 101
6.3
RAIL TRANSPORT ..................................................................................................................... 101
6.4
BUS TRAVEL .............................................................................................................................. 116
6.5
TAXI/MINI-BUS TRAVEL............................................................................................................ 121
6.6
UNDERSTANDING THE DIVERSITY OF TRAVEL NEEDS IN THE CMA .................................................... 121
6.7
SUMMARY OF ISSUES.............................................................................................................. 131
6.7.1 Key operational issues for private transport ........................................................................... 131
6.7.2 Key operational issues for public transport ............................................................................. 131
6.7.3 Key societal issues ................................................................................................................. 131
6.7.4 Key environmental issues ....................................................................................................... 131
6.7.5 Key financial issues ................................................................................................................ 131
6.7.6 Key institutional issues ............................................................................................................ 131
6.8
CONCLUSIONS .......................................................................................................................... 132
7
HOUSING PROVISION AND LAND FOR FUTURE SETTLEMENT .................................................. 133
7.1
THE NATURE OF THE HOUSING PROBLEM ........................................................................... 133
7.2
TYPES OF HOUSING PROVISION IN THE CMA....................................................................... 134
7.2.1 Subsidized housing ................................................................................................................. 135
7.2.2 Informal housing ..................................................................................................................... 139
7.2.3 Private housing sector ............................................................................................................ 141
7.3
FUTURE LAND FOR HOUSING IN THE CMA ........................................................................... 145
7.4
CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................ 146
8
WATER AND WASTE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE ........................................................................ 147
8.1
8.2
8.3
8.4
9
WASTE WATER TREATMENT .................................................................................................. 147
WATER RETICULATION............................................................................................................ 148
WATER SUPPLY ........................................................................................................................ 148
CONCLUSIONS .......................................................................................................................... 148
EVALUATION OF THE SPATIAL STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONING OF THE CMA ..................... 151
9.1
TRENDS RELATING TO CHANGING LAND USE AND SPATIAL STRUCTURE ..................... 151
9.2
ARE THESE TRENDS UNIQUE TO CAPE TOWN?................................................................... 153
9.3
PROBLEMS CAUSED BY THESE PATTERNS AND TRENDS ................................................ 154
9.4
POTENTIALS CONTAINED IN CURRENT PATTERNS AND TRENDS .................................... 157
9.5
REVIEW OF THE MSDF ............................................................................................................. 158
9.5.1 Background to spatial planning in the CMA ............................................................................ 158
9.5.2 Review of MSDF strategies .................................................................................................... 158
9.5.2.1
9.5.2.2
9.6
MSDF Strategies: the urban edge and MOSS ............................................................................. 158
MSDF Strategies: corridors and nodes ........................................................................................ 160
PROPOSED KEY SPATIAL ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED BY AN SDF .................................. 165
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................................. 167
LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE 6.0-1: AGGREGATE WEEKDAY HOURLY TRIP TIMING BY DESTINATION ACTIVITY PURPOSE (N = 84 H) ..................... 125
FIGURE 6.0-2: CASE STUDY AND HOUSEHOLD TIME-SPACE PATH ILLUSTRATING LOWER HOME-BASED TRIP GENERATION IN
OUTER LOCATIONS................................................................................................................................................. 127
FIGURE 6.0-3: CASE STUDY HOUSEHOLD TIME-SPACE PATH ILLUSTRATING HIGHER INCOME HOME-BASED TRIP GENERATION
IN INNER LOCATIONS .............................................................................................................................................. 128
FIGURE 6.0-4: CASE STUDY HOUSEHOLD TIME-SPACE PATH ILLUSTRATING THE IMPACT OF JOB-SEEKING ON PERSONAL TRIP
GENERATION ......................................................................................................................................................... 129
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE 1: POPULATION PROJECTIONS FOR THE CMA, 2001-2013 ......................................................................... 8
TABLE 2: ESTIMATED SIZE OF ANNUAL MIGRATION FLOWS TO THE CMA BY RACE, BY FIVE YEAR AVERAGES ............. 8
TABLE 3: POPULATION BY RACIAL CATEGORY IN THE CMA, 2001 (CAPE METROPOLITAN COUNCIL, 2000B) ......... 12
TABLE 4: ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME, 1996 (STATS SA, 1996) ....................................................................... 12
TABLE 5: SOUTH AFRICA AND THE CMA: AVERAGE ANNUAL REAL GROWTH RATES PER SECTOR 1991-1998 (CITY
OF CAPE TOWN, 2001A). .......................................................................................................................... 14
TABLE 6: SIZE STRUCTURE OF CAPE TOWN‟S BUSINESSES (CITY OF CAPE TOWN, 2001A).................................... 15
TABLE 7: EMPLOYMENT GENERATION BY SECTOR, FORMAL AND INFORMAL, 2000 (CITY OF CAPE TOWN 2001A) ... 15
TABLE 8: MAIN INDUSTRIAL AREAS RANKED BY NUMBER OF RSC LEVY-PAYING BUSINESSES, 2001....................... 17
TABLE 9: INCREASE IN HECTARES OF INDUSTRIAL LAND IN MAIN INDUSTRIAL CENTRES 1988-1998 (TOP 12 AREAS
ONLY) ...................................................................................................................................................... 21
TABLE 10: COMPOSITION OF ACTIVITIES IN MONTAGUE GARDENS, BY SIC CATEGORY (2001) ............................. 22
TABLE 11: MAIN COMMERCIAL AREAS RANKED BY NUMBERS OF RSC LEVY-PAYING BUSINESSES (IN SIC
CATEGORIES 600, 800 AND 900)............................................................................................................... 23
TABLE 12: INCREASE IN HECTARES OF COMMERCIAL LAND USE IN MAIN CENTRES 1988-1998 (TOP 15 AREAS ONLY)
............................................................................................................................................................... 24
TABLE 13: OFFICE RENTALS (R/M2) IN SELECTED AREAS, 2001, RANKED BY CURRENT RENTALS (RODE REPORT,
2001) ...................................................................................................................................................... 27
TABLE 14: DISTRIBUTION OF INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYMENT IN THE CMA, IN MAIN INDUSTRIAL AREAS, 2001 ............... 30
TABLE 15: DISTRIBUTION OF COMMERCIAL EMPLOYMENT IN THE CMA, IN MAIN COMMERCIAL AREAS, 2001 ........... 34
TABLE 16: PROGRESS ON PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR PROJECTS 2001-2002 .................................................. 42
TABLE 17: PROPORTION OF POPULATION GROUP IN THE CMA LIVING BELOW THE HOUSEHOLD SUBSISTENCE LEVEL
OF R14,500 IN 1999 (STATS SA, 1999). ................................................................................................... 52
TABLE 18: PROVINCIAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX: RANK ORDER OF MARGINALISED COMMUNITIES IN THE CMA
BY SDO AS DETERMINED BY THE MARGCOM TOOL (THE HIGHER THE INDEX THE POORER THE COMMUNITY)
............................................................................................................................................................... 54
TABLE 19: CRIME RATES PER 10 000 PEOPLE FOR SELECTED CRIMES (SAPS CRIME STATISTICS) ........................ 57
TABLE 20: NORTHERN METRO: GENERIC CRITERIA AND RULES FOR DEMARCATING THE URBAN EDGE ................ 71
TABLE 21: AGGREGATED FLOWS ON ALL ROUTES, BY TIME PERIOD .................................................................... 101
TABLE 22: BUSIEST BUS ROUTES IN 2000......................................................................................................... 116
TABLE 23: HOUSING TYPES IN THE CMA .......................................................................................................... 134
TABLE 24: OWNERSHIP OF DWELLINGS IN THE CMA ......................................................................................... 135
v
1
PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THE DOCUMENT
In the early 1990s, under the auspices of the Western Cape Regional
Services Council and then the Cape Metropolitan Council, a long-term spatial plan
to guide the growth of metropolitan Cape Town: the Metropolitan Spatial
Development Framework (MSDF) was developed. This responsibility has now
shifted to the Unicity, or the new City of Cape Town. An Interim MSDF Redraft was
adopted as policy by the Council in 2001.
At the same time it was recognised that, for a number of reasons, it was necessary
to initiate a review of the MSDF, and this was placed on the business plan of the
Spatial Planning and Environment Directorate for 2001/2002. The reasons for a
review of the MSDF, and the preparation of a new City SDF, are as follows:

There are new requirements for municipalities to undertake IDPs, which
must contain a spatial plan as one of their components. This link to the IDP
requires a spatial plan to consider locations for short-term actions (within a
longer-term framework). It also requires the spatial plan to be developed in
an integrated way with other sectors or functional arenas.

New legal requirements for municipal spatial planning are currently being
developed (Land Use Management Bill, 2002). These requirements (which
also appear in regulations attached to the Municipal Systems Act of 2000)
specify the nature and content of a Spatial Development Framework (or
SDF), not all elements of which are reflected in the current MSDF. There are
also requirements that a municipal SDF (indicating the public investment
programme) is developed in conjunction with the IDP, and is reviewed every
five years in conjunction with the IDP.

The MSDF is based on information on the spatial trends and problems of
Cape Town collected in the early 1990s. Over the last ten years the spaceeconomy of Cape Town has changed significantly, as has the extent of
information (now available on GIS) on spatial patterns and trends. The
appropriateness of the current spatial plan needs to be considered in relation
to these new patterns and trends.

For the last several years the MSDF has been subject to extensive debate
within the local authorities and institutions of Cape Town, and efforts have
been made to conduct more detailed levels of planning and to implement
elements of the plan (for example the Wetton-Lansdowne Corridor project).
In the process, important lessons have been learned about the desirability
and feasibility of a plan of this kind. These lessons suggest that certain
aspects and elements of the MSDF require revision.

In recent years there have been significant shifts in thinking internationally
about the nature and form of metropolitan plans, and how city growth should
be guided as a response to both the imperatives of globalisation, and the
imperatives of environmental sustainability and marginality. A new spatial
plan for Cape Town needs to reflect on the usefulness of these ideas.
1
This document contains the results of the first, analytical, phase of work on a new
metropolitan spatial plan. Phase 1 was informed by the central aims of:

Understanding current spatial patterns and trends in metropolitan Cape
Town, and drawing implications from these for the quality of life of Cape
Town‟s residents and users, and for the sustainability of the natural
environment.

Understanding the spatial implications of the problems and issues identified
by other directorates in the Cape Town Administration, and the spatial
implications of their sectoral plans.

Establishing a working relationship with staff in other directorates, so that the
spatial plan can develop in an integrated way.
It was intended that Phase 2 of the process would establish the key planning
problems and issues in Cape Town, in collaboration with stakeholders both internal
and external to the City of Cape Town. Phase 3 of the process would involve the
production of the City‟s SDF and supporting proposals, policies and strategies, with
the support of metropolitan stakeholders.
2
2
INFORMANTS OF THE ANALYSIS.
The spatial analysis of Cape Town is informed by a number of important
considerations.
 the values and goals (or principles) which are required to inform planning action,
and must therefore also inform analysis;
 the requirements set out in national legislation determining the contents of an
SDF;
 an understanding of the way in which spatial planning can play a role in urban
development.
2.1
PLANNING VALUES AND GOALS
No analysis is ever value-free: what is chosen for analysis and the way it is
interpreted are fundamentally affected by the values and concerns of those
undertaking the analysis. In the interests of transparency, therefore, planning
values and goals which informed the analysis are clarified at the outset.
It is a legal requirement of the Development Facilitation Act (1995) that all spatial
planning is informed by the norms set out in section 3 of the Act. The Land Use
Management Bill (June 2002) adheres to this approach (sections 5-9) and
establishes the following principles:

The principle of equality, meaning that everyone affected by planning
actions should enjoy equal protection and benefits, and should not be
discriminated against.

The principle of efficiency, meaning that results should be achieved with the
best use of available resources. It is also taken to imply that spatial
development should be compact and sprawl avoided, and that living and
working areas should be close together.

The principle of integration, referring to co-ordination between spatial
planning and land use management, and similar developments in other
spheres of government; integration with services and transport infrastructure;
integration of persons from diverse backgrounds, integration of modes of
movement; and mixed land use development.

The principle of environmental sustainability, defined as the sustainable
management and use of the resources making up the natural and built
environment. Planning must ensure that land is used and developed only in
accordance with the law, that public interest must be promoted over private
interests, that disaster management must be taken into account, that natural,
environmental and cultural resources must be protected, and that the use of
prime agricultural land must be preserved.

The principle of fair and good governance requires that planning and land
use management must be democratic, participatory and legitimate.
3
Significantly, the development principles which informed the MSDF coincide very
closely with the Land Use Management Bill principles, and they remained one
aspect of the MSDF over which there was very little disagreement. Two additional
concerns expressed in the MSDF (Redraft Report, 2001) should be retained to
inform the next spatial planning initiative:

A need to balance both the meeting of basic needs of the population of
Cape Town and the promotion of economic growth and development1;

The need to create quality urban environments through design
intervention.
Finally, there is a growing recognition in the international planning literature that a
new guiding concern for planning needs to be: “the recognition of diversity and
difference” in terms of the population being planned for. This position recognises
that societies are increasingly multi-cultural, and that planning solutions which work
for one part of the population may not necessarily work for all. Diversity of needs,
cultural expression and lifestyles must be identified, must be regarded as valuable,
and must be used as an informant for planning.
Planning values: World Report on the Urban Future 21, Berlin 2000
People living in cities will want:
 Satisfying work that yields sufficiency of income and freedom from
poverty;
 Living in well-integrated societies with stable social networks, which
recognize the force of tradition and preserve their links with the past,
yet are poised to adjust to new challenges;
 Existing in a state of ecological harmony and balance with the wider
natural environment;
 Having adequate mobility to reach work, shops, children‟s schools,
friends and recreational opportunities;
 Acting as citizens within a political system that offers balanced
representation of interests and values;
 Served with adequate public services from sewers to schools,
respecting the basic needs of all people living in the city;
 And dwelling in a built environment that preserves tradition but serves
the needs of modern economic life and modern lifestyles.
1
Noting that a clear position needs to be taken on this choice, and that it cannot be simplistically assumed that
promotion of economic growth will result in the „trickle down‟ of benefits to the poor: this is rarely the case.
4
2.2
LEGAL REQUIREMENTS REGARDING THE CONTENT AND FORM OF
AN SDF
Both the Land Use Management Bill (June 2002) and the Regulations of the
Municipal Systems Act (in slightly different form) set out the required contents of a
Municipal SDF. This in turn has implications for the contents of this analysis. The
Land Use Management Bill (June 2002) requires:




A status quo report on land use in the municipal area and an indication of
spatial dysfunctionalities which exist.
A conceptual framework reflecting desired spatial growth patterns.
A multi-sector based spatial plan, to achieve desired spatial goals, including
the correction of spatial imbalances and the integration of disadvantaged
persons, linkage between settlement and transport infrastructure, and
A vacant land analysis which identifies strategically located vacant land, its
ownership, zoning, value, surrounding land use, geotechnical conditions and
most suitable use.
Section 21 of the Bill states that the SDF does not lapse with the IDP of which it is
part. This implies acceptance of the SDF as a long term spatial plan, focussing on
the nature and direction of urban growth, as well as shorter term, spatialised, goals
and products, including a capital investment framework, tied to the IDP and budget.
The Local Government: Municipal Planning and Performance Management
Regulations (2001) of the Municipal Systems Act (2000), chapter 2 (section 4), also
sets out requirements for an SDF.
 It must give effect to the principles contained in the Development Facilitation
Act of 1995.
 It must set out objectives that reflect the desired spatial form of the
municipality.
 It must contain strategies and policies which indicate desired patterns of land
use, address the spatial reconstruction of the municipality, and provide
strategic guidance on the location and nature of development.
 Set out guidelines for a land use management system.
 Set out a capital investment framework
 Contain an SEA of the spatial development framework.
 Identify programs and projects for the development of land.
 Provide a visual representation of the desired spatial pattern which must
show:
o Where public and private land development and infrastructure should
occur
o Desired or undesired utilisation of space in a particular area
o Areas where strategic intervention is required
o Where priority spending is required
o An SDF may delineate an urban edge.
5
The implications of these requirements and of the guiding principles are that the
analysis phase of an SDF must include:
 The pattern and trends of major land uses such as commercial, industrial
and housing, and how movement occurs between such uses.
 From the above, an understanding of spatial imbalances of land uses and
the extent to which integration has occurred. Implied here is an evaluation of
the spatial structure of the municipality and how this is related to economic,
social, environmental and infrastructural problems.
 An analysis of strategic vacant land and its potential.
 An analysis of the natural and cultural resource base of the municipality
which will indicate areas where urban development is not desirable as well
as the need for an urban edge.
 The input of information and strategies from other departmental sectors, in
order to achieve a multi-sector based spatial plan. Thus particular problems
and issues raised by departments involved in housing, infrastructure,
economic development, environment and transport need to be incorporated
into the analysis.
 Provide information on areas to be protected and areas where intensification
is likely to occur, to inform a lower order of spatial plans, and the Land Use
Management System.
Note: the identification of priority problems in terms of spatial structure (which will in
turn inform short term projects and spending) is seen to be the task of Phase 2.
2.3
ROLE OF THE SPATIAL PLANNING SYSTEM IN PROMOTING URBAN
DEVELOPMENT
There is now a realisation amongst planners worldwide (Cars et al, 2002)
that, for cities to perform well in a global economy, it is necessary to pay attention to
the quality of physical “place”, and particularly the physical image and identity which
a city presents to the outside world. They also realise that for cities to perform
economically, what counts is not just a good economic policy, sound infrastructure,
or an efficient transport system (although these are important in their own right), but
it is the way in which these various aspects of the city work together to create a
particular social and economic “milieux”, that makes it attractive to investors. What
both investors and city residents seek is a meshing of the various functional
aspects of a city to create particular place qualities which make both good living
environments and a good place to do business. This requires co-ordination around
the kind of place which the public authorities are helping to shape.
There are also more obvious reasons why this kind of functional co-ordination is
necessary, and that is because different functional aspects of the city can
undermine and negate each other if not co-ordinated. Thus good economic policies
are of little use in attracting investors if the environment is badly deteriorated, or if
the basic infrastructure is poor. This is particularly important in Cape Town where
the focus on the tourist industry can only work if environmental quality is
maintained.
6
The spatial planning system is essentially a resource which can assist the other line
function departments in meeting their own goals, through helping to create a
synergy between different departmental policies, and ensuring that land use is
managed in a way which is in keeping with these policies.
To do this the spatial planning system operates in a “horizontal” way, to serve as a
mechanism to co-ordinate the spatial elements of departmental policies, and to
express this in a “forward” plan (the SDF). Departmental goals, once they are coordinated, together with the SDF, are then properly fed into the municipal budget
mechanism through the IDP process.
The spatial planning system also operates in a “vertical” way, through its Land
Management System, to ensure that land is used in a way which is compatible with
the goals of the various departments and the SDF. This legal control over the use of
land is a particularly important resource for other line function departments.
It is important therefore, that the spatial plan is not seen as a separate area of
policy formation which can over-ride or contradict other line function plans. It is a
mechanism for meshing these plans, around the question of quality of place, and
which can in turn support efforts to place Cape Town on the global map, while
creating quality living environments for its citizens.
“Spatial planning is a social practice through
which those concerned with the qualities of
places and the spatial organization of urban
regions collaborate to produce strategies, policies
and plans to help guide specific decisions in
order to regulate and invest in development
activity”.
(Patsy Healey, 1998).
7
3
POPULATION GROWTH AND DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE
3.1
Population
Currently some 3,1 million people live within the Cape Town municipality
(Cape Metropolitan Council, 2000b). With 50% of this population aged 26 or
younger, and an in-migration rate of 1,1% pa, the population can be expected to
grow rapidly. Growth could, however, be strongly affected by the impact of Aids.
Depending on assumptions regarding the impact of Aids and in-migration rates, this
report (appendix 7) projects the following middle, high and low population
scenarios:
Table 1: Population Projections for the CMA, 2001-2013
Middle
2001
Total 3,15m
2006
3,54
2011
3,82
2016
3,99
2021
4,11
2026
4,20
2031
4,25
2006
3,64
2011
4,00
2016
4,29
2021
4,53
2026
4,76
2031
4,97
2006
3,44
2011
3,36
2016
3,70
2021
3,70
2026
3,64
2031
3,53
High
2001
Total 3,18m
Low
2001
Total 3,12m
The “middle” scenario predicts the need to accommodate some 670 000 additional
people in Cape Town over the next 10 years and a million in the next 20 years, and
assumes a growth rate of 1% pa. By 2031 the Black population is expected to
exceed (just) the Coloured population (each accounting for approximately 40% of
the total CMA population), suggesting a growing dominance of the poorer sector of
the population.
In-migration
The following table contains estimates of current annual migration flows to the
CMA, by race (Cape Metropolitan Council, 1999b).
Table 2: Estimated size of annual migration flows to the CMA by race, by five year averages
Race
Coloured
Black
White
1984 - 88
8 000
22 000
12 000
1989 - 93
10 000
37 000
10 000
1994 - 98
8 000
22 000
19 000
The following points from the report and the above table are of relevance:

Coloured in-migration remains low. Those moving into the CMA are mainly
victims of job loss in the Western Cape rural areas or small towns. Given
high levels of overcrowding in existing formal coloured township areas
(household sizes of 5,1 in these areas are the largest found in the CMA),
these in-migrants tend to move into informal settlements.
8
Map 3-1: DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION DENSITIES IN THE CMA, 1996
9
Map 3-2: DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION IN THE CMA BY RACE GROUP, 1996
10

Black migration rates have dropped from their peak in the 1989-93 years.
Most come from former homeland areas in the Eastern Cape. Future inmigration rates will depend significantly on the health of the rural economy in
this area and are thus not expected to drop. While in the past, circular
migration patterns (between the city and rural areas) were a dominant
feature, the Cross report (Cape Metropolitan Council, 1999b) suggests that
roughly half of those moving to Cape Town stated an intention to return to
the rural areas on retirement. The authors suggest that given slow economic
growth in the E Cape, far fewer than this will actually return, and off-spring
born in the CMA are even less likely to do so.
In-migrants find accommodation relatively easily, on a temporary basis with
contacts or in one of the informal settlements.

