Solving CPT's affordable housing crisis: Grassroots-up stakeholder partnership bearing fruit, says prominent researcher
An informal partnership is changing the way low-cost housing is produced in Cape Town, says Prof. Ivan Turok.
Aerial view of Cape Town. Wikimedia Commons/Mike Peel
CapeTalk's John Maytham is joined by Professor Ivan Turok, distinguished research specialist at the Human Sciences Research Council.
Cape Town's housing crisis, in particular a shortage of affordable urban housing, is a topic of huge debate.
But an informal partnership is changing the way affordable housing is produced in the city, says Professor Ivan Turok, distinguished research specialist at the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC).
Professor Turok has published a paper explaining what is happening on the ground, titled 'Anatomy of an alliance for affordable urban housing'.
The City and other key stakeholders are actually recognising that something powerful is happening at the grassroots level, he says, and responding positively to it.
"Instead of ignoring it and trying to outlaw it, they're saying: Let's work WITH the grain, this bottom-up development, and let's try and shape it and steer it so that it's better and bigger and deals with our housing crisis more effectively."
Prof. Ivan Turok, Distinguished Research Specialist - HSRC
What's at issue here is not so much the formal delivery of affordable housing, which has been slow in Cape Town, but the informal delivery of housing, he says.
"These are not shacks - these are proper brick-and-mortar structures with decent internal facilities that are growing up particularly in the townships and one or two other areas, where homeowners and small-scale landlords and indeed emerging small developers are recognising the huge demand for rental accommodation, getting on and DOING."
Prof. Ivan Turok, Distinguished Research Specialist - HSRC
Prof. Turok says this model is important not only for Cape Town and other areas in the Western Cape, but for cities across the country.
"It's this model of local government listening and working together with other stakeholders, NGOs and civil society to resolve the enormous challenges we face."
Prof. Ivan Turok, Distinguished Research Specialist - HSRC
He acknowledges that translating this into reality is tricky and will require a lot of work, particularly when it comes to getting the bureaucracy focused, but the outlook is positive.
"It's not going to be resolved by one department alone and to get departments to cooperate on tackling this challenge is a big job - but we are seeing grassroots green shoots of real positive change and we need to applaud what the City of Cape Town is doing, as well as to say 'we need to go further'."
Prof. Ivan Turok, Distinguished Research Specialist - HSRC
To hear more from Professor Turok, listen to the interview audio at the top of the article