CONFERENCE REPORT: WORLD TOWN PLANNING DAY
10-11 NOVEMBER 2011
VENUE: CITY OF CAPE TOWN COUNCIL CHAMBERS
World Town Planning Day celebrations were hosted by the City of Cape Town for the
third time on 10 to 11 November 2011 in the form of a conference.
Six discussion sessions were held over two days, and the conference was well attended
by the public and private sector, with 72 of the 270 attendees represented by the private
sector.
Day 1 included four discussion sessions as well as a best-practice case study by the
developers of the Buhrein Estate Project. The day was concluded with a cocktail
function to which all delegates were invited.
Day 2 included two discussion sessions, after which the conference was closed.
Full transcripts were made of each recorded session, from which executive summaries
were also created.
Indicated below are the specific outcomes from each session.
Session and key outcomes
Session 1
Decision making informants: Are policy
guidelines becoming less important in
planning decision making? What should
be their future in decision-making
processes?

SDFs and structure plans
Lead presenter/s and
panellists
Facilitator:
Simon Nicks
Lead presenter(s):
Cllr Garreth Bloor
Cllr Christo Kannenberg
Panellists:
Annexures
Annexure 1a:
Executive
summary
Annexure 1b:


Urban design guidelines
Local area spatial and development
policies etc
Anine Trumpelman
Bertie van Zyl
Riaan Kuchar
Marek Kedzieja
Norah Walker
Conference
presentation
Key outcomes from Session 1
Actions / Conclusions
A more integrated approach to municipal
planning should be pursued.
The policy-driven land-use system should
clearly indicate where and when development
should occur after being informed by intense
public participation. It is necessary to
introduce such certainty to the sector.
Session 2
Affected / Responsible party(ies)
Local authority
Local authority
Lead presenter/s and
panellists
The purpose and value of pre-application
Facilitator:
negotiation: Does it have a value and is it of Jaco van der Westhuizen
such importance that it should influence the
planning legislative reform process?
Lead presenter(s):
Gideon Brand
Andre Lombard
 Implications of an incomplete
Alwyn Laubscher
application during the application
Mariana Volschenk
process
- What makes a good/complete
Panellists:
application?
Liezel Kruger-Fountain
 Expectations from
Greg September
developers/applicants and protocols
 Advertising development applications – Andrew Pratt
Louise Seaward
appropriate/effective/more or less?
 Current appeals process –
appropriate/effective or not?
Annexures
Annexure 2a:
Executive
summary
Annexure 2b:
Conference
presentation
Key outcomes from Session 2
Actions / Conclusions
Local authorities should be committed to
greater efficiency, shortened processes and
continuous improvement in dealing with
development applications.
Affected / Responsible party(ies)
Local authority
More efficient multi-disciplinary pre-application
meetings
between
municipal
officials,
developers and applicants are necessary in
Local authority / Private sector
order to raise issues at an early stage.
It is incumbent on applicants to make sure that
they understand application requirements
before they start formulating proposals and
applications.
Private sector
Proper communication is important in the preapplication phase. A culture of learning and
professionalism should be promoted in the
planning field. Officials should be accessible.
Local authority / Private sector
The possibility of including pre-application
negotiations as a legal requirement (as part of
current planning-reform processes) to be
investigated.
Local authority / Private sector
Session 3
Lead presenter/s and
panellists
Planning for informalities: How can
planning be made more relevant to
residents living in informal areas?


How can planning policies/spatial
plans better respond to informalities?
The backyarder issue
Facilitator:
Charles Rudman
Lead presenter(s):
Elmarie Marais
Aditya Kumar
Annexures
Annexure 3a:
Executive
summary
Annexure 3b:
Conference
presentation
Panellists:
Alistair Graham
Tanya Winkler
Jens Kuhn
Joel Bolnick
Key outcomes from Session 3
Actions / Conclusions
Informalities can’t be planned for. Therefore,
planning policies and spatial plans should
respond better to informalities.
Affected / Responsible party(ies)
Local authority
Futhermore, planners are facilitators, the first
point of contact when there are problems. Be
more open, approachable and facilitative.
Facilitation also ties in with fostering
responsibility. Ensure that communication is
clearly delivered to communities.
Local authority
It’s easy to hide behind red tape, don’t use it
to not take up responsibilities.
Local authority
Session 4
Lead presenter/s and
panellists
Reforming the planning law: The issues
and debate


The need for interfacing/cooperation
between national, provincial and
municipal spheres of government.
The big issues that need debate.
Facilitator:
Chris Rabie
Annexures
Annexure 4a:
Executive
summary
Lead presenter(s):
Prof. Jaap de Visser
Panellists:
Fiona Ogle
Stephen Berisford
Mike Maughan-Brown
Adv Geoff Budlender
Annexure 4b:
Conference
presentation
Key outcomes from Session 4
Actions / Conclusions
Take part in participatory opportunities when
they arise in the law-reform processes.
Session 5
Lead presenter/s and
panellists
Giving economics a spatial dimension







Affected / Responsible party(ies)
Private sector
The role of the property as a catalyst
for economic growth and development
The economics of urban regeneration
What can town planners and urban
economists learn from each other?
Using market incentives to meet public
sector goals
The role of town planners in managing
economic externalities
What happens when markets fail?
The critical theories of urban
economics
Facilitator:
Tim Hadington
Annexures
Annexure 5a:
Executive
summary
Lead presenter(s):
Francois Viruly
Panellists:
Deon van Zyl
Rob McGaffin
Cecil Madell
Key outcomes from Session 5
Actions / Conclusions
To cope with the demands of urbanisation,
planners have to start rethinking their
approaches to structuring space – thinking
needs to shift to looking at nodes and
networks.
Government needs to start looking at
Affected / Responsible party(ies)
Local authority / Private sector
Local authority
development from the same risk perspective
as development.
Spatial planning must respond to economic
cycles.
Local authority / Private sector
Planners must be equipped to understand
economic linkages for effective planning
intervention.
Local authority / Private sector
The built environment needs to seen to be a
catalyst in the promotion of growth, and not
just an outcome.
Local authority / Private sector
Session 6
Lead presenter/s and
panellists
Future role of the planner in the
development process. What is the status
quo? Is there a need to refocus and how?




Has the role of planners changed and
what are the latest trends?
The need for work reservation
SACPLAN registration
What is happening in the workplace
and with work exposure?
Facilitator:
Martin Hutton-Squire
Lead presenter(s):
Cheryl Walters
Nthato Gobodo
Annexures
Annexure 6a:
Executive
summary
Annexure 6b:
Conference
presentation
Panellists:
Nigel Tapela
Jessica Katz
Christo Kannenberg
Key outcomes from Session 6
Actions / Conclusions
Make the profession more professional. The
profession need to ensure that posts for
planning professionals are clearly delineated
and must be supported by the required skills,
qualifications and experience.
Promote and support
registration of planners.
the
Affected / Responsible party(ies)
Local authority / Private sector
professional
Local authority / Private sector / Learning
institutions
Strengthen partnerships with institutions of
learning.
Local authority / Private sector / Learning
institutions
Promote continuous learning for Professional
planners, to keep abreast of global changes
and reskill themselves.
Local authority / Private sector
Well rounded professionals who can apply
their minds and not act as reactive blue- print
planners are required. Planners should be
exposed to local solutions. The private and
public sector should explore opportunities for
an exchange of planners so that each “side” is
exposed and understand each other.
Local authority / Private sector / Learning
institutions
Planning professionals who have retired, or
who are about to retire, should consider
ploughing back and assisting with mentorship
programmes.
Local authority / Private sector