White in-migration has increased significantly. They are reported to be a
wealthy, skilled and highly mobile group, generally past their reproductive
age, and largely of rural origin. Most tend to seek up-market accommodation
on large plots in the wealthy suburbs of Cape Town, thus fuelling the
demand for peripheral residential land.
Distribution of population within the CMA
Map 3.1 indicates the distribution of population densities across the CMA in 1996,
and Map 3.2 indicates both spatial concentrations of population and their
breakdown by racial category. Map 3.1 indicates the relatively high levels of
population density which exist in the older coloured and African townships of the
Cape Flats. Densities are far lower are in the traditionally wealthy and white
residential areas, particularly those located on the urban periphery, but also in the
newer planned and formal townships of Blue Downs and Delft. Depending on
constraints provided by the natural environment, by service limitations, and the
desire to preserve a certain „character‟ in particular parts of the city, it is these
peripheral areas which potentially could contain higher concentrations of future
population.
Map 3.2 indicates the concentration of population in Cape Town within a triangular
wedge extending from the CBD to the metropolitan south-east: historically the
segregated townships. It also indicates the dominance in this wedge of the coloured
and African population, suggesting that the apartheid-based division of racial
groups in Cape Town still persist. While certain spatial units on the map show a
limited degree of racial mixing, many of the units show a strong dominance of one
or other race group.
11
3.2
Cultural Diversity and Social Organisation
The purpose of this section is not to analyse culture and social organization
in Cape Town in any detail, but simply to point to the importance of cultural diversity
as an informant for planning, and to review the current state of community
organization as an informant for processes of participation around the plan.
Cultural diversity
Culture is a complex and ever-changing phenomenon, and it is recognised that
people can assume or create different cultural identities, or even multiple identities,
depending on circumstances. But it is also now recognised (particularly in larger
cities of the world, subject to extensive in-migration) that cultural and interest-group
differences tend to persist over time, demanding a shift from the “melting-pot”
approach to city development (which assumes that such differences will disappear
as people assume a uniform “urban” identity) to the “rainbow” approach (which
argues that cultural differences be recognised, understood and accommodated in
planning terms).
The main determinants of cultural difference and identity are religion, race,
ethnicity, language, income and place of origin (including urban/rural links). In these
terms, the population of Cape Town is far from homogenous:
Table 3: Population by Racial Category in the CMA, 2001 (Cape Metropolitan Council, 2000b)
Population
Asian
47 602
Black
994 201
Coloured
1 459 934
White
685 200
Total
3 186 938
Table 4: Annual Household Income, 1996 (Stats SA, 1996)
Income(R)
1- 12 000
12 00142 00196 001360 000+
42 000
96 000
360 000
% h/holds
20,4
39,0
25,6
14,3
0,8
Note: R 12 000 pa per household defined the Household Subsistence Level in 1996.
Recent research on identity in the Western Cape and Cape Town (see Bekker et al,
2000) identified adherence to the ethnic/religious groupings of Muslims and Griquas
as primary determinants of identity, and to language, class and locality as
secondary markers, for others. Racial identity still appears to play an important role,
and a particularly strong role when it comes to attitudes to non-South African
Africans, sometimes expressed as xenophobia. Amongst the more marginalized of
Cape Town‟s population, racial and ethnic identity were more important, as were
divisions between those in formal housing and those in informal settlements.
In planning terms, the recognition of cultural diversity implies the need to examine
assumptions underlying many of the spatial constructs and built forms which
planners take for granted, but which may be informed by a particular and possibly
Westernised view of the world. Issues which have already been raised in the
context of Cape Town include: different attitudes to death held by different religious
groups, and how this informs cemetery planning; how to accommodate rituals such
as Xhosa initiation, which demands a particular kind of open space; and how to
accommodate income generating activities such as urban agriculture and livestockkeeping in a metropolitan area.
12
3.3
Social Organization
The MSDF was, in 1994 and 1995, subject to a highly inclusive public
participation process which took place through the Western Cape Economic
Development Forum. All major metropolitan stakeholders (statutory and nonstatutory) were represented on the Urban Development Commission of the
WCEDF, and both the plan problem statement and the proposals were the subject
of numerous meetings and workshops over a two-year period. It is highly unlikely
that a process of this magnitude could be organised and sustained around the
production of a new SDF, one reason being that levels of civic organisation in
township areas have declined significantly since 1994 (Cherry et al, 2000).
Recent research in Gugulethu (Cherry et al, 2000) shows that there is still a high
level of civic involvement at the local (particularly street committee) level. While
14% of respondents in Gugulethu said they were members of a civic and 27% said
they attended civic meetings, a much higher proportion (27%) said they were
members of street committees and 58% had recently attended a street committee
meeting. It is at the level of the overarching civic bodies (such as SANCO) where
there appear to be perceptions of declining support, and part of this, the research
suggests, may be due to their „competition‟ with political parties and local
councillors. With the councillors potentially able to assist access to state resources
and decision-making, they are often viewed as more powerful at the overarching
level.
A recent report by Common Ground (City of Cape Town, 2001b) gives clear
guidance on current approaches to participation in spatial planning. In keeping with
thinking internationally, it points to the necessity of consultation and networking
even in the problem identification phase of the plan. This document has not been
subject to such processes, and should therefore be seen as a partial and expert
driven view of the spatial dynamics and problems in Cape Town
3.4
Conclusion
Middle range population projections indicate that Cape Town will have to
accommodate some 1 million people over the next 20 years, and that a growing
proportion of these people will be poor. This places major demands on the public
sector in terms of providing land, shelter and services. It also implies that either a
commitment will have to be made to building at higher densities and using land
more efficiently, or undue pressure will be placed on the urban edge and MOSS in
the medium term.
Cape Town‟s population is also highly diverse in terms of both race and culture, and
there is little indication that the population will become significantly more
homogenous. Spatially, these groups have tended to remain separate from each
other in the years since 1994, offering a major challenge to planning strategies
which attempt to achieve a more integrated city.
Despite the decline in the strength of civil society post 1994, there are still grassroots organizations and their umbrella bodies which are operating. If an SDF is to
gain political acceptance amongst the wider public of Cape Town, it is essential that
such organizations, together with bodies such as labour and business, are involved
along with political representatives in debating the plan.
13
4
ECONOMY, EMPLOYMENT AND POVERTY
4.1
Economy and Employment
The economy of the CMA, second largest in the country after Johannesburg,
is a relatively diversified one: manufacturing, trade and catering, services and
finance and real estate contribute 84% of total output. Since 1980 the CMAs
economic growth has occurred at higher rates than the national average, but in
1999 and 2000 real growth fell behind the national average. This was due to slower
growth in several of the larger economic sectors, in particular manufacturing,
finance and real estate, agriculture and transport and communications, and a shift
towards financial and professional services and the trade and tourism sector. Table
4.1 indicates sector growth relative to the rest of the country.
Table 5: South Africa and the CMA: Average Annual Real Growth Rates Per Sector 1991-1998
(City of Cape Town, 2001a).
Sector
Transport and Communication
Trade, Catering incl. Tourism
Mining and Quarrying
Construction
Finance and Business Services
Electricity and Water
Manufacturing*
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
Social Services
Total average
Annual Averages 1991-1998, %
Cape Town
South Africa
4,6
7,1
4,2
1,3
4,1
-0,5
3,6
-0,2
2,6
5,3
2,5
2,9
3,8
1,1
1,4
0,2
-0,1
0,0
2,5
2,1
* Within manufacturing, the high growth sectors during this period were: electronics and electrical
products (9,5%), metal and steel (8,0%), beverages (6,5%), and wood and furniture (5,4%).
These shifts in sectoral performance in Cape Town have been brought about
largely by national policy shifts, in particular the opening up of domestic markets to
foreign competition and hence a decline in sectors such as textiles, and also by the
greater degree of communication with the global economy and hence the growth of
sectors such as tourism and the film industry. However, the extent to which the
Cape Town economy is integrated into the global economy should not be
exaggerated. The Unicity Commission Report (2001: 22) reports that South Africa
has only one “world city”, Johannesburg, and that Cape Town shows “minimal
evidence” of becoming a world city and may best be classified as “partially
marketised”. In 2000 the entire Western Cape Province attracted only 7% of total
Foreign Direct Investment received by South Africa as a whole. The reason for this
is the low level of industrial, mining and manufacturing industry in the Western
Cape, which secures the major flows of FDI in other provinces (Wesgro‟s Business
Prospects, 2000). Other sectors such as tourism and the film industry did, however,
succeed in attracting forex earnings: tourism generates about R 14 billion and the
film industry R 500m.
14
In terms of future economic growth, well-performing sectors are expected to be
trade and catering (including tourism and conferences), manufacturing (especially
beverages and tobacco, electrical machinery, and rubber and plastics), transport
and communications and construction. Wesgro has identified growth potential in the
sectors of tourism, education and training, information and communications
technology, health, medical services and equipment and film and media. Statistics
show a 16% growth in tourist arrivals in Cape Town during the 2001 season, with its
current 6% contribution to the gross regional product predicted to increase to 10%
in the next few years. Other niche industries have been identified as fashion
clothing, jewellery, wine, bio-technology, boat building, ship repairs and natural gas
(City of Cape Town, 2001a).
Also of significance to Cape Town‟s economic structure is the very large number
and importance of small businesses. The smallest two categories of business (see
Table below) make up 90% of all firms, contribute 50% to economic output and
40% to total formal employment (City of Cape Town, 2001a). Table 4.2 sets out the
size structure of Cape Town‟s businesses:
Table 6: Size structure of Cape Town’s businesses (City of Cape Town, 2001a)
Size
Average No. Employees
% of Total
100-200 +
50-100
10-50
less
3%
4%
22%
71%
Large
Medium
Small
Very small and micro
The figures above include a large and growing informal sector which employs 22%
of the labour force and contributes 12% to economic output (City of Cape Town,
2001a). This trend has important spatial implications, as many such small
businesses are run from home, or from cheaper decentralised premises.
By 2000, Cape Town‟s labour force was 1 334 666, and employment in both the
formal and informal sector was estimated at 1 094 426. Table 4.3 indicates the
employment generated by the various economic sectors, with manufacturing, trade
and tourism and social services as the main job generators:
Table 7: Employment generation by sector, formal and informal, 2000 (City of Cape Town
2001a)
Sector
Manufacturing
Trade and tourism
Social services
Finance and business services
Construction
Transport
Electricity
% Employment
27,2
23,9
22,3
10,8
07,6
06,7
00,5
15
It has been argued (Unicity Commission Report, 2001) that a further important
process has been the informalisation of previously formal employment
opportunities, suggesting a change in job quality over and above changes in
quantity. There has been a growing use by formal companies of independent
contractors and casual and piece-workers, with the latter happening especially in
the building and clothing industries. This in turn could begin to explain the
proliferation of small businesses in the CMA.
Of concern is the fact that the largest job generating sector, manufacturing, has
experienced slowed growth, and those sectors expected to perform well are likely to
increasingly shift their demands away from unskilled labour and towards medium
and high skilled workers. This in turn has important spatial implications, with more
job opportunities opening up for residents in the wealthier parts of the CMA and
fewer in the poorer areas.
4.2
The changing space-economy of Cape Town
Changes in the relative growth of the various economic sectors, along with
changing locational requirements, have had major implications for where in the
CMA investment is taking place. In broad terms, there has been some
decentralisation of formal business from the CBD and the traditional corridors of
Cape Town (although not of sufficient significance to threaten the economy of these
areas) and a shift towards the northern parts of the city, in particular to
Bellville/Durbanville and to Milnerton/Blaauwberg. New commercial activity has
been attracted to those areas with good road access, appropriate infrastructure,
amenity, safety, a good “public image” and a skilled and professional labour force.
On the other hand, the Cape Flats and the metropolitan south east has produced
smaller “islands” of development (Mitchells Plain Town Centre, Athlone, and Airport
Industria) but on the whole it remains an area which is avoided by larger, formal
commercial and industrial concerns. The result has been growing spatial disparities,
building on the pattern set during the apartheid years, between the wealthy north
and western parts of the city (and the Helderberg) and the south east of the city.
This reflects trends in many other cities of the world (Soja, 1995; Borja and
Castells, 1997) and is an indication of the growing integration between Cape Town
and the global economy. The following sections consider the spatial patterns being
set by industry, retail and services, the small business and informal sector, and the
public sector.
The spatial distribution of formal industry, retail and services has been mapped, for
the first time, drawing on information provided by the RSC Levy. This levy is applied
to all registered businesses in the CMA and includes a payroll tax and a turnover
tax. Each business is also required to submit information on the nature of the
business (by SIC code2), the address of the business, and the number of
employees. Inevitably, there are limitations on the reliability and completeness of
this data base. Many small and informal businesses evade registration for the RSC
levy, and it is estimated that perhaps another 20% of businesses which do pay the
levy are not properly captured on the database. It is also not yet possible to detect
trends in the spatial distribution of businesses, as only data for 2001 has so far
2
The main codes are: 3: Manufacturing; 6: Wholesale and retail trade, motor vehicle repair, hotels and
restuarants; 8: Financial, insurance, real estate and business services; 9: Community, social and personal
services (largely the public sector).
16
been captured. Other sources of information, such as the uptake of land for
different uses, has been used to give some indication of trends.
4.2.1 Spatial trends in industrial activity
At the turn of the century, industry in Cape Town clustered around the CBD
and thereafter in Woodstock and Salt River. With the increasing scale of
manufacturing plants in the mid century, a search for larger, cheaper erven led to
the opening up of specialised industrial areas in Maitland, Paarden Island, then
Epping and later on the eastern edge of the city in Brakenfell, Blackheath and
Somerset West. Rail access was an important determinant of location. Atlantis
Industria, opened in the 1970s, was a particular apartheid creation linked to the
attempted deconcentration of the coloured population from Cape Town.
The current pattern of industrial activity reflects a concentration stretching from the
CBD, through Woodstock/Salt River and along the northern railway line through
Epping, Parow, Bellville, Brackenfell and to Blackheath. Newer industrial areas
close to this northern band are Montague and Killarney Gardens in Milnerton and
the much smaller Airport industrial area. There is a scattering of smaller industrial
concentrations in the Southern Suburbs, along the Lansdowne Corridor, and in the
Helderberg. Table 4.4 indicates the number of RSC levy payers from the main
industrial areas:
Table 8: Main industrial areas ranked by number of RSC levy-paying businesses, 2001
Industrial area
Montague Gardens
Salt River
Maitland
Paarden Island
Epping
Parow
Lansdowne
Bellville
Brackenfell
Goodwood
Strand
Stickland
Ottery
Blackheath
Number of records
(ie levy payers)
870
766
701
664
616
362
361
276
275
264
261
249
239
210
Note: the other industrial areas all have less than 100 records. Business totals in these areas include all SIC
categories, But the areas have predominantly manufacturing (SIC 300) activity.
Map 4.1 indicates the footprints of the main industrial areas in the CMA, and
referred to in table 4.4.
17
Map
4.1: FOOTPRINT
OF INDUSTRIAL
AREAS
MAP
4.1: Footprint
of Industrial
Areas
18
Map 4.2 shows the distribution of all RSC levy payers in the categories: agriculture,
hunting, forestry and fishing; mining and quarrying, manufacturing, electricity, gas
and water supply; and transport, storage and communications. This map indicates
the main industrial concentrations shown in Map 4.1, and a degree of clustering
along Voortrekker, Main and Koeberg Roads. Significantly, however it also shows
the extent to which these activities have become highly distributed through what are
usually considered to be residential areas. Evident from this map is the extent to
which the poorer and less well-located township areas (primarily the historically
African areas) have little in the way of RSC paying industrial activities. Here
industrial activity is likely to be smaller and informal, or may be avoiding capture in
the RSC levy database.
Current trends in terms of industrial activity are as follows:

the continued but slow growth in the demand for larger manufacturing sites in
specialised peripheral estates, particularly in Brackenfell and Blackheath. Here
the availability of cheaper land and good road access continue to attract
investment (Metropolitan Development Consortium, 1998);

a new, but still small, growth in warehousing and storage facilities linked
particularly to the international airport. The Airports Company of South Africa is
currently developing land to attract extensive further investment, including
freight, parcel and cargo centres, industrial and warehousing;

rapid growth in new industries in the Milnerton/Blaauwberg area, where
industrial estates such as Montague Gardens and Killarney Gardens have
attracted investment. These are light industries, and mixed in terms of products.
They require good road access, amenity, security and smaller, flexible premises.

some new growth in high tech, specialised and niche market industries,
requiring specialised premises which are smaller, and well-located relative to
access routes, business and finance services, a skilled labour force, amenity
and “image”. The northern part of the CMA has been the destination for these
activities, and Capricorn Park may be in future. Within the CBD, an E-Business
area has been identified, and attempts will be made to attract IT activities.

In other well located industrial areas, such as Paarden Island, there has been a
retro-fitting of premises, where there is a shift from heavy to light industry.
Paarden Island had prime industrial rental rates 13% higher than the CMA
average in 1996, and current proposed port development could increase the
attractiveness of this area (Metropolitan Development Consortium, 1998);

There has been a continued lack of growth in industrial areas on the Cape Flats,
such as Philippi Industria, where lack of support from financial institutions, crime
and poor image continue to keep investment away.
19
Map 4.2: DISTRIBUTION OF RSC LEVY PAYERS PER ERF IN AGRICULTURE, MINING,
MANUFACTURING, ELECTRICITY AND TRANSPORT
20
Table 4.5 gives just one, partial indicator of growth in industrial areas: the increase
in the number of hectares of land used. This measure can be misleading, in that
growth in some areas has been space extensive, but has involved few additional
businesses. However, it does indicate that growth continues to occur in the older,
peripheral estates (eg Epping, Blackheath, Brackenfell), mostly related to
Voortrekker Rd, and that there has been a significant increase in new businesses in
Milnerton‟s Montague Gardens, where land use is far more intensive (268 levy
payers compared to Blackheath‟s 97).
Table 9: Increase in hectares of industrial land in main industrial centres 1988-1998 (top 12
areas only)
Industrial Area
1988
1998
181,7
274,1
Growth (ha)
1988-98
195,3 *)
116,8
No. RSC
levy payers
32
870
(Philippi
Montague
Gardens
Blackheath
Brackenfell
Epping
Strand
Parow
Stikland
Ottery
Kraaifontein
Killarney
Gardens
Airport Industria
106,9
157,3
115,8
58,4
385,9
45,5
111,0
043,3
040,5
012,0
189,4
168,8
107,0
396,3
72,3
135,4
067,2
061,9
032,7
210,0
052,9
048,6
027,3
026,8
024,4
023,9
021,4
020,7
020,6
210
275
616
261
362
249
239
25
178
026,9
047,2
020,4
113
Source: City of Cape Town: Spatial Planning Information Management
*This is misleading. There are only 32 establishments in Philippi, of which a number are retail outlets
or wholesalers. The quantity of zoned industrial land increased, but it is used at very low intensity.
Note: the increase in land in hectares refers to land actually used, not just land zoned .
Table 4.6 indicates, for one of the largest and fastest growing industrial areas
(Montague Gardens), the kinds of establishments to be found there. There is a
great diversity of activities, premises are space-intensive, and they have been
attracted by good security, good road access – to the N1 and the CBD – and
amenity. They are the more profitable concerns which can afford land prices which
are higher than any other industrial estate.
21
Table 10: Composition of activities in Montague Gardens, by SIC category (2001)
Sector
3. Manufacturing
Sub-sector
300-4
312-322
323-325
330-335
337
338
351-355
356-357
358
361-366
384-387
391
6. Wholesale and
retail, vehicle repair
h/hold goods, restaurants 611
612
613
614-619
620-624
626-632
642
8. Financial, insurance,
business services
800-821
840-841
880
882
Description
foods
textiles, leather, wood
paper and printing
chemicals
rubber
plastics
iron and steel, metal
machinery
household appliances
electrical
boats and transport equip.
furniture
Number
7
10
4
11
2
3
20
6
3
6
4
3 T=79
wholesale (contract basis)
food/tobacco
h/hold goods
Wholesale waste, machinery
retail
repair / motor repair
restaurants
14
3
3
14
32
29
8 T=103
financial services
real estate
other business
Architects and engineers
10
21
13
10 T=54
Note – some minor categories have not been included.
Source: RSC Levy database – City of Cape Town, Economic Development and Tourism
4.2.2 Spatial trends in formal office and retail activity
Historically office and retail activity was concentrated in the CBD of Cape
Town. As the city grew along Voortrekker and Main Roads, retail in particular
followed these routes, developing clusters at points where accessibility (due to rail
stations or route intersections) was higher. Retail, and later office, concentrations
grew to form lesser nodes in Rondebosch, Claremont, Wynberg and Bellville.
Bellville/Durbanville and Claremont subsequently developed into major sub-centres.
Other minor clusters of office and retail developed along those routes which
extended out to the Cape Flats (Athlone business district and Gatesville on
Klipfontein Rd) and along Lansdowne and Ottery Roads, and at locations which
developed because of market demand at locations remote from the CBD and subcentres. Mitchell‟s Plain Town Centre and the Strand/Somerset West commercial
centres fit this category. Predictably, retail outlets are more widespread and
scattered than office, which tends to concentrate in the main commercial nodes.
There has also been a recent tendency towards large shopping mall developments
in locations which have good freeway access: the largest of these have been to the
north of the city (Century City, N1 City) with lesser ones centred on “hypermarket”
food outlets (eg at Ottery and Brackenfell).
22
Writing about American cities Knox (1993: 2) points
to “new development by ex-urban corridors, office
parks, business campuses, privately-planned
residential communities, and outlying commercial
centres big enough to be called „edge cities‟. Many
of these have grown up on greenfield sites near
interstate junctions….”
The current pattern of retail, office and service (mainly public sector) activity (see
table 4.7 below) shows the continued strong dominance of the CBD, which has
three times the number of RSC levy-paying establishments to the next centre of
importance – Bellville/Durbanville. The high number of records in Salt River shows
the strong locational attraction of the area adjacent to the CBD: 35% of all
commercial levy payers are to be found in the CBD and adjacent Salt River.
Beyond these areas, the importance of the Claremont node is clear, and thereafter
Strand and Somerset West.
More generally, commercial activities cluster strongly around the historically
wealthier parts of the CMA, with concentrations in Bellville/Durbanville, Milnerton,
Parow, Goodwood and Vasco indicating their dominance in the northern part of the
CMA. Only two areas stand out on the Cape Flats: Athlone CBD and the much
smaller Mitchell‟s Plain shopping centres. Map 4.3 shows the footprints of the areas
referred to in the table.
Table 11: Main commercial areas ranked by numbers of RSC levy-paying businesses (in SIC
categories 600, 800 and 900)
Commercial area
CBD
Bellville/Durbanville
Claremont/Newlands/Rondebosch
Salt River
Somerset West/Strand
Parow/Parow E
Green and Seapoint
Milnerton/Bothasig (incl Century City)
Wynberg
Goodwood
Athlone/Rylands
Plumstead
Retreat/Steenberg
Maitland
Mitchells Plain
Vasco (incl. N1 City)
Tableview
Elsies River
No of levy payers
3,707
1,378
892
760
749
446
389
359
347
344
318
274
210
182
173
150
145
139
23
Maps 4.4 and 4.5 indicate the spatial pattern of these activities. Retail and
wholesale clusters in the central city area, and then closely follows the established
corridors of Voortrekker Rd, Durbanville, Koeberg Rd and Milnerton, Main Rd, and
the routes leading out onto the Cape Flats (Klipfontein Rd and Lansdowne/Ottery
Roads). Somerset West/Strand is an important cluster as well. Mitchell‟s Plain is the
only clear centre of retail on the Cape Flats. There is also, however, a widespread
distribution of retail in the traditionally residential areas, but less so within the poorer
townships.
The Financial map (4.4) (including as well, real estate, IT consultancies, general
business activities, accounting, professional consultants etc – SIC 800), again
shows a high level of clustering in the main business centres, but also a spread
within the residential areas (working from home) clustering in the residential areas
in the northern suburbs, southern suburbs and the Helderberg.
Working from home is a growing trend. In the
United States in 2001, 15% of the workforce (or
20 million people) undertook some or all of their
work from home. This figure continues to grow.
Planetizen Website (planetizen.com), August
2002
An indication of areas which have been growing in spatial terms is given in Table
4.8 below (in the absence of trend data from the RSC Levy database, this is the
only indication available).
Table 12: Increase in hectares of commercial land use in main centres 1988-1998 (top 15
areas only)
Commercial area
Milnerton/Bothasig (incl
Century City)
Vasco Estate (incl N1 City)
Bellville/Durbanville
Mitchell‟s Plain
Strand/S. West
CBD
Stickland
Ottery (including
hypermarkets)
Brackenfell (incl
hypermarket)
Eerste Rivier
Kommetjie/Ocean View
Khayelitsha
AECI (Somerset Mall)
Kraaifontein
1988
1998
Growth (ha)
1988-98
No. of
levy payers (SIC
600, 800, 900)
35,9
67,3
31,4
359
09,8
55,7
18,4
86,9
139,2
21,2
17,2
38,1
82,4
43,3
109,5
156,2
38,1
32,8
28,3
26,7
24,9
22,6
17,0
16,9
15,6
150
1378
173
749
3707
109
94
29,2
42,8
13,6
123
3,7
15,0
1,8
42,2
29,9
14,8
19,9
11,4
50,7
37,9
11,1
10,2
09,6
08,5
8,0
36
25
5
54
90
Source: City of Cape Town: Spatial Planning Information Management
24
Map 4.3: FOOTPRINT OF COMMERCIAL AREAS
25
Map 4.4: DISTRIBUTION OF RSC LEVY PAYERS PER ERF IN THE FINANCIAL SECTOR
26
Table 4.8 indicates the significant growth in commercial land which has taken place
particularly to the north and north-east of the city (Milnerton, Vasco, Bellville, and
Stickland, Brackenfell and Eerste Rivier to the north-east). It also indicates the
extent to which commercial growth is happening in areas away from the established
corridors (Milnerton, Vasco, Ottery and Brackenfell). Consumer markets well away
from these areas (Mitchell‟s Plain, Strand and AECI, Kommetjie) are supporting
more commercial (primarily retail) activity. Significantly as well, the CBD is still
registering some expansion, although only 20 000 sq. m of new office space
(excluding upgrades) has come on stream here in the last seven years, compared
to 115 000 sq. m in the previous seven years.
The strong emphasis on commercial land growth north of Voortrekker Rd is shown
by the fact that total land expansion in this (smaller, both in land and population
terms) part of the city has been 170,7 ha (1988-1998), compared to 153,6 ha south
of Voortrekker Rd. This calculation excludes the CBD, Atlantis in the far north and
the Helderberg commercial areas.
A more detailed understanding of the health of the various commercial centres can
be gained from information on office rentals and vacancy rates (see Rode Reports
and database). Table 4.9 indicates office rentals for 2001 and their rates of change:
Table 13: Office rentals (R/m2) in selected areas, 2001, ranked by current rentals (Rode
Report, 2001)
Area
Granger Bay (Waterfront)
Century City (Milnerton)
Claremont central
Claremont upper
Rondebosch/Newlands
V&A Portswood
(Waterfront)
Tygervalley
Pinelands
Durbanville
CBD
Wynberg
Bellville CBD
2001 level
R/m2
85,41
85,12
81,41
74,90
74,83
72,87
Change 1998-2001
69,78
69,05
59,61
56,46
45,50
41,53
+ 39%
+ 13%
+ 26%
+ 20,4%
+ 18%
+ 21,5%
+ 47%
+ 33%
+ 19%
+ 11,5%
Those areas in demand for office investment are to a large extent the newly
developing commercial areas, well provided with security, good access and
amenity. The Waterfront, Century City and Tygervalley-Durbanville are obvious
candidates here and the increase in market rentals in Tygervalley during the latter
half of 2001 (4,42%) were amongst the highest in the country. There are moreover,
indications that the top office areas are beginning to specialise (Weekend Argus
25/5/2002). Claremont is increasingly home to bank head offices and the financial
sector (the attractions being its centrality, good road access, restaurants and sports
facilities, and upmarket residential areas and schools). Cape Town CBD and the
Waterfront office areas have been attracting A-grade office users from elsewhere in
the CMA, particularly those that need to be in the CBD and have staff using public
27
transport to travel to work. And Century City and Tygervalley are showing growth
largely on the back of IT and management services functions. In both of these
areas there is a trend towards “smart buildings” with fibre-optic cabling.
Some of the older established commercial areas (eg. Rondebosch and Pinelands)
continue to be in demand. Significantly the CBD is commanding lower rentals than
many other centres (due to parking problems, and continuing “crime and grime”
concerns), and has a higher level of office vacancy (10% for A grade and 20% for B
grade), but it continues to be the only CBD in the country where demand for space
has not collapsed (Rode, 2002). Rode notes3 that take-up of A and B grade office
rental (a key indicator of health) in the CBD is currently good, and that the CBD is
showing recovery, even if not strong growth.
A recent survey of CBD business by Market Decisions (City Views, 8, 2002)
showed that compared to 2001, grocery purchasing in the CBD was up by 6% and
clothing by 10%. Significantly more respondents in the survey were asking for more
supermarkets, clothing stores, furniture stores and restaurants. 13% more
respondents (up to 65%) were doing all personal banking in the CBD and new bank
branches have opened. More people were stating that they would like to live in the
CBD.
It is likely that the Waterfront development to the west of the CBD, together with
major new investments on the northern edge of the CBD (the convention centre and
the port) will continue to support demand for office and retail activity here and may
well escalate demand, thus reinforcing the traditionally highly centralised nature of
the CMA.
There may be at present an excess of retail space supply in the CMA because of
the desire of large retail chains to secure a location in each new major shopping
mall that comes on-stream, regardless of volumes of consumer demand. The
inevitable result is that outlets in the older centres suffer (Cape Town Partnership,
2001).
4.2.3 Small business in the CMA
Table 4.2 indicated that some 93% of formal and informal businesses in
Cape Town employ less than 50 people. They may, however, be large in terms of
turnover. Map 4.6 indicates the distribution of small (formal) businesses in the CMA,
registered on the RSC Levy database and employing less than 50 people. The map
shows a remarkable scattering of business activities outside of the established
commercial and industrial areas, and throughout the residential areas. Many of
these are probably home-based activities. The lower density of registered
businesses in the south-east is likely to be an indication that small businesses are
not registering for the RSC levy, rather than an absence of businesses per se.
3
Presentation on the CBD, Breakwater Lodge, 29/10/2002
28
Map 4.5: DISTRIBUTION OF RSC LEVY PAYERS IN THE SMALL BUSINESS SECTOR
29
What the map suggests is that businesses and the employment opportunities
attached to them are not as highly centralised in the older established nodes and
corridors as previous analyses may have indicated. While larger, formal
establishments are strongly clustered into these areas (see below), a significant
proportion of activities (perhaps well over half) are not.
4.2.4 Spatial trends in employment distribution
Table 4.10 below, derived from the RSC levy data, indicates the distribution
of employment amongst the main industrial areas in Cape Town. Map 4.7 indicates
this pattern visually. Employment figures are for all SICs, but these areas provide
mainly industrial employment.
Table 14: Distribution of industrial employment in the CMA, in main industrial areas, 2001
Industrial area
Epping
Salt River
Maitland
Bellville
Montague Gardens
Lansdowne
Paarden Island
Parow
Goodwood
Ottery
Blackheath
Retreat
Brackenfell
Stickland
Strand
No. of employees
28,874
18,164
17,163
12,601
9,717
8,871
8,259
7,978
7,390
5,131
4,760
3,705
3,123
2,998
2,795
Total jobs in all these areas: 154,257
Table 4.10 and map 4.7 show the concentration of industrial jobs in the central and
northern parts of the CMA. Industrial establishments in the central area of Salt River
and Maitland, in Epping, and in the northern suburbs (but excluding Atlantis) total
121,027 or 78% of industrial jobs in estates. There is a further significant
concentration in the Lansdowne and Ottery industrial areas. Areas which show a
large number of industrial levy payers (such as Montague Gardens, see table 4.6)
are not necessarily matched by numbers of employees due to the more capital
intensive nature of industries in these locations, and an area which has shown
recent rapid growth in area, Airport Industria, provides relatively few jobs due to the
space extensive nature of activities (the areas contains primarily storage and
warehousing facilities).
No information is available to indicate a breakdown of the level of skills required in
these various areas. However it can be assumed that many of the industrial areas
showing recent growth (those in the central and northern parts of the CMA, and to
some extent in Strand) tend to be more capital and skills intensive, providing jobs to
medium to highly skilled workers. The implication of this is that on the Cape Flats,
where lower skilled workers are concentrated, there is also little growth in labour
intensive industries providing jobs for unskilled or low-skilled workers.
30
Map 4.6a: EMPLOYMENT BY RSC LEVY PAYERS IN INDUSTRIAL AREAS
31
Map 4-7b: EMPLOYMENT GROWTH BY RSC LEVY PAYERS IN INDUSTRIAL AREAS
33
Importantly, however, many industrial jobs are not to be found in the above listed
industrial estates. If the total number of jobs (formal and informal) in the CMA is
1,094,426 (2000) and 27,2% of these are in manufacturing (City of Cape Town,
2001), then it would suggest that some 48% of these jobs (143,426) occur outside
of the formal industrial areas of the CMA. It is likely that these jobs are scattered
within and around the commercial centres and corridors of the CMA and scattered
within the residential areas. Map 4.6, which shows the distribution of levy paying
small business (of all kinds) – but excludes non-levy paying and more informal
businesses -- gives some support to the idea that many of these industrial jobs may
well be scattered outside of established commercial and industrial areas.
Table 4.11 below indicates the distribution of employment in the main commercial
areas of the CMA, within the footprints of commercial areas defined on Map 4.3.
Employment figures are for RSC levy-paying businesses only, and cover SICs 600,
800 and 900 (wholesale and retail trade, finance and business services, and
services).
Table 15: Distribution of commercial employment in the CMA, in main commercial areas, 2001
Commercial area
CBD
Bellville central, S, W &
Durbanville
Salt River
Strand/Somerset West
Claremont/Newlands/Rondebosch
Constantia
Milnerton/Bothasig
Parow/Parow East
Athlone/Rylands/Crawford
Maitland
Epping Industria 2
Brackenfell
Goodwood
Pinelands
Greenpoint/Seapoint
Wynberg
Ottery
No. of employees
39,531
16,245
13,245
5,371
4,634
3,401
3,397
2,627
2,172
1,971
1,988
1,616
1,616
1,613
1,577
1,539
1,138
* Other commercial areas employ less than 1100.
The high degree of centralisation of these jobs in the CBD is evident, with this area
employing double the number of people than the next largest Bellville/Durbanville
area. If the adjacent Salt River/Woodstock area is added to the CBD, then this
central part of the CMA provides 52,776 retail, office and service sector jobs, or
44% of all employment recorded by RSC levy-payers in SIC categories 600, 800
and 900. The pattern looks a little different if RSC recorded jobs in the
CBD/Woodstock/Salt River area are taken as a percentage of all jobs in this retail,
office and service sector for the CMA. City of Cape Town (2001a) estimates that
there are 623,822 formal and informal jobs in these sectors, which means that the
34
Map 4.7a: EMPLOYMENT BY RSC LEVY PAYERS IN COMMERCIAL AREAS
35
Map 4-8b: EMPLOYMENT GROWTH BY RSC LEVY PAYERS IN COMMERCIAL AREAS
37
central area provides only 8,5% of jobs in these sectors4. The implication of this is
that perhaps 90% of retail, office and service jobs are distributed across the rest of
the metropolitan area, clustering into non-CBD commercial areas or scattered
through the residential areas. Moreover, the top 17 commercial areas listed in Table
17, contain only 17% of all jobs in these sectors.
The RSC levy data on employment also gives an indication of the relative
importance of other commercial areas in Cape Town. Outside of the CBD, Salt
River and Bellville stand out as major centres, with other areas employing less than
half of these totals. The northern sector of the CMA is dominant, with Milnerton,
Parow, Goodwood, Maitland, Epping and Brackenfell all registering in the top 17
areas. Decentralisation within the wealthier parts of the CMA is evident in the high
ranking of Strand/Somerset West, Claremont, Constantia, Pinelands and Wynberg.
And the start of a spread of these activities onto the Cape Flats (along established
corridors) is evident in the appearance of Athlone and Ottery in the top set of areas.
If these figures are set against Table 4.8, which indicates the physical growth of
commercial land use, it is possible to deduce that much of the growth in (formal)
employment in this sector is occurring in the northern part of the CMA, with the
Milnerton axis and Bellville/Durbanville axis5 showing particularly strong growth.
Strand and Somerset West also rank highly in terms of employment and are
expanding in land terms.
4.2.5 Spatial pattern of informal business
As indicated above, Cape Town has a very large informal sector which
employs 22% of the labour force (or 293 000 people) and contributes 18,9% to
gross regional product. Within the next 8 years it could be providing jobs for 35% of
the labour force (Wesgro, 2001). There is limited information on the size, nature
and location of informal sector activities. City of Cape Town (2002b) synthesises
existing information from the former municipalities on the distribution of demarcated
trading bays and temporary markets, other sectors which employ large numbers of
informal workers, and some sample information on home businesses.
The trend in most African cities is significant growth in
the size of the “informal sector”. Rogerson (1997)
estimates that by the end of the 1990s, this sector
would be generating 93% of all new jobs in African
cities.
“..there will be an increasing need to build on the
strengths of the informal sector, incorporating it
progressively into the mainstream economic world…”
(World Commission Urban 21 – Berlin 2000)
4
It is recognized that there will be non-levy paying businesses in the CBD and Woodstock/Salt River as well,
but in the CBD at least, there are not likely to be many of these.
5
Both the Koeberg Rd corridor and the Durban Rd corridor were identified as “incipient corridors” in the MSDF.
38
Map 4.8 indicates the distribution of demarcated trading bays. Street traders are
primarily attracted to locations with high levels of pedestrian traffic such as public
transport termini and stops, and busy shopping areas. The pattern therefore closely
follows the pattern of older, established retail activity in Cape Town: in the city
centre, along the established corridors, on the emergent corridors which extend
onto the Cape Flats (Klipfontein Rd, Ottery/Lansdowne Rd), and at the more remote
and developing commercial centres (Mitchell‟s Plain centre, Khayelitsha centre and
Strand/Somerset West. Obviously many street traders also operate outside of
demarcated trading bays, with this happening to a very limited extent in the main
(and well-policed) commercial centres and to a far greater extent in the poorer
areas which are less well-regulated.
Street traders sell primarily fresh foods and to a lesser extent clothing and
convenience goods6. While little data exists on this sector, there are indications that
complex networks exist for the procurement and sale of goods, giving rise to
movement patterns that span the CMA and the region beyond. Larger and more
mobile traders (49% of informal food traders: Dierwechter, 2000) obtain their
produce from Epping Market, sometimes using public transport, and transport it to
final locations which may be some distance away. Here they sometimes function as
a second-level wholesaler for even smaller traders who penetrate deep into
township areas, using shopping-trolleys as their most frequent form of transport.
There are estimates that some R21m. of fruit and vegetables is moved through
townships by shopping-trolley, annually, in what is essentially trade within the
informal sector. A further 15% of informal traders access their produce directly from
farms: from Philippi, but also from Stellenbosch, Grabou and Paarl, and from as far
a-field as Caledon for mielies (Dierwechter, 2000). The extensive informal meat
trade centres on Maitland abattoir, with a more limited number of wholesalers
selling on to township based sellers. This trade centres on offal of various kinds,
bought most often from informal meat traders rather than from formal retail outlets.
In the poorer parts of the city, large numbers of people generate an income from
home, but since very few register for tax or levy payment, or for land use change,
there are no reliable figures on the extent or distribution of this activity. There is also
a very large illegal and crime-related business sector, with international links, based
on drug and gun trafficking, stolen cars etc, but there is no accessible information
on this. Map 4.9 is based on door-to-door research in Khayelitsha, and indicates
for a sample area the frequency of home-based activities. The map indicates a
large number of people operating shops from their homes (spaza shops) or from
containers, or selling fruit and vegetables from the front of their homes. The pattern
is highly dispersed and there is no clear tendency towards clustering along more
important routes, other than along part of Spine Rd and part of Lansdowne Rd7.
There are a growing number of hives in the CMA (see map 4.8), many developed
and owned by the public sector (see City of Cape Town 2002b). These
accommodate emerging small businesses and have a mixture of industrial and
retail concerns.
6
Poorer households commit between 25 and 50% of their income to food, making it a bigger issue than
transport or housing (Dierwechter, 1999).
7
The complete absence of mapped activities in some parts of Khayelitsha more likely indicates a research gap
than an actual absence of businesses.
39
Map 4.8: INFORMAL SECTOR ACTIVITIES IN THE CMA
40
Map 4.9: DISTRIBUTION OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITY IN KHAYELITSHA
41
The taxi industry is one of the fastest growing sources of informal employment. Of
the approximate 10 000 taxis in Cape Town (employing some 2 people each, but
many more in indirect employment), it is estimated that 5400 are unlicensed. Most
operators are located within the lower income townships, although income is
generated across the metropolitan area.
A further significant sector which is difficult to quantify or to capture in spatial terms,
is the building, home repair and construction sector. Home-based entrepreneurs
move to job opportunities as they become available, either sub-contracting on
larger projects or responding to requests from other households and businesses.
For the purposes of this spatial analysis, the important point is that informal
business is extensive and is highly dispersed across the metropolitan area.
Moreover it generates movement patterns which are highly complex, which are
undertaken most often by foot or public transport and which operate at all times of
day. The implication of this is that close to a quarter of the workforce of the CMA
occupies locations and generates movement patterns which are very different from
that which is accommodated by the main infrastructural investments in the CMA:
formal commercial and industrial areas, and freeways aimed at the rapid and
efficient movement of vehicles at “peak” morning and late afternoon periods.
4.2.6 The Cape Flats and the Metropolitan South East
The economy of the metropolitan South East is largely based on small
business and the informal sector, and the lack of formal and larger scale
commercial and industrial investment is frequently raised as a concern. A recent
investigation into the performance of projects on the Cape Flats (Wesgro 2002)
indicates the extent of this problem:
Table 16: Progress on public and private sector projects 2001-2002
Project status
Projects completed
Number of
projects
4
Projects scrapped
or no progress
30
Projects moved to
construction phase
Projects which
advanced to next
stage
1
Comments
One of these was residential (Langa
Station), the rest public infrastructure
projects
No private sector interest: 12
No finance: 4
Planning not complete: 11
Infrastructural investment not complete:
11
Participation issues: 1
Lack of council promotion capacity: 4
Public infrastructure project
3
Source: WESGRO 2002.
The WESGRO Report states that there are only two private sector, industrial
investments currently underway on the Cape Flats: the Wheatfields soya
42
processing plant (Khayelitsha) and the Molyneaux Khamway Rock granite
processing plant. Both have had major difficulties with the securing of finance from
commercial institutions, and they identify this as the most important obstacle to
private sector investment in this area. The south-east appears to have been
effectively red-lined by financial institutions. Those large institutional investors
which do own land in the area (Old Mutual, Investec, Sanlam and Metropolitan Life)
have made no investment over the last 3-4 years.
The WESGRO Report identifies some 50 projects currently “on the books” on the
Cape Flats, but makes the following important points about them:
 The majority are still in early planning stage and many have held this status
for many years;
 Many of these projects are local government efforts and do not yet have a
project driver or promoter;
 Many are residential or retail projects, and do not represent new investment
in productive activity;
 Most private sector initiatives have failed due to their inability to raise
financial support.
There are, however, some important lessons from those projects which are
progressing:


Where projects are clustered under a Special Purpose Vehicle or
Development Company of some kind (eg Khayelitsha CBD DevCo), they are
able to build on economies of scale and are having greater success in terms
of negotiating finance with the private sector.
Finance institutions are predisposed to fund larger projects or consortiums of
projects (over 50ha or R 100 million), suggesting a focus on larger, more
powerful developments rather than a scattering of smaller projects.
Research (Market Decisions, 2001) on the demand for consumer goods in the
largest township in the south-east, Khayelitsha, indicates that there is significant
unmet demand for retail outlets. The report estimates total retail purchases by
Khayelitsha residents of R1,2 billion per annum, with most of this revenue flowing
out of the area, mostly to Mitchell‟s Plain Town Centre, but also to the CBD,
Claremont/Wynberg and Bellville. That people in the south-east are prepared to
shop in areas other than the established commercial nodes is indicated by the fact
that 47% of Khayelitsha residents surveyed reported using Mitchell‟s Plain for
grocery shopping, 48% for clothing and 49% for furniture and appliances (Market
Decisions, 2001: 9). The Report argues that if the investment preconditions are
correct (as they appear to have been in Mitchell‟s Plain Town Centre) it should
certainly be possible to create additional formal retail nodes in the metropolitan
south-east. The impact which this would have on informal traders in Khayelitsha,
and hence on informal jobs and incomes, would need to be considered.
43
Map 4.10: PROJECTS IN THE METRO SOUTH-EAST
44
4.2.7 Spatial trends in public sector investment
Maps 4.10 to 4.14 indicate the distribution of public expenditure from the
capital budget8 from 1996-2001, by sector. While this is not an economic sector as
such, public investment does provide an important pre-condition for private sector
investment.





Map 4.10: Economic Facilities: apart from investment in the upgrade of
Epping Market, there is a strong cluster of investments in Khayelitsha.
Map 4.11: Social Facilities: These cluster predominantly on the Cape Flats,
although the larger investments concentrate in the inner-Cape Flats area.
Map 4.12: Housing and Related Services: These concentrate in the
metropolitan south-east and Strand/Somerset West. There are also small
developments on the far periphery of the wealthier areas such as
Durbanville, Blaauwberg and Hout Bay.
Map 4.13: Infrastructural services (waste water, water, storm water,
electricity and solid waste): many of these are in the wealthier parts of the
CMA which have been undergoing rapid outward expansion
(Durbanville/Tygerberg, Strand/Somerset West and Melkbosstrand), with far
fewer investments in the metropolitan south-east.
Map 4.14: Transport: Both road and transport facility investments have
tended to follow the historical radial routes focussing on the CBD.
In general, certain types of public investment (“soft” infrastructure) have tended to
focus on the poorer areas and the Cape Flats: these are social facilities and
housing. “Hard” services (infrastructural services and transport) show more of a
spread between the Cape Flats and the traditionally wealthier parts of the CMA,
with infrastructure showing a stronger bias towards the spreading middle-income
suburbs and commercial areas. While there is little evidence in these maps of
public investment in the CBD, this seems set to change in the 2001/2002 capital
budget. The three largest items here (the Convention Centre, the Civic Centre
Office Block and the Foreshore Freeway) are all located in the CBD, and the likely
future investment of public funds in port upgrading will reinforce this.
Apart from capital expenditure from the Unicity budget, there are four larger scale
public programmes currently underway on the Cape Flats:
1. The Wetton-Lansdowne Corridor Project, under the auspices of the previous
Cape Town Municipality. National funding for this has dried up, and small
quantities of local funding are being channelled into projects along the
Corridor, the largest being the Stock Road site.
2. The Public Open Spaces Programme, also under the auspices of the
previous Cape Town Municipality, and aligned to some extent with the
Wetton-Lansdowne Corridor project. Unicity funds are being directed into
various spaces and facilities in the area of Lansdowne Road.
8
Note: this does not include the operating budget, which is far larger than the capital budget .
45
ECONOMIC FACILITIES
Epping Market R18 m
Map 4.11: CAPITAL EXPENDITURE 1996 - 2001
46
SOCIAL FACILITIES
Recreation
R61m
Community
R56m
Cemeteries
R53m
Libraries
R38m
Health
R26m
Emergency Services R5m
Education
R4m
Map 4.12: CAPITAL EXPENDITURE 1996 - 2001
47
HOUSING & RELATED
SERVICES
Wesbank housing R 116m
Mfuleni Ext 4 R 24m
Khayelitsha Town3, vill 1 R 24 m
Lwandle hostels R 19 m
Tarentaal Plaas housing R 20 m
Map 4.13: CAPITAL EXPENDITURE 1996 - 2001
48
Atlantis / Melkbos - Pipeline R 22 M
SERVICES
Waste Water
R97m
Water
R96m
Storm Water
R37m
Electricity
R23m
Solid Waste
R4m
Cape Flats Sewer R45 m
Strand/Somerset West Water R21m
Wildevoëlvlei R 21 M
Palmiet Water Scheme R 18 m
Map 4.14:CAPITAL EXPENDITURE 1996 - 2001
49
TRANSPORT
Roads
R199m
Transport Facilities
R11m
N7/Plattekloof Rd interchange R 9 m
Mowbray Interchange R16m
Stanhope Road R21m
Sheffield Rd R14m
Philippi interchange R19m
Prince George Drive R35m
Map 4.15: CAPITAL EXPENDITURE 1996 - 2001
51
3. The Cape Renewal Strategy, initiated in 2001 by the provincial Department
of Community Safety, and drawing on funds from province and the private
sector. This is a three-pronged strategy focusing on law enforcement, urban
and economic renewal and social renewal. Areas targeted are Elsies River,
Bonteheuwel, Manenberg, SiteB Khayelitsha, Hanover Park, and Tafelsig in
Mitchells Plain. There is little or no co-ordination between this programme
and the two above.
4. The National Urban Renewal Initiative, initiated in 2002 by the national
department of Provincial and Local Government, and managed by the
previous municipality of Tygerberg. This programme targets Khayelitsha
(R8,5m) and Mitchells Plain (R2,5m). It is supplemented by funding from the
German Development Bank which has allocated R 150m to Khayelitsha over
the next 3-4 years. This strategy has not been co-ordinated with any of the
above.
Two points are important:

Firstly, patterns of investment in public infrastructure are generally
reinforcing the divisions between wealthier and poorer parts of the city.
Investment in “hard‟ infrastructure, which is often one pre-condition for
economic development, is happening to a lesser degree in the metropolitan
south-east.

Secondly, there is no clear evidence of spatial co-ordination between the
various sectors and programmes. Each sector appears to have its own
spatial pattern (often responding to immediate needs) which does not match
that of other sectors. Moreover, various programmes on the Cape Flats,
initiated by different government departments at various levels, are not coordinated with each other. There is no evidence, therefore, of a co-ordinated
strategy to address spatial inequities or to re-orientate the spatial structure
of the CMA.
4.3
Poverty
Research commissioned by the Directorate of Economic Development and
Tourism, (Social and Economic Directorate, 1998) argues that while Cape Town is
sometimes perceived as being a relatively wealthy metropolis, aspects of poverty in
Cape Town are more serious than in the other metropolitan areas, and levels of
inequality are extremely high.
Table 17: Proportion of population group in the CMA living below the Household Subsistence
Level of R14,500 in 1999 (Stats SA, 1999).
% population
Black
48%
Asian
27%
Coloured
20%
White
4%
Note: The overall proportion of households living below the HSL increased from 21% in 1996 to 26%
in 1999.
A major contributor to the poverty problem is unemployment. Job generation has
not kept pace with job demand in the CMA and unemployment figures have risen
steadily over the last ten years. In 2000, the proportion of the labour force that was
52
unemployed was 18% in terms of the official definition of unemployment, but 24,5%
in terms of the expanded definition (which includes discouraged work seekers who
have not taken recent steps to find a job) (City of Cape Town, 2001a). Between
1991 and 2000 the labour force grew at an average of 35 015 persons pa, but new
jobs in both the formal and informal sector were created at a rate of 19 877 pa,
indicating a large annual shortfall (City of Cape Town, 2001a).
The reasons for this, apart from the overall slow growth of the economy relative to
population, lie in a shift within manufacturing towards capital intensification and the
use of more skilled workers in sectors such as paper and printing, chemicals and
transport equipment, and away from the traditionally more capital intensive sectors
such as textiles, clothing and food (Unicity Commission Report, 2001).
There are no immediate prospects for improvement in job generation, although it is
possible that the impact of HIV/Aids will be to reduce the number of job seekers. Of
particular concern is the projected shift in demand towards higher skilled workers
and away from less- or unskilled labour (City of Cape Town, 2001a: 28). The
demand for highly skilled labour in the CMA will increase by 2,3% pa, while demand
for unskilled workers will decline by 3,1% pa. Within the projected high growth
sectors of tourism, trade and information and communications technology there will
be a significant increase in demand for high and medium skills. This has obvious
implications for a growth in unemployment and poverty within the already
marginalized African and coloured population.
Work on a Poverty Reduction Framework (within the Department of Economic
Development and Tourism) takes the important position that poverty cannot just be
measured in terms of income, or numbers of households below the poverty line,
although this indicator on its own suggests a serious poverty problem. The Poverty
Reduction Framework draws on recent international definitions of poverty which
describe it as a multi-faceted phenomenon:
“Poverty is more than a lack of income.
Poverty exists when an individual‟s or a household‟s
access to income, jobs and/or infrastructure is
inadequate or sufficiently unequal to prohibit full
access to opportunities in society. The condition of
poverty is caused by a combination of social,
economic, spatial, environmental and political factors”
(Background Poverty Paper No 2, 1998: 5).
This definition of poverty implies that there are a number of different factors that
impact on poverty (and that will in turn require action). Significantly space (or
location) is viewed as an important contributor to poverty, particularly when
reinforced by other poverty-inducing factors:
1. Access to a social „safety net‟ – this includes access to „indirect‟ income, for
example subsidies and welfare payments to prevent absolute destitution (e.g.
pensions, tariff rebates);
2. Access to infrastructure – both physical (housing, electricity, water and
sewerage) and social infrastructure (clinics, schools, and training facilities);
53
3. Space – this refers to locational issues relating to access to employment and
other social opportunities. Space also refers to poor peoples‟ exposure to
environmental degradation in terms of both „green‟ and „brown‟ environmental
considerations;
4. Employment – both formal and informal job creation, and related income;
5. Livelihood strategies – these are the social and cultural responses through
which
the
poor help
themselves.
They include
support
and
associational/network activities, such drawing on social networks, alcohol abuse
groups, HIV education, or youth groups to offer an alternative to gang
membership etc. (Background Poverty Paper No 2, 1998: 7).
One attempt to put together a composite measure of poverty is reflected in Table
4.14 which ranks marginalised communities in Cape Town. The Western Cape
Provincial Human Development Index (1999) used four indicators of equal weight
(income, employment status, literacy and water supply) to give a composite index of
marginalisation. An index of 1 is a worst case, and 0 a best case. Map 4.15 shows
the distribution of these ranked areas. It indicates the concentration of
marginalisation in areas of informal settlement and on the periphery of the
metropolitan area, but also shows that the worst affected communities are not all on
the Cape Flats.
Table 18: Provincial Human Development Index: Rank order of marginalised communities in
the CMA by SDO as determined by the MARGCOM tool (The higher the index the poorer the
community)
Name Of Community
Lower Crossroads Phase 1
Red Hill
Heinz Park Mitchell‟s Plain
Noordhoek Phase 2 Site 6
Vrygrond
Browns Farm
Frankdale
Mandela Park Phase 2
Lotus River Phumlani
Joe Slovo
Lower Crossroads Phase 1
Witsand
Bloekombos
Town2/Sst
KTC
Green Point Khayelitsha
Klipfontein Mission
Site B Khayelitsha
Nooiensfontein
Philippi
Macassar Chris Hani Park
Mandela Park Phase 1
Lavender Hill
Du Noon
Macassar Khayelitsha
Manenberg
Noordhoek Phase 1 Site 5
Langa And Hostels
District Office
Athlone
Wynberg
Mitchell‟s Plain
Wynberg
Wynberg
Athlone
Blaauberg
Wynberg
Wynberg
Athlone
Athlone
Blaauberg
Eerste River
Khayelitsha
Athlone
Khayelitsha
Athlone
Khayelitsha
Eerste River
Athlone
Eerste River
Wynberg
Wynberg
Blaauberg
Khayelitsha
Athlone
Wynberg
Athlone
Index Of Marginalisation
0.7544
0.7428
0.7378
0.7312
0.7286
0.7096
0.7056
0.7038
0.6914
0.6622
0.6568
0.6556
0.6522
0.6512
0.6488
0.6332
0.6218
0.6164
0.6108
0.6042
0.6028
0.5980
0.5762
0.5728
0.5686
0.5680
0.5672
0.5606
54
Wallacedene
Black Heath Happy Valley
Town 2
Marconi Beam
Crossroads
Retreat And Steenberg
Joe Slovo
Spandau
Harare
Bonnybrei/Gollaith Park K/Fontien
Pella
Bridgetown
Site C
Scottsville
Kewtown
Heideveld
Macassar
Lotus River
Philadelphia
Sherwood
Mamre
Klienvlei
Ocean View
Hanover Park
Athlone
Scottsdene
Protea Park
Silver Town
De Novo
Meltonrose
Eastridge Mitchell‟s Plain
Tafelsig
Brook,Ru, Yster, S/Grens
Atlantis
Salt River
Beacon Valley Mitchell‟s Plain
Parkwood
Caravan Park
Heatherpark
Woodstock
Devonpark
Park Village
Rosedale
Muizenburg
Forest Heights
Somerset Heights
Eerste River
Eerste River
Khayelitsha
Blaauberg
Athlone
Wynberg
Blaauberg
Eerste River
Khayelitsha
Eerste River
Blaauberg
Athlone
Khayelitsha
Eerste River
Athlone
Athlone
Eerste River
Wynberg
Blaauberg
Blaauberg
Blaauberg
Eerste River
Wynberg
Athlone
Athlone
Eerste River
Blaauberg
Athlone
Eerste River
Eerste River
Mitchell‟s Plain
Mitchell‟s Plain
Blaauberg
Blaauberg
Cape Town
Mitchell‟s Plain
Wynberg
Eerste River
Eerste River
Cape Town
Eerste River
Eerste River
Eerste River
Wynberg
Eerste River
Eerste River
0.5468
0.5440
0.5402
0.5384
0.5288
0.5230
0.5164
0.4942
0.4918
0.4908
0.4894
0.4856
0.4816
0.4660
0.4646
0.4570
0.4558
0.4536
0.4470
0.4452
0.4338
0.4202
0.4126
0.4048
0.4044
0.4018
0.3988
0.3932
0.3928
0.3898
0.3888
0.3782
0.3742
0.3740
0.3724
0.3698
0.3616
0.3510
0.3380
0.3276
0.2968
0.2850
0.2766
0.2758
0.2652
0.2632
Source: Western Cape Provincial Human Development Index (1999), from the Poverty Background
Paper No 1, Social Services Division, Western Cape Province.
Based on 1996 Census Information.
55
Map 4.16: PROVINCIAL DEVELOPMENT INDEX
56
Crime and social exclusion
It is widely recognized that crime is a major problem in Cape Town, as it is in other
urban areas of South Africa. Statistics on crime suggest that drug-related crimes
and burglaries in particular have been increasing:
Table 19: Crime rates per 10 000 people for selected crimes (SAPS Crime Statistics)
Murder
Burglary (residential)
Drug-related crime
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
72,5
889,1
210,8
68,2
981,5
241,1
76,6
1034,9
217,9
70,2
984,62
281,7
71,2
1046,99
332,8
Source: IDP Needs Analysis, City of Cape Town, Nov 2001
Mapped patterns of crime indicate a clear pattern of concentration of crimes against
persons in the poorer parts of the CMA (the Cape Flats), and of crimes against
property in the wealthier parts of the CMA. The concentration of violent crimes on
the Cape Flats, coinciding with concentrations of socially and economically
excluded people, reinforces the argument that there is a causal connection between
the two. One study in American cities found that spatial segregation was the most
significant factor of all the variables which accounted for the homicide rate in black
urban areas (Borja and Castells, 1997). High crime rates lock poorer areas into a
downward spiral of low property values and limited private sector investment, and
hence greater poverty and deprivation.
4.4
Conclusion
While Cape Town‟s economy may be showing strength in certain key service
and manufacturing sectors, it nonetheless remains the case that most businesses
in Cape Town are small and in employment terms it is likely to be the informal
sector where job creation is greatest.
Spatially, the RSC Levy data indicates that areas of most rapid growth are currently
in the northern sector of the CMA, and particularly in the Blaauwberg axis and
Tygerberg axis. Potential decline in the CBD appears to have been successfully
arrested, although growth here is still slow and “fragile”. Overall it appears that
Cape Town is becoming a multi-nodal city (in keeping with trends in other parts of
the world), with growth occurring in a number of nodes and axes (some historical
and some new).
Investment in formal sector activity on the Cape Flats is still very slow, although
centres such as Athlone and Mitchells Plain are showing stronger growth. While
significant investment in SMMEs and the informal sector on the Cape Flats must
not be ignored, it would appear that the historical economic divide between the
Cape Flats and the rest of Cape Town continues. There has been little effort on the
part of local government institutions to change this, and the problem is exacerbated
by the unco-ordinated public programmes which target various parts of the Cape
Flats.
A further significant new economic trend is that of the suburbanization of economic
activity, and what seems to be an extensive “work-from-home” pattern. The
implication of this is that uni-functional suburban areas are rapidly becoming more
mixed in terms of use.
57
It would appear that the most serious economic issue for Cape Town is the problem
of growing poverty and unemployment, matched with a growing gap between skill
levels and skill demands of those economic sectors which are growing. This
problem is worsened by the spatially concentrated nature of poverty and
unemployment, leading to serious problems of social, economic and spatial
exclusion of those living (primarily, but not only) on the Cape Flats.
58
5
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT9
5.1
BACKGROUND
The City of Cape Town‟s greatest assets are its people and its unique
environment. The Cape Metropolitan Area (CMA) is situated in the smallest of the
world‟s six floristic kingdoms and boasts a rich diversity of fauna and flora that is
unique for such a small area. The city is culturally diverse with a rich history and
built environment and is the economic hub of the Western Cape Province.
With a growing population and an increasing divide between advantaged and
disadvantaged groups, the CMA faces the challenge of promoting development
whilst managing the redistribution of resources to redress current inequities. To
address the growing needs of a largely impoverished population and to ensure the
health of communities, the CMA needs to become economically competitive, both
locally and globally. While working towards these goals, it is imperative that the
CMA recognises and effectively manages its unique economic asset, the
environment. The central component to achieving this strategy is adopting and
applying the fundamental principles and approaches of sustainable development.
Some facts about the natural environment of the CMA:










It has 307km of coastline of which only 3,5 km is protected as a Marine
Protected Area.
70% of the Cape Floral Kingdom‟s 9 600 plant species are found nowhere else
on earth and one third of these are found within the CMA.
The Cape Flats has the highest concentration of threatened plants in the world.
131 plant species on the Cape Flats are threatened with extinction
Less than 1% of Sand Plain Fynbos and less than 3% of Renosterveld remains
in the CMA
41 mammal species remain in CMA with six recently extinct
250 bird species live in the CMA -- ten are endangered and at least three
species have become extinct in recent years
There are approximately 111 endemic invertebrate species
There are 18 amphibian species of which four are listed in the Red Data Book
48 reptile species, four of which are endangered, are found in the CMA
24 fish species are dependant on Cape Town‟s estuaries
The SDF needs to consider environmentally important areas and features and
afford them the necessary consideration in terms of development. Where
information is insufficient, assessments are required to ensure that a potential
conservation area is not placed at risk of development due to a lack of information
regarding its value. If any area is proposed for development, an environmental
assessment should be conducted to assess its value in terms of the requirements
of the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) as well as the potential
impacts of the planned development.
9
This section of the document has been prepared by the Environmental Management staff
59
5.2
AREAS THAT SHOULD BE IDENTIFIED AS ENVIRONMENTALLY
IMPORTANT
5.2.1 Ecological Resources
Primary biodiversity conservation network
Overview
The Cape Floristic Kingdom has been internationally recognized as a hotspot for
biodiversity. Although the CFK consists of areas wider than the boundaries of the
CMA, a large number of species only occur within the boundaries of the city. The
CCT is in the process of identifying a primary biodiversity conservation network as a
key objective of the IMEP Biodiversity Strategy. The network will consist of existing
protected areas as well as a number of areas without any current conservation
status. This network of conservation areas must conserve at a minimum, sufficient
area and habitat to meet biodiversity targets and ensure the long-term sustainability
of our remaining biodiversity. The IMEP biodiversity strategy aims to ensure that
appropriate, effective and efficient management plans and policies are developed
and implemented at each of the primary biodiversity conservation areas.
Spatial analysis
The identification and mapping of the primary biodiversity conservation network is
underway and will be completed in the near future. The network includes all
proclaimed nature reserves, core flora conservation sites, a number of selected
sites with no formal conservation status and the corridors/linkages between these
sites.
Application
The primary biodiversity network should be identified as areas where no
development should occur. Developments in close proximity to these sites should
be screened to ensure that the network is not placed at risk from inappropriate
urban development. Future urban growth should be strategically directed to
complement rather than threaten the biodiversity conservation network.
Implications for the SDF
The primary biodiversity network should be included in the SDF but referenced as a
proposed biodiversity conservation network. The SDF should recognise the value of
a network to attain targets for biodiversity. The important economic role of a
network for tourism and the provision of ecological goods and services should also
be acknowledged. The network will form part of the City's natural heritage and is
proposed as a no-go area for urban development.
Secondary biodiversity conservation network
Overview
The CCT recognises the urban context within which the conservation of biodiversity
will take place. As such it acknowledges the importance and role of open space in
the conservation of biodiversity although it may serve other primary functions. The
secondary biodiversity network will include all these areas that are not actively
managed as nature conservation areas but which may increase the number of
pockets, stepping stones and corridors for the enhancement and protection of
vibrant and healthy biodiversity.
60
Spatial analysis
The secondary biodiversity network includes linear parkways, parks, scenic drives,
road verges, servitude‟s and transport routes which can provide the opportunity to
facilitate the movement of species from one area to the next by acting as corridors
and links. Although some of these areas are transformed landscapes, their role in
the protection of biodiversity and the provision of open space in an otherwise builtup environment is of vital importance. A number of areas identified have a primary
function that will be protected from urban encroachment and development. These
areas include Philippi Horticultural Area, core and buffer areas of the Kogelberg and
West Coast Biosphere Reserves and a number of urban parks and open spaces.
The Metropolitan Spatial Development Framework (CMOSS) will be an important
component in the establishment and maintenance of a secondary biodiversity
network.
Application
The secondary biodiversity network consists of transformed areas that perform
other functions in addition to a biodiversity function. The management guidelines of
CMOSS and certain specific open space areas, e.g. parks, should reflect the
biodiversity function of open space. These functions should be taken into
consideration in the screening of new developments and before open space is
developed or converted to other uses.
Implications for the SDF
The SDF should recognise certain areas as components of a secondary biodiversity
network and should afford these areas the necessary protection. Where possible
these areas should be included on the SDF maps.
Coastal zone
Overview
The CMA has 307km of coastline stretching from Silwerstroom Strand in the
northwest to Kogel Bay in the southeast including two of the largest bays in South
Africa, namely Table Bay and False Bay. A number of important coastal processes
take place along this coastline including wave processes, nearshore currents and
circulation, offshore sediment transport and aeolian or windblown sediment
transport. Key biophysical features of the coastline include dunes, high levels of
marine and terrestrial biodiversity, estuaries and contrasting water temperatures
between the Atlantic and False Bay coasts. The coast has multiple uses and
provides a variety of goods and services to the CMA. These goods and services are
central to the economy of the city and its well-being. The goods and services
provided by the coastline include amongst others tourism and recreation, discharge
of stormwater and waste water, economic and employment opportunities, events
(e.g. water sports) and industrial and commercial uses (e.g. harbours and
commercial fishing, restaurants). The coastline of the CMA is arguably one of its
greatest economic assets and has the potential, if protected and harnessed, to play
a significant role in the economic development and prosperity of the city. The
development of a Coastal Zone strategy is underway as one of the priority
strategies of the Integrated Metropolitan Environmental Policy (IMEP).
61
Spatial analysis
There are many ways of defining a coastal zone. The coastal zone, as defined in
the National White Paper for Sustainable Coastal Development in South Africa, is
“that area where the marine environment interacts, influences and affects the
terrestrial environment”. Using this broad definition it would be realistic to
demarcate a coastal zone that in places could be 50 – 100km wide extending from
the high water mark to the first significant mountain range. The purpose of the CCT
Coastal Zone Strategy is to focus management on specific coastal issues. As such,
a pragmatic and management oriented coastal zone for the CMA was defined and
mapped using defined mapping conventions. In addition, the coastal zone was
divided into 43 coastal zone management units based on the geophysical
characteristics as well as the coastal use, i.e. commercial, residential, recreational
or rural. The boundary of the coastal zone is proposed as an urban edge. A further
study is underway to assess recreational uses along the coastal zone. The coastal
zone management units and the recreational are available in GIS. The Marine layer
of the Environmental Significance Mapping (ESM) indicates areas of significance
below the high water mark up to 500m offshore. This information can indicate the
sensitivity of marine resources in the light of certain development proposals.
Application
To ensure that the coastal zone is protected, enhanced and optimised, a new and
integrated approach to coastal management for the CMA is needed. This requires
recognising the coast as a specific management entity with unique and specific
management attributes for which management responsibility must be assigned.
This would include identification and mapping of coastal areas where no
development should be allowed and other areas where limited development would
be appropriate after a screening process.
Implications for the SDF
The SDF should recognise the coastal zone identified by the IMEP Coastal Zone
strategy as a specific management zone and indicate this zone on the SDF maps.
The coastal zone should be treated as an urban edge, along with other urban edge
areas of the CMA.
River corridors, catchments, floodplains and wetlands
Overview
River corridors and wetlands play an important role in conserving the city‟s unique
biodiversity in addition to providing a number of essential stormwater and water
purification services to the city. A number of wetlands and river systems in the city
have been severely degraded, leading to increased flooding, soil erosion, declining
water quality and loss of biodiversity. River systems have been canalised and
wetlands drained for urban development. Wetlands (including estuaries) are
internationally recognised by the RAMSAR Convention on Wetlands as a resource
of great economic, cultural, scientific and recreational value. The convention
promotes the sustainable use of wetlands in a way compatible with the
maintenance of the natural properties of the ecosystem. A number of the CMA‟s
rivers and wetlands have been included in the primary biodiversity conservation
network.
62
Spatial analysis
The CMA‟s catchments, rivers, wetlands and estuaries have been mapped and
significance assigned. To allow for the sustained ecological functioning of the city‟s
wetlands and rivers, a buffer area along river corridors and around wetlands should
identified to protect these water resources from encroaching urban development.
Buffer widths have been determined based on the ecological class and importance
rating of each watercourse and wetland. The Development Control Guidelines for
Flood Prone Areas (currently under review) should be used as a framework for the
integrated planning and development of flood prone areas. The CMA's flood prone
areas have been mapped and should be indicated in the SDF as environmental risk
areas. The Stormwater Land Identification coverage is also available to inform
future development and the SDF.
Application
The ecological functioning of rivers and wetlands should be taken into consideration
when new developments are planned. Development should not be permitted below
the 50-year floodline and floor levels of buildings should be set above the 100-year
flood level. The new ecological buffer areas along river corridors should be a further
informant to future environmental management, planning and development.
Implications for the SDF
Rivers, floodplains and wetland areas should be afforded special protection in the
SDF. Further encroachment on, and loss of wetlands should be discouraged.
Further development of wetlands areas and below the 1:50 year flood line of rivers
should not be allowed. Specific management objectives identified in terms of the
catchment management plans should be applied.
Air pollution
Overview
Air pollution is the discharge of gas, liquid or solid matter to the atmosphere as a
result of human activity. The majority of air impacts are a direct result of the burning
of fuels as energy sources and controlled and uncontrolled burning of bio-mass
resulting in global climate change. There are two basic physical forms of air
pollutants namely particulates and gasses.
Spatial analysis
The CMA has 10 air quality monitoring stations. Analysis of the data gives
information on areas of high air pollution. A number of air pollution “hot spots” have
been identified. The City Bowl traps VOC‟s (Volatile Organic Carbons) and ground
level ozone mainly from motor vehicle emissions. In the Goodwood area frequent
incidents of sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxides pollution occur due to the freeway
interchanges (N1/N7 and N2/N7) as well as pollution from the Sacs Circle Industrial
area. Khayelitsha experiences high peaks of particulate matter from burning of
wood and coal. The situation is aggravated by a mist belt that occurs across the
Cape Flats in winter that traps pollution. The Vissershok and Atlantis areas also
experience frequent air pollution events.
63
Application
Air pollution cannot be controlled after it has entered the receiving environment.
Therefore, air pollution can only be controlled at source. The dispersion potential of
certain pollutants, prevailing winds and climatic conditions should inform decisionmakers where to locate land uses that can potentially contribute to air pollution e.g.
certain types of industrial uses and low-cost housing.
Implications for the SDF
A combination of local topography and climate causes Cape Town to be particularly
susceptible to air pollution, mostly during autumn and winter inversions when air
pollution is trapped close to the ground. This is known locally as the “brown haze
phenomenon”. The biggest contributing factor to brown haze is diesel vehicle
emissions, responsible for 48% of particulate air pollution.
Fire Risk Management Areas
Overview
Fire is an integral part of the ecology of the fynbos biome. With the Cape Town‟s
combination of hot dry summers and persistent strong winds, wildfires are
inevitable. This is aggravated by the occurrence of invasive alien plants that cover
many parts of the city‟s mountainous areas and sandy plains. The Santam/Cape
Argus Ukuvuka: Operation Firestop campaign is involved in a range of integrated
initiatives to manage the risk of uncontrolled veld fires. The initial focus is on the
Peninsula Mountain Chain, but the aim is to apply lessons from the campaign to
areas of the CMA at risk from veld fires, e.g. Gordon‟s Bay. The Natural Interface
Strategy, one of the campaign projects, will identify special fire risk management
areas on the urban side of the natural interface area where specific planning,
engineering and environmental controls and incentives would apply. Invasive alien
vegetation contributes significantly to fire risk affecting properties on the natural
interface and the management of this vegetation is a priority. The environmental
control of bio-mass has certain consequences, e.g. air pollution from controlled
burning and slope instability after removal of vegetation.
Spatial analysis
The natural interface area is the area where urban and rural development border
natural fynbos vegetation. The proposed special fire risk management areas will
cover urban and rural development directly adjacent to natural areas. The areas
would be determined by taking factors e.g. prevailing winds, proximity to natural
vegetation and interface conditions, into consideration.
Application
Special fire risk management areas are proposed where specific planning,
engineering and environmental controls and incentives could apply. New
developments in these areas would be subject to a screening tool to ensure that the
development would not contribute to the fire risk of the area. Developers will also be
required to undertake certain measures to reduce the fire risk related to new
developments. Screening tools will be applied to existing properties at the time of
land use or zoning amendments. New formulae to calculate the runoff coefficient for
stormwater after burning events, will be applied in the design and upgrading of
municipal infrastructure.
64
Implications for the SDF
Standards for planning and engineering services do not currently take into account
the need for fynbos to burn, resulting in loss of vegetation cover from time to time.
Poor planning decisions have led to developments that hamper fire fighting and
stormwater management, increasing the risk to properties and lives. The SDF
should recognise that ecological processes need to be accommodated within urban
and human systems rather than attempt to subjugate these processes to urban
values. The SDF should support measures to reduce the fire risk posed to urban
developments. Special measures to reduce the fire risk might be costly to the city
and developers in the short term, but these would be small investments into future
sustainability. Every cent spent on removing invasive alien vegetation and
fireproofing properties will return future benefits far in excess of the original
investment. The alternative is to fight costly and destructive wildfires fuelled by
invasive alien plants that could result in loss of life, destruction of property and loss
of biodiversity.
5.2.2 Heritage Resources
Urban conservation and heritage areas
Overview
Heritage resources management is regarded as an essential function of
metropolitan government. It must be integrated into the economic, social,
environmental and spatial planning activities of the city. The CMA is regarded as a
cultural landscape. Within this overall landscape a wide variety of cultural
landscapes can be identified. These landscapes provide evidence of the city‟s
transformation over time and contribute substantially to a sense of place and
identity. They provide dynamic reference points and positive instruments for growth
and change.
Spatial analysis
A number of urban conservation areas have been proclaimed and mapped in terms
of the Cape Town zoning scheme. National monuments have also been identified
and mapped. Where possible, these areas and buildings should be included on the
SDF maps. The National Heritage Resources Act requires the city to identify
heritage resources and in certain cases manage these resources as part of the
national estate. In terms of the proposed heritage policy for the city, heritage
management plans should be formulated for all heritage areas in the city. A number
of heritage baseline studies are underway and the Heritage layer of the
Environmental Significance Mapping is being updated at present. The new
information should be available for inclusion in the SDF from the end of October
2002. A study has also been undertaken to identify cultural landscapes in the city
and this work will be elaborated upon in future studies. The new heritage legislation
places a particular emphasis on cultural landscapes, which includes natural and
built heritage elements, managed in an integrated manner.
65
Application
The National Heritage Resources Act makes provision for the protection of Grade 1,
2 and 3 heritage sites with certain management requirements. The Act also protects
any building older than 60 years and special approval is required to demolish or
alter these buildings. Urban conservation areas and national monuments will be
graded over time but until this process is completed, these areas should be
protected from inappropriate development and demolition. New developments
should be screened against heritage criteria and heritage impact assessments
might be required in certain cases. The CMA's cultural landscapes should be
protected, including significant natural elements e.g. tree canopies.
Implications for the SDF
Areas identified as urban conservation areas and national monuments should have
similar protection in the SDF. The SDF should also provide protection for Grade 1,
2 and 3 heritage sites and buildings older than 60 years, as required by the National
Heritage Resources Act and the City of Cape Town‟s draft heritage policy.
5.2.3 Economic Resources
Agricultural land
Overview
Agricultural land in close proximity to the metropolitan market is a scarce resource
and essential to the city‟s formal and informal economies. The city‟s agricultural
areas are under threat from development, informal settlements, illegal dumping and
alien invasive vegetation. The lack of surface water for irrigation has always been a
factor and escalation of land values threatens the viability of agricultural
development, especially for new commercial entrants. The practice of burning
residue on farm lands causes air pollution problems, affecting urban areas.
Spatial analysis
The CMA‟s agricultural areas were identified in the process of compiling a Rural
Management Policy. These areas should be indicated on the SDF, together with
other agricultural areas, e.g. the Philippi Horticultural Area, that was excluded from
the rural management study.
Application
The environmental impact of any development on agricultural land should be
carefully assessed and urban edges should be used to contain rural settlements
and smallholding development. Intensive agricultural production and livestock
farming should be monitored to limit impact on groundwater and soil quality.
Implications for the SDF
“Hope values” for some agricultural areas in close proximity to the city have been
fueled by unclear development policies and uncontrolled urban expansion. This has
resulted in absentee landlords, land banking and degradation of these areas in
anticipation of industrial or residential development. A clear policy direction is
required in the SDF to protect the CMA‟s rural cultural landscape and agricultural
areas.
66
Strategic mineral resources
Overview
The CMA is not well endowed with high-value mineral resources compared to e.g.
Johannesburg. Those that are known to be present are predominantly suitable for
use in the construction industry (sand, gravel, stone, clay, etc.). Industrial minerals
found in the study area are mainly silica sand (for glass manufacturing) and kaolin
(used for paper products, and as an inert filler in certain industrial processes). The
deposits of these two industrial minerals occurring in the city are however known to
be the best of their kind in South Africa. Although the CMA mineral resources can
be seen as less valuable than elsewhere in the country, these resources occur in
an area of increasing development pressure and increasingly threatened
biodiversity. The mining of certain resources will conflict with development or
conservation agendas. Mining activities have a number of environmental impacts
with air pollution and loss of biodiversity being the most significant.
Spatial analysis
The location of the majority of the CMA‟s strategic mineral resources is known and
has been mapped in the Structure Plan for Mining. The Environmental Significance
Mapping Geophysical layer has recently been updated and includes new
information indicating the location of strategic mineral resources. This should be
overlaid with the main areas of growth to identify potential resource conflicts. The
environmental impact of mining activities, including air pollution, should be
considered when new urban developments are planned in proximity to important
mineral resources.
Application
New developments should be planned in a sustainable way not to exclude future
opportunities to extract these resources. Environmental assessments should be
undertaken when mining applications are made to ensure that mining activities do
not cause air and water pollution and to ensure that plans are in place to
rehabilitate mined areas to allow for future development.
Implications for the SDF
A number of these economically important deposits have not yet been exploited.
The SDF should take the location of these resources into consideration to ensure
that high value mineral resources are not sterilized by urban development. A policy
statement regarding the prioritisation of strategic mineral resources for exploitation
could ensure protection of these resources from urban development.
Scenic resources
Overview
Cape Town is renowned for its spectacular scenic resources. This does not only
relate to the natural environment but includes the rich cultural and built environment
of the city. Tourism is playing an increasingly important role in the regional and
national economy and it is evident that scenic beauty and the potential of ecotourism and cultural tourism is an important factor in the Cape Town's competitive
advantage. Scenic drives provide a means to experience the unique natural and
built environment of Cape Town.
67
Spatial analysis
It is important to identify, protect and enhance the city‟s scenic and visual
resources. The ESM visual layer and the scenic drives network have been mapped.
Work is ongoing to identify and enhance the full scenic diversity of the CMA area,
including areas of scenic quality, local distinctiveness and areas of cultural and
historic value and variety.
Application
The visual environment is a key resource of the city‟s economy. However, the visual
impact of development is often not taken into consideration. A range of guidelines
and screening tools should be developed to preserve the city‟s scenic qualities.
Certain elements of the MOSS have a strong visual component that should be
preserved, along with aspects of the built environment. Development that would
impact on scenic qualities of the City should be subject to a visual impact
assessment.
Implications for the SDF
The SDF should recognise the value of the city‟s scenic resources, not only for
tourism, but also as a legacy to future generations. Development should at all times
be sensitive to the unique environment of the CMA. The SDF should entrench the
value of the city‟s visual resources and its scenic drives network for the benefit of all
communities.
5.2.3 Geo-Physical Aspects
Aquifers and aquifer recharge areas
Overview
A number of groundwater conditions are associated with the city‟s geology, which
includes the occurrence of a number of aquifers. Aquifers are seen as an important
part of the hydrological cycle and have been linked to biodiversity conservation in
the city. The quality and quantity of water from aquifers varies across the
metropolitan area. Water is abstracted from the Atlantis aquifer for domestic use
and aquifer recharge is controlled and monitored. The Cape Flats aquifer provides
water for irrigation purposes. Deep well aquifers differ from shallow aquifers. The
relationship between these types of aquifers and biodiversity conservation has not
yet been established.
Spatial analysis
The CMA‟s main aquifers have been mapped, but detail studies are still required to
establish more accurate footprints and recharge areas. The Table Mountain Group
deep well aquifer is currently the topic of a specialist study to assess the potential
yield as a means of supplementing Cape Town‟s water supply. Extensive mapping
of the Atlantis aquifer has been undertaken and is available.
Application
A number of Cape Town‟s aquifers are potential future water sources for the city‟s
growing population. In view of the water scarce nature of the region and its unique
biodiversity, the city‟s aquifers and aquifer recharge areas should be protected from
inappropriate development. New developments in the vicinity of aquifers and
recharge areas should have a specific screening mechanism to ensure the integrity
68
of the aquifer after the development. An overall programme of monitoring should be
introduced to establish a database of time series information to inform future
planning.
Implications for the SDF
In the past, aquifers have not been an integral part of the city‟s spatial planning.
However, these resources are becoming increasingly important with the city‟
growing demand for water. The aquifers and recharge areas should be mapped as
part of the SDF. Recharge areas can be incorporated into MOSS or reserved for
agricultural uses. Developments in areas underlaid by aquifers should be of a
nature that would not allow pollutants to enter the groundwater system.
Areas of geo-physical prominence and unstable slopes
Overview
The CMA topography is characterised by a coastal plain surrounded by mountain
ridges and the sea. A number of hills and promontories are visible from a distance
and provides spectacular views across the city. Due to the geology of the area, a
number of mountain slopes and hills are subject to slope instability. Unstable slopes
pose a risk to urban development, especially after fire events or alien clearing
projects when the vegetation cover is reduced.
Spatial analysis
The mountain ridges and prominent hills of the CMA have been mapped and
included in the Geo-physical layer of the ESM. Steep slopes, which are either
erosion prone or subject to slope instability, occur in a number of areas in the city.
These include the Table Mountain Range, Hottentots-Holland mountain range,
Tygerberg range, Bottelary hills and Koeberg east of Melkbosstrand. A detailed
study of slope stability on the Table Mountain Range is underway and the results,
including GIS layers, should be available by January 2003.
Application
Development on the footslopes of mountains and hills should be sensitive to the
visual impact of a built footprint in elevated areas. Where a new development will
be visible from a great distance, a visual impact assessment should be undertaken.
The impact of unstable slopes should be included in the environmental screening
process of new developments in affected areas. The impact of a development on
the stability of an area should also be assessed.
Implications for the SDF
The character of the CMA‟s landscape is a product of geological and climatic
processes that has resulted in particular landforms. Blocky sandstone ridges lend a
different personality to the landscape than softly rounded shale or granite ridges.
The different components of the city‟s landscape should be acknowledged in the
SDF as the structural elements. Areas of slope instability pose a risk to urban
development. Policy statements regarding the development on the footslopes of
hills and limitations on further development higher on the Table Mountain and
Hottentots-Holland mountain ranges will be required in the SDF.
69
5.3
URBAN EDGE AND MOSS STUDIES
5.3.1 Urban Edge: Current status
The Peninsula Urban Edge Study, the Northern Areas Urban Edge Study
(inclusive of the Melkbosstrand Urban Edge Study), and the Helderberg Urban
Edge Study were adopted by the City of Cape Town on 29 August 2001. These
reports were subsequently submitted to Provincial Government Western Cape in
October 2001 for approval as 4(6) Structure Plans in terms of LUPO. However, this
approval has not to date been granted. PGWC have indicated that consideration of
the urban edge studies for approval is dependent on prior structure plan approval of
the MSDF.
Notwithstanding this, two further urban edge studies were commissioned by the
City of Cape Town in 2002 to supplement the three urban edge studies already
adopted by the city. Both studies are still underway. The first of these is to develop
an Urban Edge Guidelines Manual for the City to further assist with the preparation
(by applicants) and assessment (by city decision-makers) of proposed edge related
developments. The second study, The Peninsula Management Zones Study, aims
to delineate area-specific management zones for certain areas of the peninsula, as
well as develop appropriate management guidelines in association with these
areas. It is anticipated that these two studies will be completed by mid-2003.
Table 1 below indicates the kinds of criteria which have been used to demarcate
the urban edge.
70
Table 20: Northern Metro: Generic Criteria And Rules For Demarcating The Urban Edge
Physical Environment






Biosphysical and
Ecological
Environment




Rivers, Wetlands and
Hydrological Systems




Infrastructure and
Utilities


Land Use






Demographic and
Socio-Economic
Trends

Legal, planning and
Land Ownership





Slopes steeper than 1:4 should not be developed and these areas should be accommodated
outside the urban edge.
Areas with unstable founding conditions should not be developed and accommodated outside the
urban edge.
Sand dunes forming part of a dynamic dune field should be conserved as integrated natural systems
outside the urban edge.
Urban development should be prevented from encroaching into areas where the soils are of high
agricultural potential, irrespective of whether the area is currently farmed or not.
Prominent topographical features (e.g. peaks, ridges, buttresses and kloofs) as well as
areas with topographical variety should be accommodated outside the urban edge.
Strategic reserves of minerals and construction materials should be protected outside the
urban edge.
Habitats of endangered or rare plant species must be protected from urban encroachment and
should be consolidated with other natural environments outside the urban edge.
Faunal habitats should be protected from urban encroachment and should be consolidated to
form protected natural environments outside the urban edge.
The urban edge and/or metropolitan and local open space systems should be used to establish
ecological corridors linking natural environments.
In demarcating the urban edge allowance should be made for buffer and transition areas around
core conservation areas.
No land falling within the 1:100 year floodline should be considered for urban development
(i.e. outside the edge).
The urban edge should be used to protect aquifer recharge areas from being developed.
The urban edge and/or metropolitan and local open space systems should be used to establish
continuous riverine corridors that link high lying catchments with the coast.
The urban edge should be used as one of a range of measures to protect catchments from
settlement encroachment.
Koeberg Nuclear power station and its safety zones represents an absolute barrier to
urban expansion.
Whilst the location of bulk infrastructure facilities and networks influences settlement patterns,
their visual impact detracts from their use to define the urban edge.
The primary usage of land should form the basis of determining whether that land should fall
inside or outside the urban edge.
All urban and urban related land use activities should be accommodated inside the edge.
The urban edge should be demarcated so as to promote settlement integration and compaction,
and prevent sprawl.
Smallholding areas whose primary land usage is of an extensive residential nature should fall
inside the urban edge and be managed as special areas.
The urban edge should be used to protect farming areas from settlement encroachment.
Conservation areas should be accommodated outside the urban edge.
Resist „rural lifestyle‟ settlement pressures outside urban edge and restrict to established
rural nodes / hamlets.
Demarcate the urban edge to curtail informal settlement encroachment into the rural periphery.
Low income settlement areas inside the urban edge should be integrated with surrounding
activities and located in proximity to job opportunities and public transport.
The urban edge should be positioned so as to rationalize, on a metropolitan level, the urban
growth proposals of diverse structure Plans.
Where urban development rights exists along the urban fringe, these are an important
determinant in fixing the position of the urban edge.
Where there is a conflict between urban edge conservation imperatives and established
development rights, alternative forms of compensation should be sought to protect the integrity
of the urban edge.
Socio-Cultural and
Historic Environment

The urban edge should be used to protect the diversity of socio-cultural and historical
environments located along the outskirts of the Northern Metro from urban intrusion.
Visual

Elevated areas and ridge lines should be accommodated outside the urban edge so as to form a
natural backdrop to the built environment.
The urban edge should be used as a mechanism to protect the rural, agricultural and natural
landscapes that frame the metropolitan region and serve as an important gateway to Cape Town.

71
5.3.2 CMOSS: process, and mapping methodology and criteria
The CMOSS Study was initiated in 2000 and is being undertaken in 3 broad
phases. The first concentrated on understanding the problem, defining the
parameters of the study, developing a definition and vision for CMOSS, determining
criteria and a method for identifying and mapping CMOSS, and identifying the
scope of the management guideline issues to be addressed. This study was
completed in 2000.
Phase 2 of CMOSS is concerned with the identification and mapping (wherever
possible, cadastrally) of CMOSS. This phase was initiated in 2001 and is still
underway. Due to the complexity and scale of this exercise a pilot project was first
undertaken. Following completion of this in 2001 mapping for the entire city
commenced. A first draft CMOSS dataset will be completed by the end of 2002.
The third phase is concerned with the development of management guidelines for
CMOSS and adjacent areas. Guidelines already exist for most areas but these are
generally not consistent, integrated, holistic, or in many cases, adequate. This
phase commenced in 2002 with a study to develop a Management Guidelines
Framework for CMOSS.
CMOSS is a multi-disciplinary initiative and as such requires a high degree of interservice participation and co-ordination. The process of consensus-building between
partners is therefore crucial. This extends to and includes other key stakeholders
and the public.
Determining what open spaces constitute CMOSS is one the principle objectives of
the study. One of the key decisions taken in the process of the study was that,
unlike the indicative MOSS indicated in the MSDF (Technical Report, 1996), all
open space in the city that is considered significant should form part of CMOSS.
CMOSS therefore performs a wide range of functions and offers many different
kinds of benefits to Cape Town‟s people. Due to the nature and scale of identifying
and mapping CMOSS a number of assumptions and strategic decisions were taken
at the outset. These included the following: although CMOSS was applicable to the
whole of the city‟s jurisdictional area, initially only that area within the recently
defined urban edge boundaries would be mapped; only open spaces greater than
1000m² would be mapped; open spaces not cadastrally defined (such as many
servitudes, road reserves, public squares) would not be mapped but instead
indicatively located (but this would not be exhaustive); private gardens would not be
mapped. Furthermore, although crime and security, and limited maintenance
budgets are considered to be major factors impacting on the identification of open
space for inclusion in CMOSS, these two factors were not considered in
determining what should comprise CMOSS.
A wide variety of criteria were considered in identifying CMOSS. These included
the following: the definition and vision of CMOSS; nature reserves and key
conservation areas; river corridors and wetlands; other environmentally significant
areas; access; zoning; ownership; structure plans; other recent studies; engineering
services (servitudes); schools; recreation space in future urban development; and
local master plans.
72
The methodology developed for the identification and mapping of CMOSS was
essentially a two-stage process. The first, the Candidate Stage, involved identifying
all erven (candidates) that could possibly be considered for inclusion into CMOSS.
The second stage, the Interrogation Stage, involved interrogating these candidate
erven to determine which open spaces should finally be included as part of
CMOSS. The final acceptance of what finally should constitute CMOSS will be a
lengthy process of consensus-seeking throughout the city.
5.4
INFORMING THE SDF
Given Cape Town‟s unique and valuable natural environment, important as a
basis for both economic growth and the preservation of valuable natural assets, the
definition of “no-go” areas within and around the CMA must form a major structuring
element in the SDF. As the maps indicate, there are significant parts of the CMA
which need to be protected or developed conditionally. It is the intention that
CMOSS and the urban edge, which form part of the SDF, should ultimately
demarcate all areas in the CMA which should either:


Not be developed under any circumstances, or
May be developed subject to particular conditions, which need to be
identified.
The categories of information which should fall under each of these heading are as
follows:
Areas not to be developed for urban use:








Primary biodiversity areas (no map available yet)
Conservation areas (see Map 5.1)
Botanical core sites (see Map 5.2)
Coastal zones (see Map 5.3)
Areas below the 50 year floodline (see Map 5.4)
Valuable agricultural land (see Map 5.5)10
Mineral deposits (see Map 5.6)
Water bodies and vleis (see Map 5.7)
Areas which could be developed under certain conditions (to be defined)





Declared Urban Conservation Areas (see Map 5.8)
CMOSS areas (see Map 5.9)
Riverine ecological buffer zones (see Map 5.10)
Primary aquifer zones (see Map 5.11)
Areas at risk due to flooding (Map 5.12), steep slopes (Map 5.13), hills and
dunes (Map 5.14), and erosion (Map 5.15).
10
Map 5.5 identifies only high and medium high potential soils. However, moderate potential soils are also of
significant economic value and also need to be protected. Inclusion of these soils would indicate a far more
extensive area for protection. Reference also needs to be made to the Rural Management Framework for the
City of Cape Town (May 2002), Volume 1, which identifies (Figure 3) areas currently used for agriculture.
73
5.5
CONCLUSION
This section of the report identifies the various aspects of the natural
environment which need to inform or constrain urban development. Once all the
environmental layers are complete, it will be possible to overlay them in order to
define “no-go” areas for urban development and areas where conditions need to
apply.
It is inevitable, given the extent of environmentally valuable resources in the CMA,
that certain trade-offs will have to be made with other land uses, particularly
housing. As part of the planning phase of the development of the SDF, consensus
will have to be reached regarding land which is to be protected and that which is to
be developed.
74
Map 5-1: CONSERVATION AREAS
75
Map 5-2: BOTANICAL CORE SITES
76
Map 5-3: COASTAL ZONES
77
Map 5-4: BELOW THE 50 YEAR FLOODLINE
78
Map 5-5: VALUABLE AGRICULTURAL LAND
79
Map 5-6: MINERAL DEPOSITS
80
Map 5-7: WATER BODIES AND VLEIS
81
Map 5-8: URBAN CONSERVATION AREAS
82
Map 5-9: CAPE METROPOLITAN OPEN SPACE SYSTEM
83
Map 5-10: ECOLOGICAL BUFFER ZONES
84
Map 5-11: VULNERABILITY OF AQUIFERS
85
Map 5-10.1: FLOOD-PRONE AREAS
86
Map 5-13: STEEP SLOPES
87
Hills and dunes map missing
88
Map 5-15: EROSION
89
PROPOSED
BIODIVERSITY
NETWORK
MAP MISSING
90
6
MOVEMENT AND TRANSPORT PATTERNS
The purpose of this section is to summarize the main movement patterns
and trends in Cape Town. Information presented here has been provided by the
Department of Transport, Roads and Stormwater, and the section also draws on a
recent qualitative survey of movement patterns by Behrens (2002). The Department
of Transport, Roads and Stormwater is currently drawing up an Integrated
Transport Plan (ITP) for the CMA, and it is recognised that the plan formulation
phase of the SDF should be co-ordinated closely with the ITP.
The position taken here is that investment in movement infrastructure and facilities
should meet the full range of movement needs of Cape Town residents (from carowners to pedestrians), and should be “developmental” in the sense that it is
centrally concerned with improving movement opportunities and choice for the least
advantaged. The latter implies a focus on public transport and pedestrians and a
concern with the economic potential created by transport interchange locations and
access routes and spaces11.
6.1
LIMITATIONS ON INFORMATION
In the past, representations of travel need and behaviour in Cape Town were
largely limited to baseline surveys and predictions of future motorised commuter or
peak period travel. At national policy level there has been recognition that
motorised commuter or peak period travel represents only one segment (and often
not the largest segment) of overall movement demand, and there has been a
discursive shift from „commuter-based‟ to „customer-based‟ service provision. In the
international transport policy literature there has been a questioning of the value of
travel pattern prediction. It has been argued that an increasingly fluid and globally
competitive (or „post-Fordist‟) urban economic context casts aspersions on longer
term predictions, and an emphasis on prediction has hampered the ability of much
travel analysis to develop an understanding of current behaviour in a period of rapid
change. Policy changes have also rendered mainstream travel analysis increasingly
obsolete. Both internationally and locally, a clear change in transport policy
discourse can be observed in recent decades – from „predict-and-provide‟, to a
greater emphasis on travel demand management (Behrens, 2002).
Moreover, within „predict and provide‟ policies, the urban transport planning
problem was defined as one of avoiding the congestion associated with forecast
traffic growth. As a consequence (at least in the South African context), travel
analysis usually focused on (typically inter-zonal and motorised) commuter peak
travel when congestion is at its worst. The implicit underlying assumption was that a
transport system which satisfies the need for travel during the commuter peak, will
be able to satisfy all other travel needs worth satisfying. Some authors now argue
that the restricted scope of past travel analysis has in fact introduced a routine bias
in the way in which the urban transportation problem has been understood, and in
the nature of the interventions that have been implemented as a result. More
specifically, a perception has been created that shorter slower journeys are less
important than longer faster journeys, and that shorter distance non-motorised
11
Both of which create potential locations for small and informal businesses.
91
travel, depended upon by many of the transport disadvantaged, has thus either
been underestimated or neglected in the planning and design of infrastructure
improvements (Behrens, 2002).
In the context of the CMA this previous bias has to some extent been overcome,
and current official information is now available on public transport and private
vehicular movement patterns, but not yet on pedestrian activity. Results from a
qualitative survey are used (Behrens, 2002) to fill this gap.
6.2
VEHICULAR MOVEMENT PATTERNS
1999 information shows that 54% of households in Cape Town have access
to a private vehicle (or 170 cars/1000 people). The modal split for commuter travel
is roughly 50-50% between public and private transport (Cape Metropolitan Council,
1999c), but this varies significantly by race. Private transport accounts for 76% of
white commuter work trips main mode, but only 2-17% of that of black commuters
(Behrens, 2002). The use of a car for shopping trips was (1991/2 data) even higher
amongst the white population (84%, compared to 33% for the coloured population
and 15% for the black population), and this pattern held for social and recreational
trips (82% car use by the white population, compared to 46% by the coloured
population and 30% by the black population). School and education trips showed
lower car use for all groups (52% for whites, 8% for coloured people and 5% for
black people) as many learners walk or cycle to school.
Counts of vehicle flows12 at 205 counting stations in the CMA, from 1990 – 2002
(although 1999 is the last year in which all stations produced counts), show a
pattern that is compatible with economic trends: a trend towards multi-nodalism, a
general shift of economic activity to the north and a dispersal of economic activity
into smaller commercial areas and into the suburbs. There has been a growth in
traffic volumes on all roads in the CMA since 1990 (total counts at all stations were
4052450 in 1990, or an average of 20161 per station, and 5951401 in 1999, or an
average of 29757 per station). However, trends in traffic data indicate:



Relatively slower growth of volumes into/out of the CBD and on the
established corridors;
More rapid growth of volumes on roads connecting the CMA in a N-S
direction, and on roads within the northern sector of the CMA;
Multi-directional movement and reduced differences in volumes between
peak and off-peak hours (although this breakdown is only available for the
current period).
The evidence for this has been extracted from tables on traffic flow, and is
presented visually in maps 6.1 – 6.6
12
It is assumed that all vehicles were counted on these routes, including taxis and commercial vehicles.
Volumes are given as a total count over 24 hours.
92
Map 6-1: MOST RECENT MOTOR VEHICLE FLOWS, 24 HRS
93
Map 6.1: MOST RECENT VEHICLE FLOWS, AM PEAK
94
Map 6.2: MOST RECENT VEHICLE FLOWS, MID DAY PERIOD
95
Map 6.3: MOST RECENT VEHICLE FLOWS, PM PEAK
96
Map 6.4: 1996 MOTOR VEHICLE FLOWS, 24HRS
97
Map 6.5: 1991 MOTOR VEHICLE FLOWS, 24HRS
98
6.2.1 Slower growth of volumes on historical routes
Traffic on the N1 as it enters/leaves the CBD has grown by 22% (84445103311)13 west of the feed in/out from the R27 to Milnerton, and by 35% (6423687005) west of the M5 (Koeberg Rd), between 1990 and 1999. This can be
compared to an 80% (63827-115111) increase in volumes on the N1 in the
Welgemoed and Bellville areas.
Traffic on the Eastern Boulevard, as it nears the CBD, has grown by 42% (3289446892) between 1990 and 1999, but this can be compared to a 68% (56996-95673)
growth on the N2 east of the M7 intersection.
Traffic on Main Rd entering the CBD has grown by 38% (14462-19963), and by
27% 25257-32067) on Voortrekker Rd, at a counting station in the Maitland area.
Volumes on the M9 (Lansdowne-Wetton Rd) have increased by 48% (1538022755) (close to the M5 intersection); and on the M18 (Klipfontein Rd) by 47%
(16974-24917), at a point just west of the M7.
6.2.2 High growth in volumes on roads connecting the CMA in a N-S
direction
The M5, the M7-N7 and the R300 cross-city routes have experienced very
high rates of traffic growth.
On the M7-N7, a counting station between Voortrekker Rd and the N1 recorded an
increase of 235% between 1990 and 1999 (13763-46209), and an increase of
269% if the growth from 1990 to 2002 (50909) is calculated. This appears to be the
highest increase anywhere in the CMA. South of Voortrekker Rd the increases on
this route remain high: 199% (15502-46405) just south of Voortrekker Rd, 160%
(11202-29191) north of the N2, and 149% (17927-44752) south of the N2.
On the M5 volume growth has been high, but the percentage increases less
dramatic. Volumes on the M5 near the Ottery intersection increased by 51% to
1999 (35333-53424), but by 62% if the 2002 count (57290) is accepted. Increases
rise to 59% (40175-63835) at Lansdowne/Wetton, 77% (44843-79429) at
Klipfontein, and 68% (46728-78715) just south of the N1.
Growth on the R300 has also been high in percentage terms, although total
volumes have been less. South of the N1 the increase was 185% (12696-36182),
dropping to 98% (21074-41742) near the M23 (Bottelery), 122% (16568-36860)
south of Voortrekker Rd and 114% (17406-37478) near the N2.
13
Numbers in brackets after %s refer to total vehicles in 1990 and in 1999, unless otherwise specified).
99
6.2.3 Large increases in volumes within the northern sector of the CMA
Significantly in 1990 and 1996 the highest volumes of traffic were
experienced on the N2 (112746 in 1990 and 119319 in 1996). However by 2002,
volumes on the N2 appeared to have remained stable (119590), but the highest
volumes were being experienced on the N1 (126599). It is likely that this is due to
the general shift in economic activity to the north of the city.
Routes which have experienced significant increases in traffic volumes are the N1
and the routes serving the Milnerton/Blaauwberg axis (R27 and M5 north) and the
Tygerberg/Durbanville axis (the R302 and Old Oak leading into the M13).
Along the N1 the highest increases in volume are experienced between the
Koeberg Rd and Tygerberg (R302). In fact actual counted volumes drop west of
Koeberg Rd although they pick up again as the R 27 feeds in near the CBD. Actual
volumes also drop east of Tygerberg, suggesting that much traffic on the N1 is
moving between various northern destinations, and not simply flowing into the CBD.
The counting station nearest the CBD on the N1 registered an increase of 26%
(84445-106934) between 1990 and 2001, and this grows to an increase of 84%
(63827-117306) between 1990 and 2001 east of the M14, and, if a 2002 count is
included14, to 92% (65185-125599) just west of Tygerberg, or the R302. East of the
R302, on the N1, increases drop to 68% and then 51%, and volumes for 2001 drop
to 75241 and 39320.
Growth in economic and residential development in the northern sector of the CMA
has also increased traffic volumes on the Blaauwberg and Tygerberg axes. In
Blaauwberg, the R27 (Marine Drive) has experienced increases of 64% (2757845155) near the CBD, 63% (16356-26736) near the Milnerton Golf Course, and
89% but with lower total volumes (7323-13841) above Blaauwberg Rd. Koeberg Rd
has experienced increases of 24% (29110-36121) near the N1, and increases of
143% to 1999 (3666-8940), but of 216% (to 11582) if a 2002 count is included!
On the Tygerberg axis, the R302 has experienced high increases between the N1
and Voortrekker Rd: 147% (12823-31767). Strangely lower increases of 32% to
1999 (22215-29406) but of 63% (-36189) if a 2002 count is included, are registered
between the N1 and Old Oak Rd. Increases are high again, although off a low base,
in Durbanville: 167% to 1999 (9556-25564).
These counts could be compared to the much lower volumes of traffic and lower
rates of increase on roads entering and leaving the poorer residential areas of Cape
Town such as Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha. Counting stations are much fewer in
these areas, but a count at the northern end of Swartklip Rd showed a 31%
increase in traffic volumes from 1990-2000, but this was from only 5513 – 7201
vehicles. A counting station on the M7 out of Mitchells Plain, just before Lansdowne
Rd, shows an 11% increase in vehicles (from 14817-16444). These low figures
reflect the low level of car ownership in these areas, and the much higher
dependence on public transport, especially rail.
14
2002 data is only available for a few counting stations.
100
6.2.4 Multidirectionality of movement patterns
Only the most recent counts for each station have been broken down to
show an am period (6-8.30), a lunch time period (12-14.30) and a pm period (1618.30). Within the time limits available it was not possible to obtain a temporal
breakdown for earlier years. No clear trend data is therefore available. What is
significant, however, is that on most routes there is relatively little difference in flow
volumes between the three time periods. The table below supports this:
Table 21: Aggregated flows on all routes, by time period
TIME PERIOD
Am.
Lunch time
Pm
TOTAL COUNTS
897574
862163
1074731
AVERAGE PER
STATION
4626
4444
5539
NB: Differences between the morning and pm periods may be due to work starting times spread
over a longer period.
This would confirm the qualitative data from the Behrens study below, which
indicates that movement takes place for a wide variety of reasons at different times
of the day. The commute to and from work is just one contributor to movement and
may not be the most important one.
This pattern of movement may also indicate both the increasingly multi-nodal nature
of Cape Town, and the suburbanization of economic activity. The previous pattern
of movement, from largely residential areas to work areas in the mornings, and
back again in the evening, is possibly being replaced by a more continuous and
multi-directional pattern of movement. More data would be necessary to show this
convincingly, however.
So, for example, on the N1, the am average for all counting stations is 14853
vehicles, the lunch time average is 14987 and the pm average is 17563. On the N2,
the equivalent figures are 13904, 13676 and 16443.
6.3
RAIL TRANSPORT
52,3% of public transport users travelled by rail in 2000, although this figure
is likely to have dropped since due to service cuts and safety problems15. Use in the
morning peak is higher (56,3%), but is down from 62,4% in 1998. The use of rail for
shopping, recreation and educational trips is much lower: in 1991/2 it did not rise
above 7% of all modes, even for the lowest income black population. Rail fares are
subsidised by central government, and subsidies have increased at an average of
11,1% pa between 1990/1 and 1998/9, to a current R 400m pa. (Cape Metropolitan
Council, 1999c). This situation is clearly unsustainable.
Cape Town has a more extensive passenger rail network than any other South
African city, with an estimated R 15 billion invested in the rail system. It is therefore
of concern that there is under-utilisation of rolling stock both in the off-peak period
and on certain lines, and that the use of rail is steadily declining.
15
This and the following information drawn from the Executive Summary of the Cape Town Public Transport
Record 2000/2001, Department of Transport, Roads and Stormwater, City of Cape Town.
101
The most used lines are those serving the metro south-east, with the Khayelitsha
line carrying more than any other single line. This is followed by the Simons Town
line and thereafter the Mitchell‟s Plain line:
 On the busiest section of the Khayelitsha line (between Nyanga and
Bonteheuwel) there are 37% more passengers than the carriages were
designed for.
 On the Simons Town line, by comparison, there is a surplus of capacity for
all sections of the line. On trains heading to Cape Town from Simonstown,
the number of passengers increases substantially at Retreat and Wynberg
stations, where bus and taxi operators feed commuters into the rail service.
Only 34% of all passengers on this line continue all the way to the CBD, and
many disembark at the interchange of Salt River or at Woodstock16.
 On the Mitchell‟s Plain line only 17% of passengers travel as far as Cape
Town. Passengers increase in volume as far as Bonteheuwel and then
decrease.
Maps 6.7 – 6.9 indicate heavy use by passengers on the Cape Flats and the
Southern Suburbs, particularly for trips towards the CBD, compared to use of the
northern lines. Map 6.10 of Boarding and Alighting volumes reflects the high use of
stations in the metropolitan south-east to make trips out of the area, and the
dominance of the CBD as a point from which passengers travel. Concentrations of
employment in Epping, Salt River-Woodstock and Maitland are also reflected in
these volumes.
Spatially, there are two important issues here:


The railway system has been designed as a radial system focussing on the
CBD, and serving the historical Main Rd and Voortrekker Rd corridors.
However, many people are using the system to access areas other than the
CBD, probably the main industrial employment areas of Salt River and
Epping, and they are possibly also changing mode to access the northern
parts of the city which are not served by rail.
Spatially the pattern of jobs in the CMA is changing, and is showing a swing
to the north of the city, and away from the historically concentrated areas of
employment to a more dispersed pattern.
There is a growing mismatch, therefore, between the land use pattern and the
pattern of rail provision. At the same time, under conditions of scarce resources, it
would be inefficient not to maximise the use of the considerable investment already
made in the rail system. It would suggest that the upgrade of the Atlantis line to a
passenger line is urgent, and that other possible north-south links should be
explored.
16
For those disembarking at Woodstock, it is possible that they are choosing to walk the last couple of
kilometres into the CBD to avoid the ticket inspectors at the central Cape Town station.
102
Map 6-7a: TRAIN PASSENGER FLOWS, AM PEAK
103
Map 6-7b: TRAIN PASSENGER FLOWS, AM PEAK
105
Map 6-8a: TRAIN PASSENGER FLOWS, MIDDAY
107
Map 6-8b: TRAIN PASSENGER FLOWS, MIDDAY
109
Map 6-9a: TRAIN PASSENGER FLOWS, PM PEAK
111
Map 6-9b:
113
Map 6-10: TRAIN PASSENGERS BOARDING AND ALIGHTING
115
6.4
BUS TRAVEL
In 2000 only 9% of public transport users travelled by bus. In the morning
peak period this was 9,3%, down from 14,1% in 1998. It is likely that this share has
declined in favour of taxi use with frequency, speed and cost being the main
reasons for the shift. The Cape Town Public Transport Record also notes that the
bus network is extensive but not structured, and factors such as missing bus stopsigns and shelters, and out-of-date timetables, are other factors making bus travel
difficult. Moreover, although there are some 1000 bus routes in the CMA, in the
morning peak period only 7% of routes carry more than 5 trips. 40% of the routes
operating in the morning peak carry less than 10 passengers per bus. The bus
company is subsidised by central government for trips longer than 10km, with this
subsidy costing the government R 160 million in 1998/9. Overall, therefore, the bus
system is inefficient and costly.
Maps 6.11 – 6.13 indicate volumes of passengers during the AM peak, the interpeak period and the PM peak. Bus usage is almost at the same level during all
three time periods, indicating use of the bus for purposes other than home-work
commuting. Movement flows between the metropolitan south-east and the CBD
area are dominant, but the north-south routes (M7/N7, Modderdam Rd and the R
300) also show up strongly. Higher flows along Wetton and Lansdowne Rd,
intersecting with Main Rd, probably indicate modal change at these points onto train
or taxi.
The busiest bus routes in 2000 were as follows:
Table 22: Busiest bus routes in 2000
Route
City – V&A*
M.Plain centre - Claremont
M Plain centre - CBD
Kapteinskip - CBD
Nyanga - Bellville
M Plain centre – Killarney
Gardens
Atlantis – CBD
Khayelitsha - Wynberg
Khayelitsha – Killarney
Gardens
Khayelitsha - CBD
Number of passengers
1059
1045
965
916
784
676
591
543
520
462
Source: Cape Town Public Transport Record 2000/1
* This high volume reflects the fact that rail goes no further than the CBD centre, and thereafter bus
and taxi are the only means of public transport to the V&A Waterfront.
The maps and table indicate the continued flow of passengers from the Cape Flats
(Mitchell‟s Plain, Khayelitsha and Nyanga) to the CBD, as well as from these areas
to Claremont and Wynberg (possibly in order to change modes). However, the
numbers of passengers on the Khayelitsha – Wynberg and the Nyanga – Bellville
116
routes are down from 1998. Significantly, two of these busiest routes are from
Mitchell‟s Plain and Khayelitsha to Killarney Gardens (in Blaauwberg), probably due
to the growth of job opportunities in this northern arm of the CMA. Both the
Klipfontein Rd and Lansdowne Rd corridors indicate concentrations of bus use,
particularly in the off-peak period, but long-haul trips in the morning peak and
afternoon peak tend to concentrate on the higher order routes of the N1 and the N7.
Spatially there are two issues here:


While the radial pattern of concentration on the CBD continues, there are also
significant flows in a N-S direction, from the largely residential areas of Mitchell‟s
Plain and Khayelitsha to Blaauwberg, where there are growing job opportunities.
This imposes an even longer daily commute on people who live in the metro
south-east.
The spatial pattern of development on the Cape Flats (introverted and
fragmented suburbs, planned to disperse traffic flow rather than concentrate it)
is an important factor contributing to the inefficiency of the bus system. An
efficient bus system requires a limited number of clearly structured routes
supported by high thresholds of potential passengers.
117
Map 6-11: BUS PASSENGER FLOWS, AM PEAK
118
Map 6-10.1: BUS PASSENGERS, OFF PEAK
119
Map 6-10.2: BUS PASSENGER FLOWS, PM PEAK
120
6.5
TAXI/MINI-BUS TRAVEL
Taxi travel has increased its share relative to both bus and rail use, due to its
flexibility, frequency, relatively low cost, and its penetration into areas not served by
bus and rail routes. By 2000, taxis carried 38.7% of public transport passengers,
but transport officials estimate that this has increased over the last two years. It is
also the highest carrier of passengers in the off-peak period, compared to bus and
rail.
With an estimated 10 000 taxis operating in Cape Town (of which only 4 600 are
legal), they move 390 000 people per day and make 17 000 trips in the morning (68am) peak period (personal communication). Serious safety problems do not
appear to have deterred users.
The busiest 5 taxi ranks serve 42% of all taxi passengers over the day. Three of
these ranks are work destinations (Cape Town CBD, Wynberg and Bellville),
although Wynberg is also an important mode-change point. The remaining 2
busiest ranks are the residential areas of Mitchell‟s Plain and Khayelitsha (Cape
Town Public Transport Record, 2000/1).
Maps 6.14-6.16 show taxi passenger flows for the AM peak, the inter-peak period,
and the PM peak. Evident from these maps is the highly distributed nature of taxi
routes, serving areas not served by rail and poorly served by bus. As with other
movement systems, the metropolitan south-east to Cape Town central area link is
strong, either along the N2 or via Lansdowne Rd. The north-south routes show up
particularly in the AM peak, with heavy use on the Durbanville axis and the M7/N7.
6.6
Understanding the diversity of travel needs in the CMA
The information above reflects the bias in transport data collection, which
has focussed on travel mode rather than household needs and practices, and on
motorised peak period and commuter travel. Behrens (2002) study attempts to fill
this gap. The survey was a qualitative one, based on a sample of 204 households
drawn from 6 areas in Cape Town17. Households were asked to keep 24-hour
movement diaries: 678
24 hour person diaries collected in the survey yielded 1 704 trips (comprised of
2 317 trip segments and covering 20 736 km), of which 289 (17%) involved
transfers between two or more travel modes and 100 (6%) were linked to (45) trip
chains.
17
The sample of 204 households was stratified into three equally sized – high, middle and low – combined
household (gross) income bands. The sample was distributed proportionately across these three bands. Thus
after the rejection of sampling units with irredeemable errors, about 68 households in each income band were
surveyed.
The sample of households was then clustered into selected neighbourhoods of the CMA. For each income
stratification, two sampling areas were selected giving a total of six sampling areas in all.
About 34 households were surveyed in each area. The two sampling areas selected in each income band were
selected on the basis of ease of access to commercial and employment opportunities. The first was a
residential neighbourhood with a mixed pattern of land use, and an open, pedestrian-oriented street pattern.
These „inner location‟ sampling areas have local access (meaning within a 2,5-3 km walking distance) to
commerce and employment opportunities. The second was a residential neighbourhood with little or no local
access to (formal) commerce and employment opportunities, and a closed, car-oriented street pattern. These
are called „outer location‟ sampling areas (Behrens, 2002).
121
Map 6-10.3: TAXI FLOWS, AM PEAK
122
Map 6-10.4: TAXI FLOWS, OFF PEAK
123
Map 6-10.5: TAXI FLOWS, PM PEAK
124
Behrens (2002: 150-4) main conclusions are as follows:
With regard to the nature and extent of all travel, the primary research found that:



travel patterns can vary quite considerably across the days of the week;
home-based work trips account for around just 20% of all weekday trips.
Previous analyses of movement in the CMA which have focussed on commuter
flows have thus excluded 80% of trip-making. Moreover, high capacity
metropolitan movement systems have been largely designed around just this
aspect of movement, ignoring the many other purposes for which trips are
made;
together the conventional 06h00-09h00 and 16h00-19h00 peak periods account
for about 46% of weekday travel. The data showed a triple afternoon peak, at
lunch time and around 2.00 when schools close. Surveys which focus on
commuter peaks thus exclude 54% of trip-making;
Figure 6.0-1: Aggregate weekday hourly trip timing by destination activity purpose (n = 84 h)
1.4
mean trips/household
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
23h00-00h00
22h00-22h59
21h00-21h59
20h00-20h59
19h00-19h59
18h00-18h59
17h00-17h59
16h00-16h59
15h00-15h59
14h00-14h59
13h00-13h59
12h00-12h59
11h00-11h59
10h00-10h59
09h00-09h59
08h00-08h59
07h00-07h59
06h00-06h59
05h00-05h59
04h00-04h59
03h00-03h59
02h00-02h59
01h00-01h59
00h00-00h59
0.0
departure hour
home
work
education
shopping
business
social
personal business
recreation
serve passenger
Source: Behrens, fig 3,32


the motor car is used as the main travel mode for about 48% of all trip purposes,
and given a very similar proportion of households have access to motor cars
(49%), car dependency amongst these households is therefore considerable.
However, data which focuses on motorised forms of travel exclude 36% of all
trip making.
walking accounts for around 36% of all trip purpose main mode use, and
therefore despite considerable car dependence, remains an important mode of
transportation.
125
With regard to the influence of household income on travel patterns, the primary
research found, amongst other things, that:




household and personal trip generation decline with income;
trip purpose distributions vary, with poorer households undertaking fewer
shopping trips but more social and personal business trips;
wealthier households drive significantly more and walk significantly less than
poorer households, with in the region of 61% of trips amongst low-income
households undertaken on foot as the main travel mode; and
while travelling for longer periods of time, poorer households have narrower
discretionary trip ranges, but given their tendency to walk more and for longer,
have considerably wider walking trip ranges.
With regard to the influence of neighbourhood location and form on travel patterns,
the primary research found, amongst other things, that:





peripherally located households compensate for poorer accessibility by
generating fewer multi-purpose trips and linking trips into chains;
as a result of longer trip lengths, peripherally located commuters leave home
earlier and return home later than centrally located commuters. Moreover, within
the same income band, outer location commuters (eg Mfuleni) spend 50% more
time on travel than inner location (eg Woodstock) commuters;
a lack of adequate public or non-motorised mode alternatives would appear to
lead to higher car ownership and use amongst peripherally located households
within the same income bands;
centrally located households living in pedestrian-friendly neighbourhoods walk
considerably more; and
greater walking opportunities in more central and pedestrian-friendly locations
enable lower income households or persons to effectively compensate to some
extent for low private mobility.
Figures 6.2 and 6.3 below, present two household time-space path case studies,
from the (Behrens, 2002) database, that illustrate the ability of households with
superior accessibility to undertake home-based trips (largely on foot) when the
need or desire arises. Both households contain four members, and neither has
access to a motor car. In the first case study a household living in the outer location
sampling area of Westridge makes just 10 home-based trips on their diary day, of
which 40% are undertaken on foot as the main travel mode. In the second case
study a household living in the inner location sampling area of Woodstock makes
20 home-based trips on their diary day, of which 75% are undertaken on foot as the
main mode.
Thus in lower income areas which are well-located, which are well-integrated with
higher order movement systems, and in which the movement network is „open‟
rather than „closed‟, lack of a car is less of a hindrance to movement.
126
Figure 6.0-2: Case Study and Household time-space path illustrating lower home-based trip
generation in outer locations
0
activity stations
1
2
3
employed father (43 yr)
houseworking mother (41 yr)
22h00
employed daughter (23 yr)
23h00
24h00
01h00
02h00
03h00
04h00
05h00
06h00
07h00
08h00
09h00
10h00
11h00
12h00
13h00
14h00
15h00
16h00
17h00
18h00
19h00
20h00
21h00
4
daughter (15 yr)
Note:
The time-space paths represented are constructed from the diaries kept by a 4 person middle-income
household living in Westridge, on a Thursday. The household is composed of an employed father (43 years), a
houseworking mother (41 years), an employed daughter (23 years) and a school-going daughter (15 years),
and does not have access to a motor car. The father commutes to and from work by minibus-taxi. The
houseworking mother travels to the shops by train as the main mode, and home again by bus. The employed
daughter commutes to and from work by bus, while the 15 year-old daughter walks unaccompanied to and from
school and the shops. [Activity stations: 4= home, 3= education activity, 2= shopping activity, 1= work;
Database R/ID= 370-388]
Source: Behrens (2002): fig 3.59
127
Figure 6.0-3: Case study household time-space path illustrating higher income home-based
trip generation in inner locations
0
activity stations
1
2
3
4
retired grandfather (72 yr)
employed mother (36 yr)
son (12 yr)
23h00
21h00
22h00
19h00
20h00
24h00
01h00
02h00
03h00
04h00
05h00
06h00
07h00
08h00
09h00
10h00
11h00
12h00
13h00
14h00
15h00
16h00
17h00
18h00
5
son (10 yr)
Note:
The time-space paths represented are constructed from the diaries kept by a 4 person middle-income
household living in Woodstock, on a Friday. The household is composed of a retired grandfather (72 years), an
employed mother (36 years) and two school-going sons (12 and 10 years), and does not have access to a
motor car. The grandfather goes for an early morning walk for exercise in the morning, and then accompanies
the two boys in the early afternoon to a sports activity. The mother commutes to work by minibus-taxi and walks
home, after which she goes shopping on foot. The two boys walk to and from school and to sports activities,
while the older (i.e. 12 year son) walks to and from an odd-job as well, stopping on the way to buy something at
the shops. [Activity stations: 5= home, 4= education activity, 3= recreation activity, 2= shopping activity, 1=
work; Database R/ID= 1020-1039]
Source: Behrens (2002), fig 3.60
With regard to the influence of household life-cycle stage on travel patterns, the
primary research found, amongst other things, that:



households with children, and particularly younger children, generate more trips
than those without;
the presence of children increases the number of education, recreation and
serve passenger trips undertaken by the household, and significantly intensifies
and constrains the daily activity schedules of adults with childcare
responsibilities; and
older adult households without children generate the fewest trips.
128
With regard to the influence of personal circumstances on travel patterns, the
primary research found, amongst other things, that:


amongst higher income households, domestic logistics and childcare
responsibilities amongst adult females lead to highest rates of personal trip
generation and widest discretionary trip ranges;
income generation responsibilities and job-seeking amongst adults lead to
highest rates of personal trip generation amongst lower income households. The
case below illustrates that of a 34-year old single mother in a low-income
household living in Mfuleni. In this instance the mother spends her day travelling
from employment centre to employment centre looking for work. She undertakes
4 trips during the diary period (compared to the mean personal trip rate of
1.97 trips/weekday for the low-income band), and spends a total of 9 hours
5 minutes travelling (of which 5 hours 41 minutes are on foot). About 38% of her
24 hour day time-use budget is therefore taken up by travel activities –
compared to 5% for the sample as a whole.
Figure 6.0-4: Case study household time-space path illustrating the impact of job-seeking on
personal trip generation
0
activity stations
1
2
3
4
unemployed mother (34 yr)
daughter (17 yr)
23h00
21h00
22h00
19h00
20h00
24h00
01h00
02h00
03h00
04h00
05h00
06h00
07h00
08h00
09h00
10h00
11h00
12h00
13h00
14h00
15h00
16h00
17h00
18h00
5
daughter (9 yr)
Note:
The time-space paths represented are constructed from the diaries kept by a 3 person low-income
household living in Mfuleni. The household does not have access to a motor car, and is composed of a single
unemployed mother (34 years) and her two school-going daughter aged 17 and 9 years. The older daughter
walks to and from school, and the younger daughter travels (unaccompanied) to and from school by foot and
bus. The mother spends her day looking for work. She travels to three employment centres in her search for
employment. She travels to the first by mini-bus-taxi (as the main mode), to the second on foot (walking for
4 hours 20 minutes), and to the third by mini-bus-taxi (as the main mode). She walks home at the end of the
working day. [Activity stations: 5= home, 4= education activity, 3= third employment centre, 2= second
employment centre, 1= first employment centre; Database R/ID= 860-874]
Source: Behrens (2002), fig. 3,73
129




access to household cars is skewed towards adult males;
adult females without access to household cars display similar trip generation
rates to adult females in households with car access;
independent child mobility varies across age groups and household incomes,
and is lowest amongst younger children in wealthier households; and
walking trip ranges are highest amongst adults from lower income households,
and the width of ranges decline as individuals get older and younger.
The general conclusion is therefore that travel needs indeed diverge widely on the
basis of a variety of financial, geographical, societal and demographic factors, and
understanding the relative impact of these is indeed a complex task. Income is
undoubtedly though the primary determinant of private mobility, and as such, is
probably the most significant variable in determining patterns of travel behaviour in
South African cities. The presence of children in the household also has a
significant impact on travel activities. It is erroneous however to assume that
personal travel constraints and choices are constant within income bands or other
household classifications, as age, gender and household responsibilities effect
travel behaviour as well. Neighbourhood form and location also have a significant
impact on travel behaviour, and it is also erroneous therefore to assume that
households located in different parts of the city with similar demographic and
income characteristics necessarily have similar travel patterns.
The information gaps preventing a full understanding of this diversity and
complexity are large. Non-work and off-peak travel would appear to account for the
majority of household travel activity (80% and 54% respectively), and the focus on
commutes and peaks in past surveys has therefore in all likelihood distorted widely
held perceptions of travel needs and patterns. In particular, as a result of being
routinely excluded or underestimated in past travel surveys, the importance of
walking trips – in terms of their roles in satisfying travel needs and in analysing road
safety problems – has not been fully understood. Main mode walking trips are
particularly important in satisfying the travel needs of middle- and low-income
households (accounting for 43% and 61% of all trip main mode use respectively).
At best this exclusion or underestimation has introduced a routine bias in the way in
which the urban transportation problem has been framed and has skewed transport
planning resources away from local network issues, and at worst has led to neglect
in the planning and design of infrastructure improvement for the poor and
vulnerable road users. In the absence of data, the tendency has been to assume
that South African cities are similar to those in the developed world around which
published data are more readily available, and from which many analytical and
planning practices were imported. The findings of this study, regarding for instance
the asymmetry of morning and afternoon peak periods and forward and return trips,
suggest this is problematic. Moreover, assumptions regarding the inevitability of
universal car access and use, walking distances, and the introverted or localised
nature of walking trips that underlie imported local network configuration ideas, are
refutable (Behrens, 2002).
130
6.7
SUMMARY OF ISSUES18
6.7.1 Key operational issues for private transport



inefficient road utilisation capacity (unidirectional peak flows)
peak period congestion
poor law enforcement
6.7.2 Key operational issues for public transport





inefficient public transport capacity utilisation
inefficient public transport mode interaction
declining services (especially off-peak)
decaying rail and bus rolling stock, especially rail
declining choice passengers / increasing car dependence
6.7.3 Key societal issues




high accident rates and fatalities
poor public transport safety
poor levels of accessibility for captive passengers in peripheral areas
long travel distances and times
6.7.4 Key environmental issues

increasing tailpipe emissions and photochemical smog
6.7.5 Key financial issues




declining capital expenditure and increasing passenger subsidies
inequitable subsidy payments
growing maintenance backlogs, especially in rail
uncertain future funding allocations
6.7.6 Key institutional issues



18
fragmented public transport planning and operation, and lack of control
over the rail system at provincial and local level
poor land use – transport planning integration
uncertain future institutional arrangements
From R Behrens, powerpoint presentation, UCT, July, 2002.
131
6.8
CONCLUSIONS
The Moving Ahead Transport Planning process is intended to provide an
information and analytical basis for the development of a future Integrated
Transport Plan. The information contained in this document, and the re-evaluation
of the effectiveness of the MSDF, have the following implications for future transport
planning in the CMA.

The Land Use Scenarios contained in the first volume of Moving Ahead are
based on a “middle road” scenario of the effectiveness of the MSDF. Current
evaluations suggest that in reality a “low road” (minimum effectiveness) scenario
has prevailed.

Estimates of future movement volumes are currently based on predictions of
commuter trips only; this would need to be expanded to include non-commuter
and non-peak (ie to include what appears to be significant lunch-time and
2.00pm peaks) movement patterns, so as to avoid excluding what may be the
majority of trips made. Such work would only be necessary if the predict and
provide approach remained.

National transportation policy implies a switch from the predict-and-provide
approach to transport planning to a demand management approach, in which
targets are set for movement volumes and patterns, and measures are then
devised to reach these targets. In Cape Town this would require additional
research into the track-record of demand management techniques elsewhere,
and scenario-testing on how such techniques might impact on movement in
Cape Town.

Data on vehicle and passenger flows, which indicates what is probably a
growing trend to north-south movement across the CMA, suggests that the
historical radial pattern of roads and routes focussing on the CBD no longer fully
reflects movement demand, but also that the existing metropolitan transport plan
which provides for ring-road links around the radial does not reflect movement
demand either.
There is currently (October, 2002) intense pressure to produce an Integrated
Transport Plan for metropolitan Cape Town, and there is a significant danger that
this will run ahead of planning in other sectors and will thus not be an integrated
plan. There is a further danger that, given time pressures, transport planners will fall
back on pre-existing planning frameworks (the current metropolitan transport plan
dates from the 1970s) which were produced as non-integrated plans at a time when
the spatial patterns and trends in Cape Town were very different.
132
7
HOUSING PROVISION AND LAND FOR FUTURE SETTLEMENT
7.1
THE NATURE OF THE HOUSING PROBLEM
The delivery of shelter and related infrastructural services causes major
problems in the CMA. The overarching problem is the mismatch between the needs
of the majority of those requiring shelter, and the form and extent of housing
assistance available from national government. A significant proportion of those
needing housing in the CMA can afford to pay very little towards their shelter needs,
and often cannot pay even this small amount on a regular basis. For many such
households, a shack in an unserviced informal settlement is the best they can
afford. National housing policy, on the other hand, implicitly negates the value of
informal settlements, and aims to rehouse such households in formally serviced
and regulated townships, and in individually owned units.
The outcomes of such a policy are firstly, that (given budget constraints) the gap
between units required and units provided continues to grow; secondly, many
households which are moved into new ownership units cannot afford the regular
service payments required, and either fall into arrears, abandon their dwellings, or
sell them illegally for whatever they can get; thirdly, those in informal settlements
remain without services as the focus of funding in on new housing areas. An
approach to housing improvement which included in situ upgrading of informal
settlements, and which involved greater support for those NGOs and CBOs which
are willing and able to participate in housing delivery, would clearly have different
outcomes.
In situ upgrade of informal settlements is
now widely accepted as a form of housing
delivery. The World Report on the Urban
Future 21 (Berlin 2000) reported:
“..informal populations are creative,
energetic and enthusiastic to improve their
housing environment” (P 13). “The best
practice is seen in slum upgrading
schemes like those in Jakarta and Manila,
based on fairly minimal standards that can
subsequently be upgraded. They accept
the built forms of the informal city, but
shape them in the direction of
sustainability” (P 37).
Other related housing problems in the CMA are:
 the poor location of many lower income housing areas and the general
absence of economic and social opportunities within and nearby these
areas;
 the deteriorated condition of most of the older township areas and
management problems in relation to these areas;
 the spread of middle and higher income housing into areas of environmental
sensitivity and agricultural value;
133



the overall low level of housing densities (averaging at 10du/ha) and hence
the wasteful use of land and infrastructure;
the pressure placed on infrastructural services (especially roads and waste
water) by private low density and car-oriented development which then has
to be met from the municipal capital budget, and
the poor nature of the public environment in township developments, as well
as poor built form, resulting in unprotected, windswept and depressing areas
with no positive outdoor public space usable for social and economic
functions.
7.2
TYPES OF HOUSING PROVISION IN THE CMA
Housing provision in the CMA can be divided into three sectors: the publicly
provided housing sector, the private housing sector and the popular housing sector
(or informal dwellings) (see Behrens et al, 1998). In strategy terms there is
agreement that each sector requires different processes and different approaches,
but that the three sectors should be understood in relation to each other and above
the subsidy level, public and private sectors should work together.
Strong correlations between race and income, and hence housing type, still exist in
Cape Town. Thus the white population (22% of total)19 is to be found primarily in the
private housing sector, the coloured population (46%) in the older subsizied
housing areas and the newer privately developed townships of Blue Downs and
Delft; and the African population (31%) in older public townships, the newer public
township of Khayelitsha and in informal settlements.
Table 23: Housing types in the CMA
Housing Types
House on separate stand
Informal dwelling (not backyard)
Town/cluster/semi-detached house
Flat in block of flats
Backyard shack
House/flat/room in backyard
Room/flat on shared property
Unit in retirement village
Traditional dwelling
Institution/hostel
Caravan/tent
Homeless
Unspecified
Total
Units
318,397
103,458
83,212
78,263
21,775
20,312
11,930
4,753
2,859
1,113
777
150
5,530
653,085
Source: 1996 Census
19
In 2001, following Cape Metropolitan Council (2000b)
134
Table 24: Ownership of dwellings in the CMA
Dwellings
Owned
Not owned
Unspecified
Total
Units
475,438
168,667
7,867
651,972
Source: 1996 Census
Housing issues in the public, private and informal housing sectors are as follows:
7.2.1 Subsidized housing
There are approximately 800 000 households in the CMA, and of these
some 220 000 households are inadequately housed. The vast majority of these
households will require assistance, either from the state or from civil society
organizations, to meet their housing needs. This housing backlog of 220 000
households assumes that households in overcrowded conditions (50-60% of the
backlog) need to be housed, and that certain informal settlements need to be
replaced as they are on land not suitable for settlement. In addition, new household
formation in the CMA is producing an additional 16 000 households per annum
which need assisted housing.
There are a number of problems related to both the actual delivery of houses and
the form of provision.

Inadequate subsidy provision. For 2003 it is estimated that there will be no
more than 11 000 – 12 000 full government housing subsidies available for the
CMA, and the numbers are unlikely to rise in future years. However, if housing
policy in the CMA were to accept the provision of only serviced sites, then these
full subsidies could be stretched to provide for 17 000 to 20 000 households per
annum. It is apparent that within the confines of the present housing policy, the
chances of “catching up” with housing demand are remote.

Assistance for the over R 2500 pm earners. A particular problem with the
housing subsidy system is that it is assumed that those earning just above R 2
500 per month can make do with very little (R 5000) state assistance, and those
earning over R 3000 per month require no help at all. However, there is a
significant gap between these incomes and the lowest income needed to secure
the cheapest privately built house. For those who earn too much to qualify for
the housing subsidy and too little to enter the private housing market, the
options are very limited. It is this group of people who are frequently to be found
in overcrowded situations in the township areas, or renting garages and wendyhouses for large sums. Yet this group is largely employed and educated, and
forms the core of working class Cape Town.

Housing and urban quality. In terms of those subsidized housing
developments which are being delivered through the national subsidy scheme,
there are major problems in terms of the quality of both housing and the urban
environment. The units themselves are generally regarded as too small (for
135
what are often extended families), are of poor quality, and demand the payment
of regular rates and service charges which often cannot be met by families who
may be intermittently employed. It is not unknown for such units to be
abandoned or informally sold for sums much less than their construction value.
The housing projects, apart from being poorly located, usually have little in the
way of community facilities or usable public spaces, and often follow a layout
which assumes high levels of car-ownership and are thus very inconvenient and
unsafe for a primarily pedestrian population.
Map 7.1 indicates the location of current public (greenfield) housing projects.
The largest of these (6000-10 000 units) is in the Kraaifontein area, north of the
N2 and close to the urban edge. The second and third largest group of projects
(1000-6000 units) is in the Metropolitan south east.

Availability of housing land. The securing of land for subsidized housing
creates a further constraint. A recent investigation by the City of Cape Town:
Housing, of land in the CMA available for subsidy and gap market (R3500R6000) housing, identified 3820 hectares (in 546 sites) within the urban edge,
Map 7.2. A further 34 sites (1286ha) will require further investigation as there
are competing land use demands being made on them.
Of the land potentially suited to affordable housing, 31% is council owned, 3%
by the Provincial Housing Development Board, 13% by other government
departments, 38% by the private sector and 15% by “other” categories. Only 7%
of the land could be made available for development within one year, and a
further 38% (1409ha) within 3 years. The rest would take even longer.
33% (1249ha) of the land is suited to infill housing. Much of the remaining land
is on the urban periphery (+-40% of land suitable for affordable housing is
located between the Airport and the Cape Town/Strand railway line) and its
development would further entrench the apartheid pattern of locating the poor
far away from concentrations of certain kinds of work opportunity.
Large and well-located parcels of public land still exist in Cape Town (part of
Wingfield, Ysterplaat, Youngsfield and Cullemborg) and there are strong
arguments that they should be used to accommodate lower income people. But
their use for low income housing faces competing demands, high bulk
infrastructure costs and NIMBY factors.
A further issue is that land within the urban edge may be used up rather quickly,
depending, firstly, on the form in which the subsidy is delivered, and secondly on
the planned densities of housing. The sites identified as being potentially
suitable for subsidised housing (households earning under R3 500pm) will only
last some 5 years at the current rate of housing delivery (+-11 000 opportunities
per annum, requiring 205ha pa). If the housing delivery rate is increased to +-17
000 opportunities pa (requiring 320ha pa) it will only last three years.
136
Map 7.1 NOT AVAILABLE
137
Map 7.1: DISTRIBUTION OF LAND FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING, BY SECTOR OF
THE CMA
138
7.2.2 Informal housing
By May 1998 there were an estimated 72 140 shacks in the CMA, in informal
settlements, and by 2000 this estimate had increased to approximately 90 000.
Their growth had slowed from an 111% increase (1993-6) to a 21% increase (19968), representing a 16% pa compound increase, taking into account relocations to
newly serviced sites (Abbott and Douglas, 1999). Despite the decline in growth,
they remain the primary form of new housing delivery for the lower income groups.
See Map 7.3.
Informal settlements are a direct response to the slow increase in subsidized
housing delivery, and also to the unaffordable nature of much of this housing.
Amongst the coloured population the response to a lack of housing delivery has
generally been that of doubling-up in existing township accommodation (giving rise
to very high levels of overcrowding), and only recently has this demand spilled over
into informal settlement. For the African population, even less well served by the
subsidized housing sector, informal settlement (as well as backyard shacks in
existing townships) has long provided the primary means of housing expansion.
This has tended to concentrate on open land within and around existing African
townships and in the metro south east more generally, but is also being drawn to
areas of commercial and residential expansion: the Helderberg Basin, and Blue
Downs and Kuilsrivier (Cross and Bekker, 1999).
Cross and Bekker (1999) document significant flows of people between African
township areas and informal settlements, accounting for half of all recorded
movement by African people within the CMA. This movement represents jockeying
for access to those limited housing areas which are close to public transport routes,
public services and work opportunities. For those households with few resources,
the peripheral informal settlements offer cheaper accommodation possibilities, but
exclusion from better paying job opportunities, forcing them to rely more often on
informal sector activities or lower wage urban fringe jobs (for example in
agriculture). The Cross and Bekker survey found that the search for work as a
reason to move dropped significantly after the first move, and that availability of
affordable housing, space and facilities became more important determinants. In
the African informal townships the Cape Town CBD accounted for only 1 job in 10,
with most income being generated relatively close to areas of residence.
The primary issues in these settlements are a lack of access to public services, and
often their location in environmentally hazardous areas. They do, however, offer
advantages in terms of cheap accommodation cost and better space provision, and
hence the issue of in-situ upgrade20 as opposed to their removal, becomes
important.
20
A detailed assessment has been carried out to identify which informal settlements
in the CMA would be suitable for in situ upgrade (Cape Metropolitan Council, 2000).
A significant number of the larger settlements are considered suitable.
139
Map 7.2: DISTRIBUTION OF SHACKS IN THE CMA
140
7.2.3 Private housing sector
This sector operates through the supply of housing by private individuals or
developers. Upper and middle income people house themselves in this way, but a
substantial number of poorer people find accommodation privately through lodging
or subletting (sometimes in the form of backyard shacks).
Middle and upper income housing has tended to take the form of low density, large
lot sprawl, often on the perimeter of the urban area where undeveloped natural
areas are an attraction. Maps 7.4 and 7.5. indicate residential growth from 19881993 and from 1993-1998 by household income, showing that middle and upper
income residential growth tends to concentrate on the urban edge, in the areas of
Blaauwberg, Plattekloof, Durbanville and the Helderberg. Lower income housing, by
comparison, has tended to concentrate within the Cape Flats, although smaller
pockets near the urban edge are visible on Map 7.5. This would support the
argument that pressure on the urban edge can be attributed to higher rather than
lower income housing developments.
Figure 7.1 indicates that in the post 1993 period, land take-up by very low income
(below R25,000 pa) households increased significantly, and take-up by middle
income (R 50,000-200,000 pa) was only a little less. However, in the 1993-8 period,
the lowest income group was responsible for 37,1% of new residential
development, while the middle income groups were responsible for 53,5% of new
land development.
This rapid expansion in land used occurred despite the more recent trend to higher
density, town-house, type developments. The latter is evident both within the
existing urban fabric, and also in some of the newer developments in the
Blaauwberg area. A particular form of higher density development is the “security
village”, surrounded by high (often electrified) walls and controlled access. This
follows a trend in many other parts of the world and is a direct response to
increasing crime levels. However, it serves to fragment the urban fabric and impact
negatively on public open space.
Low density sprawl on the urban edge generates a number of externalities which
have to be met, directly or indirectly, from public resources. These take the form of:

Greater expenditure on service infrastructure. In both Durbanville and
Blaauwberg waste water treatment plants are at capacity and major new
investments are required to service further development. In Durbanville the
water reticulation system is proving inadequate to cope with the rate of
development and supply failures have occurred. In Blaauwberg the major routes
such as the N7 and Koeberg Rd are close to reaching gridlock and large-scale
expenditure on road links is now required;

Extended trip lengths from the urban periphery to place of employment which
have greatly added to road congestion. This in turn has greatly contributed to air
pollution;
141
Map 7.3: RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT 1988-1993, BY INCOME GROUP
142
Map 7.4: RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT 1993-1998, BY INCOME GROUP
143

A high rate of loss of valuable agricultural land on the urban edge. Not only is
this a national resource which is being eroded, but it also impacts on the cost of
food and agricultural products in the metropolitan area, which have to be
transported across increasing distances to the urban markets.
Figure 7-1: COMPARISON OF RESIDENTIAL
DEVELOPMENT 1988-1993 AND 1993-1998 BY SQUARE
KILOMETER
For an extensive review of the issue of densification in the CMA see City of Cape
Town (2002a), the Densification Study.
Informal rental, often in the form of backyard shacks, is prevalent within lower
income communities and is a logical response to the housing shortage (see Watson
and McCarthy, 1998). In poor cities in other parts of the world, this is the dominant
form of accommodation for the lower income groups, but it remains
unacknowledged in South African housing policy. One important implication of this
form of accommodation is that densities in lower income areas rise well beyond
planned densities, and this in turn has an impact on service infrastructure. There
are strong arguments from other parts of the world that this form of accommodation
should be recognized and accommodated in urban areas.
While backyard shacks have always been a feature of Cape Town‟s African
townships, Abbott and Douglas (1998) note a growth in backyard shacks in the
previous municipalities of Oostenberg, South Peninsula and Tygerberg, in the
newly developing low income areas. This is likely to be a response both to the
overall shortage of accommodation affecting both African and coloured areas, and
to the need to share accommodation and service costs in the new townships.
144
7.3
FUTURE LAND FOR HOUSING IN THE CMA
The City of Cape Town: Housing, has been undertaking a process of
identifying land in the CMA which could potentially be use for subsidized housing.
Map 7.2 indicates quantities of land in various parts of the CMA which could be
used for affordable (subsidized and gap market) housing in the shorter term. As the
map indicates, much of this potential land is in the south east of the CMA, and is
thus subject to the kinds of locational and environmental problems which affect this
area as a whole21.
A recent study by consultants of the City of Cape Town Spatial Planning
Department investigated three large potential housing areas within the urban edge
of the CMA:



Blaauwberg Central (between the coast and the N7 and from Blaauwberg Rd in
the south to the urban edge in the north). The report estimates that 2000ha of
land could be set aside for affordable housing, accommodating 80 000 units (at
40du/per ha).
Greater Blue Downs area (between the R300 in the west, the N2 in the south
and the railway line in the east). Some 1200ha could potentially be made
available for housing in this area, but if land with conservation potential were
subtracted, only a quarter of this could be available.
The Philippi Horticultural Area. The total area is 3400ha, of which some would
have to be reserved for conservation, silica sand mining and as part of MOSS.
The report estimates that the area could still accommodate 100 000 dwelling
units.
The Report considers a range of opportunities and constraints in relation to all three
areas and recommends that the Blue Downs area could supply some land in the
shorter term (but not sufficient to meet metropolitan needs). A housing development
strategy for this area should aim to identify usable parcels of land and to assess
bulk service capacities, taking into account environmental issues. In the longer term
the Blaauwberg area offers the best potential for larger scale, state-subsidised
housing developments, after investment in major new infrastructure developments
and taking into account new information on environmental constraints. The Philippi
Horticultural area requires further study into its potential for a range of possible
uses, including the continuation of urban agriculture.
While decisions on the location of new housing must be taken within the context of
the overall future development of the CMA, what the figures above do indicate is
that if the urban edge is to hold in the medium term, then thought will have to be
given to achieving even higher densities, and to ways to unlock both the large
public land parcels (Youngsfield, Wingfield, Ysterplaat) and the many much smaller
parcels of infill land scattered throughout the CMA, for a variety of housing needs. It
is recognized that current housing policy constrains both higher densities and
smaller projects.
21
There is also now a study underway to investigate higher density infill housing on better located land for the
income categories above site and service.
145
7.4



CONCLUSION
The three most critical issues in relation to housing in Cape Town are:
The accommodation of very low income people in a situation in which there is a
shortage of accessible and affordable land within the urban edge;
The constraints imposed by current national housing policy which make it almost
impossible to either accommodate low income people on well-located land, to
carry out in situ upgrade in existing informal settlements, or to take advantage of
opportunities in the informal rental market; and
The rapid growth of higher income housing on the urban edge, which is placing
pressure on both valuable agricultural land and available infrastructure – in
particular waste-water treatment capacity, and road infrastructure.
In relation to the first two issues, it can be noted that large tracts of well-located
public land have for many years been indicated as having potential for low income
housing (Youngsfield, Wingfield, Ysterplaat, Culemborg) but the political will to
release these parcels has been lacking. These land parcels, built to relatively high
densities, could greatly relieve pressure on the urban edge and would place many
thousands of poorer people in good locations with a commensurate saving in
transport subsidy.
With regard to higher income housing, the political will has also been lacking to
ensure that these developments pay the full costs of low income, peripheral sprawl.
This would imply development levies on residential developments which covered
the additional infrastructural costs imposed by low densities, and by the additional
demands placed on waste-water treatment capacity.
In sum there is clearly a different mind-set needed in terms of dealing with the
housing problems of Cape Town and particularly, in relation to the poor, an
approach which is more responsive to the realities of deep poverty.
146
8
WATER AND WASTE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE
The City of Cape Town Water Services Development Plan was published in
200122, containing a description and analysis of the current and future customer
profile and infrastructure services, and a twenty year strategic plan. The issues
covered in this document impact on metropolitan spatial planning in a number of
ways:




New urban development requires waste water treatment capacity, and if
this is not available, its provision will directly or indirectly increase the cost
of development.
Failure to match urban development with waste water treatment capacity
can result in negative environmental and servicing outcomes.
New urban development makes demands on water reticulation capacity,
the provision of which also has cost implications.
The form of urban development has an impact on the amount of water
consumption in the CMA, and hence on its future price and source.
WASTE WATER TREATMENT23
Rapid urban growth on the periphery of the CMA (in Blaauwberg,
Durbanville, the south-east, and Helderberg) have led to major capacity problems at
the available waste water treatment plants. Further urban growth in the Table View
and Durbanville areas, particularly, will need major new investments if waste water
needs are to be met. Plants which are at capacity are:
8.1

Potsdam plant (Milnerton). The 3000ha of residential land earmarked for
development in Parklands and Sunningdale would require that the Potsdam
waste water plant is upgraded at a cost of R 100m. Growth in this area will
also require 5 new sewage pumping stations and an upgrade of the existing
pumping station. A new outfall sewer is required for the Parklands
development and new collector mains will be needed in a number of places.

Kraaifontein plant (serving Kraaifontein and Durbanville). A proposal for a
new regional plant at Fisantekraal, to cope with existing pressure problems
and growth in this area, has been approved. It will cost some R 100m and
will be completed by June 2004.

Bellville plant: this has a small amount of spare capacity, but would be
greatly relieved by the Fisantekraal development.

Zandvliet plant (serving Khayelitsha and Oostenberg) is short of capacity.

Macassar plant: additional clarification facilities are currently under
construction and this will relieve the current capacity problem at this plant.

Mitchell‟s Plain plant currently has adequate capacity.
Spare capacity will be available at certain inner-city plants:
22
23
www.capetown.gov.za/water/wsdp
Sources: Water Services Development Plan (2001), personal communications.
147

the Athlone plant is currently undergoing major upgrade and could serve
growth in District 6, Culemborg, Ysterplaat, Wingfield, and Athlone itself;

the Cape Flats plant, the largest in the CMA, has existing spare capacity and
could serve another 200,000 people.
Map 8.1 indicates the capacity status of the various plants in the CMA.
Overall, it is estimated that R 1,5 billion is required over the next 10years to provide
waste water treatment service to the growing CMA population. 60% of this is
needed for expanded capacity at Milnerton, Zandvliet and Athlone.
8.2
WATER RETICULATION
In certain parts of the CMA urban growth has seriously reduced the ability of water
reticulation systems to deliver water to households. This has been a particular
problem in the Durbanville area and in high lying areas in Somerset West where, at
times, water has been unavailable due to insufficient pressure. The Durbanville
problem will require a new reservoir (Spes Bona).
8.3
WATER SUPPLY
The CMA has limited water resources, and in the past this has required
water restrictions at particular times of the year. Over and above the development
of a new major dam (the Skuifraam Dam on the Berg River), which will only address
the problem for the next 15 years, the Water Services Development Plan argues for
demand management measures to contain demand growth. Even with these
measures there is the possibility that in the future alternative sources such as sea
water desalination will have to be considered. Such measures will raise the cost of
water considerably.
In 1998, 21,3% of all water use in the CMA went to the watering of gardens and
filling of swimming pools (DWAF, 1998, in Gasson 2000). By implication, forms of
urban development which are higher density and which reduce the amount of
private open space, will contribute to water saving.
8.4
CONCLUSIONS
The form of urban development in the CMA has placed serious demands on
all bulk infrastructure, but particularly on the waste water treatment system. Very
rapid residential development has been allowed to occur in the peripheral parts of
the CMA, and particularly in Blaauwberg and Tygerberg, and inevitably treatment
plants serving these areas have reached their capacity. The City is now faced with
the prospect of allocating a significant proportion of its scarce resources to the
upgrade or duplication of these facilities – a cost which will be borne by the
ratepayers of the whole CMA. National government now sets standards for the
performance of this infrastructure which have to be met. More serious however, is
the possibility that if upgrade and maintenance is not carried out, there could be
major environmental disasters.
148
The form of urban development also has important implications for the use of water
in the CMA, with low density development and an absence of a concern for water
conservation likely to result in the rapid depletion of this scarce resource.
149
Map 8-1: WASTE WATER TREATMENT PLANTS AND CAPACITY
150
9
EVALUATION OF THE SPATIAL STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONING OF
THE CMA
The purpose of this section is as follows:



To summarize the patterns and trends of changing land use, as outlined in the
various sections above.
To indicate the extent to which these spatial patterns and trends are negatively
affecting the overall aims of achieving equity, efficiency and sustainability in the
CMA.
to review the extent to which the MSDF, since its acceptance by the CMC in
1996 and its publication as a Technical Report (1996), has been accepted by all
stakeholders and has served to give direction to the growth and change of the
metropolitan area24.
9.1
TRENDS RELATING TO CHANGING LAND USE AND SPATIAL
STRUCTURE
In the broadest terms, there are four main ways in which the spatial structure
of Cape Town has changed over the last ten years:
9.1.1 The spatial divide between the wealthy parts of the city and the poorer
parts, primarily on the Cape Flats and in the metropolitan south-east,
appears to have persisted and probably deepened.
The last ten years have seen extensive new investment in the northern parts of the
city, in the CBD and in the Helderberg Basin, but very little new formal sector
investment in land and buildings on the Cape Flats. Both retail/office and industrial
growth has concentration in Blaauwberg and Tygerberg, with Blaauwberg showing
a light industrial emphasis. There has been rapid middle-income, low density,
residential growth in Blaauwberg, and higher income residential development in
Tygerberg, while the Cape Flats has been the prime location for informal
settlements and subsidised housing delivery. One implication of this is that Cape
Town remains a racially and economically divided city, although limited income and
racial mixing has occurred in some areas. This statement needs to be qualified in
three ways:

There has been relatively more public sector investment on the Cape Flats,
although much of this has been directed at Social Overhead Capital, and at
improving basic infrastructure.

Extensive informal and small business investment has taken place on the Cape
Flats, and a great deal of investment has found its way into informal or smallscale housing provision.
There are signs that more formal, private sector development is taking place at
particular locations on the Cape Flats. This development is to be found along
24
A project has been launched within the City of Cape Town to develop indicators to measure and evaluate the
impact of the MSDF, but the results of this monitoring are not yet available.
151
certain of the routes from the wealthy parts of the city (particularly Klipfontein Rd
and in Athlone, and on the western end of Lansdowne/Wetton roads), and in
locations that are far removed from established commercial nodes: Mitchells Plain
Town Centre and, to a limited degree, the Airport Industria.
9.1.2 Cape Town is gradually shifting from being a highly centralised city, in
which radial transport routes focussed movement on the CBD, to one
in which development is becoming more multi-nodal (although in some
cases, as in Blaauwberg and Tygerberg, the form of development is
more axial than nodal).
While the Cape Town CBD, unlike the centres of other South African cities, has
retained (and is improving) its attractiveness, the strongest areas of commercial
growth have been to the north of the city in Blaauwberg and Tygerberg/Durbanville,
and to a lesser extent in Claremont and the Helderberg Basin. This in turn has had
an impact on movement flows. While a great deal of people and traffic still move in
to the central areas of the CMA on a daily basis, the north-south movement pattern
(mainly along the M7/N7, the M5 and increasingly along the R300) is becoming
more important. The heaviest traffic flows have shifted from the N2 to the N1, but
with numbers dropping closer to the CBD, suggesting growing volumes of
movement within the northern sector of the CMA.
In general terms, therefore, formal investment in both commercial and residential
activity is concentrating itself in a band occupying the northern parts of the CMA,
stretching from the CBD to the eastern edge of the CMA and generally north of the
N1. Areas of concentration are the Blaauwberg axis, Plattekloof and the Durban Rd
axis.
There has also been a sub-urbanisation of economic activity, ie a dispersal of
economic activity into former primarily residential areas.
 One form of this is large commercial developments (shopping malls and office)
away from the traditional nodes and axes of Cape Town, and often located close
to new residential areas and freeway movement systems. Examples are the
expansion of Ottery, Constantia and Brackenfel, and new developments such as
N1 City and Century City.
 A second form is local commercial clusters or activity streets, with the “garage
shop” and neighbourhood versions of Woolworths and 7-11 (rather than the
“corner café” of previous years) playing important roles.
 A third form is the work-from-home phenomenon, which has always existed in
the poorer townships of the Cape Flats, but now is to be found extensively in the
wealthiest parts of the CMA as well. This pattern is reflected in the use of the
main movement routes, which now happens throughout the day, rather than
being concentrated in morning and evening peak periods.
152
9.1.3 There has been a continuation of low density, spatially fragmented and
car-oriented residential development, driven particularly by the needs
of middle and upper income households.
This growth has been extensive in Blaauwberg, the Tygerberg Hills and
Oostenberg, the Helderberg and in parts of the southern peninsula. New urban
developments in both upper and lower income areas continue to adhere to
movement network design in the form of a functional hierarchy of roads (first set out
in 1976 guidelines), primarily aimed at the needs of a car-owning and highly mobile
population (see Behrens, 1998b).
The spread of low density development, particularly in the wealthier areas, may
have been contained to some extent by the declaration of the urban edge in the
MSDF. Increasingly, however, it is likely to be constrained by severe infrastructural
shortages. There is now a major shortage of waste water treatment capacity in the
Blaauwberg, Tygerberg, Oostenberg and Helderberg areas. These are all
metropolitan “edge” areas where the rate of development has outstripped treatment
capacity, and where it will require major new investments in plant to service further
development. However, the finance to do this is becoming a major constraint for the
City as it is having to become more and more selective and strategic in terms of
where it invests in major infrastructure. In the Blaauwberg area there are also
severe problems in relation to the road network, with a situation approaching
gridlock in the morning peak period.
9.1.4 Movement patterns within the CMA have become more complex, but
many of those who have formal jobs still face very lengthy and
expensive commuting distances, and multiple mode changes. This is
combined with a deteriorating passenger rail service (historically the
primary form of public transport) and shifts by commuters to the bus
and taxi modes of transport.
The physical separation between formal job opportunities on the one hand and the
residential areas of low income people on the other, and the result of this,
expressed in large and growing volumes of daily movement across the CMA, is a
continuing trend. For some the commuting distance has lengthened, as much new
job creation now occurs on the northern edge of the CMA. Given the pattern of the
rail and road network, designed to feed the CBD, many people are faced with
multiple public transport mode changes, as they attempt to move between the north
and the south of the CMA, and „across‟ fixed movement systems.
With deterioration in the frequency and safety of rail travel, many people have had
no option but to shift to road based private or public transport modes, and levels of
traffic congestion on roads have increased as a result.
9.2
ARE THESE TRENDS UNIQUE TO CAPE TOWN?
All these trends have been noted in other cities in South Africa, and in cities
in both wealthier and poorer parts of the world. In Johannesburg, Pretoria and
Durban the power of land speculators has largely shaped these cities, with
decentralised nodal commercial developments significantly affecting the health of
the CBDs and the viability of public transport systems (Harrison and Oranje, 2002).
153
In American cities the term “Edge City” has been coined to refer to decentralised
commercial nodes which have established themselves close to peripheral
residential areas and freeways. Theorists Graham and Healey (1999) have argued
that we have shifted from Uniplex to Multiplex cities, with relations of people and
firms stretching across and beyond the city, uncontainable within any particular
physical form.
In Cape Town, dynamics within the global economy, together with a restructuring
and opening up of the national economy, have affected the performance of the
various economic sectors. The shift in the CMA towards financial and professional
services and the trade and tourism sector, and away from manufacturing, reflects
changes which have occurred in many cities of the world. These shifts have had
implications for where in the CMA investment is taking place: it is attracted to those
areas with access, appropriate infrastructure, amenity, safety, a good “public
image” and a skilled and professional labour force. Economic shifts also have
implications for jobs and income, and the tendency in Cape Town towards formal
job loss (particularly in the traditional economic sectors), a growth in the informal
sector and growing income disparities, also reflects trends in many other cities of
the world (Soja, 1995; Borja and Castells, 1997). These forces have spatial
implications: existing job and income disparities between wealthy and poor areas
are simply exacerbated by these trends. It can therefore be assumed that, to a
degree, forces of this kind will continue to impact on the Cape Town spaceeconomy and will continue to support tendencies towards polarisation and
fragmentation.
9.3
PROBLEMS CAUSED BY THESE PATTERNS AND TRENDS
The question can be asked: do these spatial patterns and trends promote
broader aims of urban equity and efficiency, and environmental sustainability, or do
they work against them? One position might be that social and economic problems
in the CMA should be addressed sectorally, and that the spatial or locational
dimension of such problems is not relevant. There have, however, been numerous
challenges to such a “space-blind” way of viewing development. In particular,
fragmented, sprawling development imposes costs of various kinds on society and
individuals: capital and operating costs, individual consumer costs, environmental
costs, economic or productivity costs, and social costs.

In terms of urban public capital costs, fragmented, dispersed urban growth
makes the provision of utility services more expensive. In the case of higher
income suburban developments, the cost of services is increased as the greater
distances between dwellings necessitates long pipe and cable lengths, and
more road infrastructure. Higher income residents rarely pay the full costs of
these kinds of developments. Large-scale residential developments near or
beyond the metropolitan edge eventually require separate service production
(e.g. new sewage treatment works) or very long pipes and cables to link these
developments to existing points of service production, both at considerable cost.
The above analysis has shown how the main demand for new wastewater
treatment plants is now primarily on the urban edge, following growth trends,
leaving little in the capital budget to deal with renewal and upgrade demands
within the CMA.
154
New, decentralised, nodal commercial developments (eg Century City) also make
significant demands on the public capital budget (for transport and bulk service
infrastructure), with the development levy often not covering very much of these
costs.

In terms of urban operating costs, the excessive distances, low levels of support
and expansive spaces of dispersed urban growth generate unnecessarily high
costs for the operating of road-based public services (e.g. solid waste collection)
and the maintenance of public open spaces. Moreover, the low density and
fragmented nature of development on much of the Cape Flats, and northward to
Atlantis, makes the provision of an efficient public transport system extremely
difficult as there is a lack of concentrated threshold (consumer support) to
provide a frequent and effective service. The CMC (1999) Moving Ahead project
has pointed directly to the pattern of metropolitan land use and transport
demand pattern as a factor underlying the difficulty of providing a good public
transport service at all times of the day25.
Of particular importance is the cost of subsidising the public transport services
necessary to move people from peripheral residential areas to more central
industrial areas. Between 1990/1 and 1998/9 the cost of rail passenger
subsidisation increased at 11,1%pa and bus subsidies at 17,7%pa. Subsidies
for both transport modes now stand at R 400m per annum (CMC, 1999), and
are unsustainable.
Thus the excessive financial resources necessary to meet the capital and
operating costs of dispersed, fragmented urban growth obviously prevents the
use of these critical resources for more urgent capital investments.

In terms of individual costs, one of the most serious impacts of fragmented
urban growth for consumers is the amount of money spent on travel. It places a
burden of high transportation costs on the poorest of families, and erodes their
already inadequate disposable income. At worst it traps such families within
their localities, with little alternative other than the informal sector as a source of
livelihood. International standards suggest that commuting costs to work should
not consume more than 2,5% to 5% of an individual‟s income. Currently the
costs of public transport for Khayelitsha residents consume more than 10% of
average income (Clark and Crous, 2000).
As new low-income housing developments continue to be located in or near the
urban edge, and as formal job opportunities continue to concentrate in the
wealthier north and west of the metropolitan area, so commuting distances are
steadily increasing. In metropolitan Cape Town, one-way trip lengths have
reached an average of 16km a figure comparable to renowned car dependent
cities of the First World (e.g. Los Angeles: 15,3 km) (CMC, 1999). The time
spent commuting to and fro from peripheral townships has a major impact on
25
Public transport provision has also been subject to management and financial
problems, resulting in the decline in frequency and quality of public transport
services, and hence a shift by commuters to taxis and private cars.
155
daily living, reducing time available to supervise children, partake in family life,
or attending night school.

Fragmented, sprawling development generates major environmental costs.
Dispersed urban growth in Cape Town has consumed large amounts of
valuable, potentially agricultural land: between 1988 and 1993, 5,3 hectares of
agricultural land were lost per day to urban development26 (B Gasson, pers
com). Dispersed, fragmented patterns of urban growth, which generate large
volumes of vehicular movement, also have a significant affect on pollution
levels. Studies have shown that it is particularly diesel engines which generate
air pollution. Levels of photochemical smog have risen sharply in Cape Town,
due primarily to the growth of taxis and road-based commercial transport. This
form of pollution affects the respiratory system, causing emphysema, asthma,
chronic bronchitis and cancer.
The nature of urban development in Cape Town is also impacting negatively on
other aspects of Cape Town‟s unique and valuable natural environment. Many
plant, mammal, bird and reptile species in the CMA are threatened, and
biodiversity is suffering. Much of the coastal zone is unprotected and is
threatened by development, and river corridors, catchments, floodplains,
aquifers and wetlands are being negatively affected.

Fragmented, sprawling forms of urban development affect economic
productivity. Road congestion at particular times of the day slows the movement
of commercial traffic, and lengthy commuting distances for workers affects their
productivity. High transport costs reduce consumer spending and hence
spending power. Most importantly these kinds of urban environments are not
conducive to the operation of the informal sector: there are relatively few good
places where street trading can take place due to the dispersed nature of
consumer thresholds.

Planned living environments which lack positive public spaces and
environmental responsiveness undermine economic growth. Such environments
are unattractive to tourists (a central element of future economic growth) and to
potential investors, who increasingly regard an attractive physical environment
as an essential element in their investment decisions. Many of the poor quality
public spaces on the Cape Flats have become foci for criminal and gang activity,
which in turn further undermines the ability of these areas to attract investment.

Uncontrolled, market driven development is often fuelled by property
speculation, and has been resulting in redundant buildings and infrastructure.
This represents economic inefficiency. Thus some new retail development is
being driven by the desire of some retail chains to establish themselves in new
centres, rather than being driven by growth in retail demand. The result has
been redundant buildings on the older corridors and in the CBD.
26
These figures apply to an area excluding Paarl and Wellington, but including Stellenbosch and Somerset
West.
156

There is growing evidence in other parts of the world that the ongoing
segregation of lower income people into particular areas of the city (social and
spatial exclusion) exacerbates levels of crime in these areas (see Borja and
Castells, 1997: 82). One study in American cities found that spatial segregation
was the most significant factor of all the variables which accounted for the
homicide rate in black urban areas (Borja and Castells, 1997). High crime rates
lock poorer areas into a downward spiral of low property values and limited
private sector investment, and hence greater poverty and deprivation.
This section has argued that the spatial form of urban development which has
persisted in Cape Town (polarisation between wealthy and poor areas, spatially
fragmented development and low density sprawl, poorly planned living
environments) imposes a wide range of public and individual costs, and
environmental costs, on the metropolitan area. The lower income population bears
the brunt of many of these costs. Any attempt to address issues of poverty,
economic growth and the environment cannot ignore the role of space as a basic
and underlying factor.
9.4
POTENTIALS CONTAINED IN CURRENT PATTERNS AND TRENDS
The current trends in spatial development in Cape Town are not all negative.
Two of the current trends could be considered as beneficial and should not
necessarily be countered.

Shift to “multi-nodalism”
The term “node” here refers to centres or clusters of commercial activity such as
the CBD, Claremont or Bellville/Tygerberg, and not to isolated, large scale
shopping malls. The historically highly centralised metropolitan area, with the
CBD as the focus for a number of radial routes, inevitably developed structural
problems as the CMA grew: over-congestion in the centre and on the routes
feeding it and a lack of development on the periphery. The fact that the spaceeconomy is beginning to shift towards a more balanced multi-nodal pattern of
development is therefore positive, particularly since this has occurred without
major loss of value in the CBD. A multi-nodal pattern implies a better distribution
of economic opportunity and a better distribution of movement on available
roads and routes.
The problem remains however, that the focus of this multi-nodal growth has
been in those parts of the metropolitan area which hold a wealthier population.
While some decentralised growth is beginning to emerge on the Cape Flats, this
has been slow and sparse, with the result that much of the poorer Cape Flats
population remains poorly served by formal commercial developments.

Sub-urbanisation of economic activity
The previously monofunctional nature of many residential areas (particularly the
wealthier areas) has always been identified as a problem, and the spread of
work and commercial opportunity into these areas in the form of “working from
home” and local commercial clusters, provides greater levels of convenience for
suburban residents, a more efficient use of urban infrastructure, and areas
which “live” during the day. However, the form taken by large, physically
isolated, “mall” developments in suburban areas (eg Century City) is far more
157
negative: they place an unplanned burden on local infrastructure (often only
partially covered by development levies) and particularly on road capacity; their
physical separation from surrounding urban fabric worsens problems of urban
fragmentation, and works against the integration of areas; and they may have a
detrimental effect on nearby smaller retail and commercial developments which
provide high levels of customer convenience.
9.5
REVIEW OF THE MSDF
In the light of the above problems and imperatives for spatial planning, the
question now needs to be asked: to what extent have past and current efforts at
spatial planning in the CMA been adequate?
9.5.1 Background to spatial planning in the CMA
The current spatial planning initiative, which culminated in the production of
the Metropolitan Spatial Development Framework (or MSDF) began in 1989 in
response to the inadequacies of the then Guide Plans for Cape Town. The
principles, goals and strategies of the MSDF were subject to public stakeholder
debate as part of the Western Cape Economic Development Forum in 1993-5, and
were then set out in the MSDF Technical Report of 1996. The intention on the part
of the CMC spatial planners (and the Council) was that this plan would be
statutorised via LUPO, and to this end the Draft Statutory MSDF (1999) was
advertised twice for comment in 1999 and 2000 respectively. Statutorisation has not
occurred, partly due to lack of consensus on the plan between all six previous
municipalities, and partly due to legislative processes concerning the IDP (and the
SDF) and uncertainties concerning LUPO legislation.
The next sections consider, firstly, and in the light of current development priorities
in metropolitan Cape Town, which aspects of the MSDF can be supported and
secondly, which should be subject to further consideration.
9.5.2 Review of MSDF strategies
9.5.2.1
MSDF Strategies: the urban edge and MOSS
In principle, the idea of protecting areas of natural or agricultural
importance through limiting urban development on them, is generally supported by
local government officials and by planning and environmental professionals. There
is less awareness of the importance of these strategies within the Provincial
Government and amongst property developers and citizens.
Within the City of Cape Town, a concern for the urban edge is a strong informant
when edge-related applications are received or long-term infrastructural
programmes are considered. Applications that are urban in nature and situated
outside of the edge are not supported. Within the Provincial Government, the edge
is only acknowledged, as it is not statutory. The Province has evidently indicated
that it is difficult to consider approving the urban edge until such time as the MSDF
has been approved.
As a result of this, it has sometimes happened that applications were supported by
the previous municipality, turned down by the (previous) CMC, but finally approved
on appeal by the Provincial Government. Prior to August 2001, four large
158
developments and three smaller developments were passed in this way (see
footnote27). Since August 2001 there has been one major development approved
on appeal by the Province and one minor development rejected by the CMC but
subsequently approved by the current City of Cape Town 28. More recently,
however, there have been nine cases in which developments beyond the urban
edge were stopped29.
The likelihood of both the urban edge and MOSS holding in future will depend in
part on political will within the new City of Cape Town, and in part on decisions
which are taken within the public housing sector, given the shortage of cheaper
land for low income housing within the existing edge. In the case of MOSS it will
also depend on available funding for maintaining these areas and keeping them
clear of informal settlement. Land restitution issues (such as in Newlands) could
also create pressure on sensitive areas. Of particular importance as well is the
need for greater clarity on what constitutes urban development, and therefore what
can and what cannot be allowed beyond the edge or within MOSS.
With regard to the MSDF:
 The definition of the urban edge and MOSS boundaries were only indicative,
and subsequent detailed studies have had to occur in order to define them
cadastrally;
 Definitions of what constitutes urban development, and what could or could
not be allowed beyond the edge or within MOSS were also indicative in the
MSDF. These definitions are being formulated in current studies;
 There was an insufficiently strong argument about why particular pieces of
land should be protected through an edge or MOSS. Part of this argument is
being provided through a process of Significance Mapping by Environmental
Management;
 The consideration of the demand for land for housing and hence how
population growth will be accommodated within the urban edge, was based
on assumptions regarding densification which have not held. The MSDF
tended to assume that the implementation of an edge would lead to
increased densities and that available land within the edge would therefore
be sufficient for the foreseeable future. The form of the housing subsidy has
precluded this, however, and much private residential development also
continues to take low density and fragmented form. At current densities (11
du/ha) urban growth will consume an additional 27 500 ha of land over the
next 30 years. This can be seen against an estimate that there is no more
than 23 000 – 33 000 ha of available developable land left in the CMA
(Pheiffer, 2001). Densities will have to rise to 30-40 du ha if growth is to be
accommodated within the edge over this period.
27
Major developments: Boskloof (Helderberg); High Riding (Helderberg); Gardenia/Bredon (Helderberg);
Uitkamp1 (Durbanville). Smaller developments: Omega substation (Blaauwberg); High Steenberg (South
Peninsula);
28
Major development: Doordekraal (Tygerberg); minor development: Tokai, west of High Steenberg.
29
Macassar; Fisantekraal extension; Croyden (Helderberg); Uitkamp 2 (Durbanville); Dassenberg, Sun Valley;
Klein Melkbosch (Blaauwberg), Porter Estates (Tokai); Oudekraal; and Protea Ridege (Kommetjie).
159
9.5.2.2
MSDF Strategies: corridors and nodes
The aim of the MSDF was to promote commercial and industrial
development, as well as higher density housing (100du/ha gross on the activity
spine and 40du/ha gross within the broader corridor) on the defined corridors
and in the defined nodes, with the purpose of building up threshold to create a
more efficient public transport system. Nodes and corridors defined as
“emerging” were intended to be the focus of public expenditure in order to create
the preconditions for investment.

Densification: the Densification Study (City of Cape Town, 2002a) contains
an extensive assessment of past and potential densification on the MSDF
corridors. The Report concludes that “natural” processes of densification, but
at the lower range of the densities proposed in the MSDF, are occurring:
o in already dense areas such as Sea Point;
o in wealthier suburbs such as Claremont and Kenilworth (and
Tygerberg) in the form of townhouse development;
o in the poorest areas where densification is occurring through
overcrowding, backyard shacks and plot subdivision, particularly in
the metropolitan south-east.
However, low density (10-15du/ha gross) remains the dominant development
pattern.
The Densification Report (p106) indicates that achieving the desired
densities has been constrained by:
o A lack of available vacant land, or vacant land only available in small
parcels, in many parts of the corridors;
o Market forces: more development opportunities outside the nodes and
corridors;
o Existing development patterns, road patterns and traffic and parking
constraints;
o Environmental perceptions and market perceptions regarding main
road type activities;
o The need for major structural changes both spatial (infrastructural)
and aspatial (zoning regulations);
o Little precedent for mixed use (commercial and residential buildings)
along the corridors;
o Prevailing lifestyles, attitudes, modes of transport and investment
trends;
o In addition, the nature of public housing subsidies makes the provision
of high density housing very expensive in any location, but higher land
prices and small land parcels on corridors and in nodes worsens the
problem for these locations.

Directing public and private investment to the nodes and corridors:
Available research indicates that over the past several years, more public
and private investment has taken place outside of demarcated corridors and
nodes than inside them. Maps 9.1 and 9.2 indicates the location of major
investment in the CMA relative to the location of the MSDF corridors.
160
Map 9.1: INVESTMENT WITHIN ACTIVITY CORRIDORS
161
Map 9.1: INVESTMENT OUTSIDE OF ACTIVITY CORRIDORS
162
9.3 IS MISSING
163
However, different nodes and corridors have attracted very different levels
and types of private investment.
o The three established metropolitan nodes of the CBD, Claremont and
Bellville have continued to attract investment, but the proposed
Philippi node has not. If, however, Airport Industria were included in
the Philppi node area, then it could be argued that some growth (of a
particular kind) had occurred.
o The established corridors of Koeberg Rd and Durban Rd have
continued to attract investment, in fact these areas have been the
main recipients for new economic growth. In both cases, however,
growth has taken on a different spatial form to that found on the older
corridors: industrial and office development takes the form of estates
and office parks, often not directly related to the main route, and the
main routes have retained a primarily car-oriented nature. This may
also be due to the absence of rail-based transport, and reduced levels
of bus transport, on these routes.
o Other established corridors (Main Rd and Voortrekker Rd) have
tended to change function on parts of the corridor, with some sections
of the corridors moving down-market, losing chain retail stores, and
serving more of a local convenience function. On these corridors new
growth has tended to cluster into existing centres (as in Claremont,
Plumstead, and Bellville).
o Certain planned corridors are showing some signs of growth.
Klipfontein Rd is developing at Athlone and Gatesville, and there are
small signs of development along the North-south Link. The Mitchell‟s
Plain corridor has shown nodal growth at the town centre.
o The planned Wetton-Lansdowne corridor, which has been the focus of
a nationally funded corridor programme, has developed very little
beyond its western and more developed end.
o Other planned corridors have changed very little, if at all.
Patterns of growth and stagnation on corridors and in nodes can be related more
closely to different economic performance in the various parts of the CMA, rather
than to node or corridor locations per se. Thus those nodes and corridors in the
growing north of the CMA have benefited from the focus of private investment in
this area, and likewise, those nodes and corridors on the Cape Flats have
developed very little. Map 9.3 shows the close association between the historical
corridors (and nodes), and the rapidly growing corridors to the north, and areas of
higher household income, and hence greater concentrations of spending power.
Lack of corridor growth has sometimes been attributed to “mega projects” which
gravitate to off-corridor locations (to be close to freeways and to take advantage of
larger parcels of land). The CMC Mega Project Evaluation Study (2000) of the offcorridor N1 City and the on-corridor Sanlam Centre in Bellville showed that N1 City
had negatively affected commerce on Voortrekker Rd, although decline on the
corridor had set in prior to the opening of N1 City. The research concluded that this
development would not have been able or willing to locate on a corridor and had it
been disallowed, the investment would simply have not taken place. Significantly
the Sanlam Centre on Voortrekker Rd in Bellville also displaced much spending
from other parts of the corridor, and in fact probably initiated decline on Voortrekker
164
Rd, which was later reinforced by N1 City. The on-corridor location of Sanlam
Centre did, however, make a difference in terms of its accessibility to employees
and customers: 31% of customers walked or used public transport to get to Sanlam
Centre compared to only 16% of N1 City; for employees 73% walked or used public
transport compared to 53% for N1 City. In sum, new commercial developments are
increasingly likely to take large and nodal form, and whether they are located on or
off a corridor, they will draw spending away from existing corridor shops. The more
important advantage of on-corridor locations has to do with their accessibility to
customers and employees and their reinforcement of the public transport system.
In general, however, it is difficult to argue that the demarcation of nodes and
corridors on the MSDF map had any significant effect on the pattern of new
investment in the CMA. Investment which took place in existing nodes and corridors
would probably have gone there anyway, particularly to those locations that offered
good links with freeways and amenity. One reason for this was that no measures
were (or are) put in place to create incentives or controls to achieve this pattern of
development. There are indications, however, that even if such incentives and
controls had been put in place, it would have been very difficult to change the
pattern of investment in this way. Incentives in the form of public investment in
infrastructure and marketing on the Wetton-Lansdowne Corridor have attracted very
little private investment there; and research on the N1 City location indicates that
investors may decide not to invest rather than be forced into an undesirable
location. It is clear that it is very difficult to significantly change the direction of
market forces when the basic preconditions for investment are not present.
9.6
PROPOSED KEY SPATIAL ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED BY AN SDF
The following main spatial issues emerge from the above analysis, but have
not been tested on public opinion.

The continuing (and growing) spatial divide which characterises the CMA –
between wealthy and poor, between race groups, between formal and informal
employment opportunities, between higher and lower quality services and
infrastructure. There is an urgent need to deal with a city form characterised by
social exclusion.

The problem of access for many of the lower income groups, primarily on the
Cape Flats, to areas of employment and social and recreational services; the
large-scale need for movement which this problem generates; and the declining
ability of the public transport system (particularly rail) to meet movement needs.

Growing disjuncture between changing city structure (towards multi-nodalism)
and the pattern of service of the fixed line public transport system (which feeds
the CBD), together with growing backlogs in investment in rail which could
cause the complete collapse of this system in 5-10 years.

The need to accept, and plan with, current trends towards multi-nodalism and
the suburbanisation of economic activity, rather than continuing to reinforce only
the CBD, and attempting to keep the suburbs as exclusive residential areas.
165

The continuing difficulty of encouraging formal private sector investment to
locate in greater proximity to lower income residential areas, and the failure to
develop the large, well-located parcels of public land in the CMA for lower
income settlement, due to land costs and NIMBY sentiments.

The need to accept realities of diversity and difference across the CMA 30, and
the expression of this in the form of the informal economic sector, informal
shelter, and different cultural practices relating to the need for urban-based
initiation ceremonies, differing practices regarding death and burial etc.

The continuing inefficient nature of urban development, characterised by sprawl,
fragmentation, car-oriented layouts, negative public spaces, inappropriately
scaled and located developments, and wasteful use of land.

The negative environmental impact of the current form of urban development,
which frequently disregards the need to protect sensitive and valuable
environmental areas; which is wasteful in terms of use of non-renewable
resources (such as water); and which, through vehicle generation, is a major
contributor to air pollution.

The clear need to maximise the opportunities presented by Cape Town‟s unique
natural and cultural heritage, and to view these as “fixes” within the SDF.

Public institutional fragmentation and lack of integration, both between spheres
and between line-function departments, which result in policies which directly
counter each other in terms of their impact on urban structure and form; and
which result in competing and uncoordinated development programmes in
various parts of the CMA.

The integration of spatial concerns with social, economic and environmental
concerns, both in terms of understanding current spatial trends, and in terms of
implementing integrated policies.
An overarching issue is the current lack of an institutional vision (a CDS) which
would inform the development of an SDF. Such an institutional vision would need to
take hard decisions in relation to the importance of redistribution, equity, social
inclusion and sustainability in the CMA vs the promotion of growth, foreign
investment and tourism. This decision would have major implications for the framing
of an SDF, and the locations and issues to which public attention and resources are
directed.
30
Thinking within the LUMS project appears to be responding to these realities, and this needs to be reflected
in the SDF as well.
166
References
Abbott J and D Douglas (1999): Trends in Informal Settlement in the Cape
Metropolitan Area. Report to the Cape Metropolitan Council.
Behrens R (1998): Housing Provision in metropolitan Cape Town: An
exploration of strategic and institutional issues. Urban Problems
Research Unit Working Paper no 56, University of Cape Town.
Behrens R (1998b): “The evolution of 20th century movement network design ideas”
UPRU Working Paper No 55, University of Cape Town.
Behrens R (2002): Matching Networks to Needs: travel needs and the
configuration and management of local movement networks in South
African cities. PhD thesis, School of Architecture and Planning, UCT.
Bekker S, A Leilde, S Cornelissen, and S Horstmeier (2000): “The Emergence of
New Identities in the Western Cape “, Politikon 27(2), 221-237.
Borja J and M Castells (1997): Local and Global: Management of Cities in the
Information Age, United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat),
Earthscan, London.
Cape Metropolitan Council (1999a): Moving Ahead: Cape Metropolitan
Transport Plan: Part 2, Public Transport. Cape Town.
Cape Metropolitan Council (1999b): En Warheen Now? Migration and Settlement
in the Cape Metropolitan Area (CMA). Report by Cross C, S Bekker and G
Eva, Cape Town.
Cape Metropolitan Council (1999c): Cape Metropolitan Transport Plan, Moving
Ahead Part 2: Public Transport, Cape Town.
Cape Metropolitan Council (2000a): A Strategic Review of Public Transport User
Needs in the Cape Metropolitan Area. Unpublished paper by P Clark and W
Crous, Transport Directorate, Cape Town.
Cape Metropolitan Council (2000b): Projection of the Population of the Cape
Metropolitan Area 1996-2031. Commissioned Report by R.Dorrington,
Cape Town.
Cape Town Partnership (2001): Development and Decentralisation. Executive
Summary. Submission from the Cape Town Partnership, Cape Town.
Cars G, P Healey, A Madanipour, C de Malgalhaes (2002): Urban Governance,
Institutional Capacity and Social Milieux. Ashagate, Aldershot.
Cherry J, K Jones and J Seekings (2000): “Democratisation and Politics in South
African Townships”, International Journal of Urban and Regional
Research, 24 (4), 889-905.
City of Cape Town (2001a): Cape Town’s Economy: Current Trends and Future
Prospects. Department of Economic Development and Tourism, Cape
Town.
City of Cape Town (2001b): Public Participation and Spatial Planning in the City
of Cape Town. Discussion Document prepared by Common Ground
Consulting, Cape Town
City of Cape Town (2001c): The Future Role and Function of Spatial Planning in
Metropolitan Cape Town. Commissioned Report by V Watson to the
Department of Spatial Planning, Cape Town..
City of Cape Town (2002a): CMC Densification Study, Baumann N and A Pentz.
Report to the City of Cape Town.
167
City of Cape Town (2002b): The Nature, Extent and Distribution of the Informal
Sector in the Cape Metropolitan Area. Report by MCA Planners
commissioned by the Department of Spatial Planning and Environment,
Cape Town.
CMC Mega Project Evaluation Study (2000): Report commissioned by the CMC,
Cape Town
Dierwechter Y (2000): Foodstuffs, Foodscapes and Urban Development:
people, place and economy in black Metropolitan Cape Town.
Foundation for Contemporary Research, Cape Town.
Gasson B (2000): “The urban metabolism of Cape Town, South Africa: Planning
Imperatives in an ecologically unsustainable metropolis”, Paper presented at
the AESOP Congress, Brno, Czech Republic, 18-23 July.
Graham S and P Healey (1999): “Relational Concepts of Space and Place: Issues
for Planning Theory and Practice”, European Planning Studies, 7 (5), Pp
623-646.
Harrison P and M Oranje (2002): “The Pragmatic Poly-city Approach”, SA Property
Review, March/April.
Market Decisions (2001): Khayelitsha: Best opportunity for retail development,
Report to the Tygerberg Council, Cape Town.
Metropolitan Development Consortium (1998): Economic Trends and Spatial
Patterns in the Cape Metropolitan Area: Technical Support Document
111, Report prepared for the Directorate of Social and Economic
Development, Cape Metropolitan Council.
Pheiffer S (2001): Social and Spatial Sustainability: Evaluation of the MSDF and an
integrated system of planning and implementation in the Cape Town
contextual dynamic. Paper presented at the MOST Colloquium, Budapest.
Social and Economic Directorate (1998): A Poverty Reduction Framework. Cape
Metropolitan Council, Cape Town. Poverty Background Papers 1-4.
Soja E (1995): “Postmodern Urbanization: The Six Restructurings of Los Angeles”,
in S Watson and K Gibson (eds), Postmodern Cities and Spaces,
Blackwell, Oxford. Pp 125-137.
Unicity Commission Report (2001): Final Proposals: Spatial, Environmental and
Socio-Economic Trend Analysis. Transformation Programme Office,
Unicity Commission, Cape Town.
Water Services Development Plan (2001), City of Cape Town.
Watson V and M McCarthy (1998): "Rental Housing and the Role of the Household
Rental Sector: Evidence from South Africa", Habitat International, Vol 22
No 1, pp 49-56.
Wesgro (2001):
Wesgro (2002): Metro South East, Cape Town, Township Investment Projects.
Cape Town.
Western Cape Provincial Human Development Index (1999): Produced by the Sub
Directorate: Social Research and Western Cape Population Unit, Western
Cape Province.
Wilkinson P (2000): “City Profile – Cape Town”, Cities 17 (3), 195-205
168