Upgrading Khayelitsha. Analysis and development strategies in a Cape Town's Township by Enrico Bosia

Analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

Polytechnic of Turin - Architecture Faculty Master of science degree in Architecture Conctruction and City December 2015

ENRICO BOSIA

Candidate Supervisor

Arch. Prof. MATTEO ROBIGLIO

Assistant supervisor

Arch. Prof. MICHELE BONINO

Enrico Bosia / Architect - Urban Designer bosiaenrico@gmail.com

Upgrading Khayelitsha

Analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

INDEX I

INDICE

INTRODUCTION

SEGREGATION STRATEGIES

ii.

AN OVERVIEW

The population

Genius Loci

The informal in Cape Town The historical profile

The evolution of the Township

iii.

39 43

49 60

KHAYELITSHA

iii.

Origin and evolution

The fabric and the housign unit The UT Gardens settlement Typologies

68 83 89

100

iv.

PROJOCT PROPOSAL

iv.

The internship

119

Planning the informal Four case studies

Upgrading UT Gardens

116 127 136 142

The housing unit

173

CONCLUSION

191

BIBLIOGRAPHY

192

INTRODUCTION1 South Africa became a democracy in 1994. Since then the steps forward to reduce the differences between rich and poor , white and non-white people have been few and slow. Although apartheid is over for more than twenty years and Cape Town is considered the most European city in South Africa, the social and economic differences together with those related to the privileges can be easily perceived and immediately noticed. While landing at the International Airport of Cape Town, from above, one can easily realize how complicated the area actually is: a city developed horizontally, fragmented into several patterns by history, with urban plans aimed at the segregation, highways and expressways that separate the city in squared areas poorly connected one from the other. The airport is located 20 kilometers east of the city center. In order to get to the center it is necessary to take the N2 highway. While travelling along this road it is possible to better focus the insights raised during the landing. As soon as one takes the N2 it is immediately possible to notice the shacks that skirt it. These shacks belong to the informal settlement of Gugulethu (â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our prideâ&#x20AC;? in Xchosa language), just one of the 378 informal settlements of Cape Town, mostly unknown to those who whizz from the airport to downtown, surely more attracted by the charms of Table Mountain. This research is the result of a three months life experience, from March to June 2015, spent in Cape Town, during which I have carried out an internship within a local 7

1. The data of the Introduction refer to the report Western Cape: Informal settlements status (2013) edited by Housing Develop-ment Agency (HDA).

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

NGO named C.O.R.C. that allowed me to experience the access to the township of Khayelitsha where I could perform useful researches for my final work. I could personally take part in the social development projects of the township and I was involved in various activities such as the meetings with the communities of the informal settlements. Chapter i introduces the issue of segregation inside urban spaces and its related developments and evolutions in the history of South African cities. The issue is dealt with by reporting how the exclusion strategies have conditioned the South African urbanism for almost a century, moving from a native location to the segregated city, up to the apartheid city. ii the research In chapter continues analyzing CapeTown from a geographical and historical point of view. The heterogeneous area of the Cape has greatly influenced the historical development of the city and the related urban plans. Since the arrival of the first Dutch settlers up to now, the city has always had an introverted attitude, making a fort of its center, the strategic headquarters for the white segregationists. Chapter iii analyzes the informal dwelling par excellence, the shack, a shelter for about 750.000 people in Cape Town retracing its development within the township of Khayelitsha. In particular it describes a specific informal settlement called UT Gardens, that I have personally visited and studied during my internship experience with the C.O.R.C. The goal of this chapter is to describe the social and urban dynamics of the informal city, at present inhabited

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

by more than 20% of the population of Cape Town. The thesis, with chapter iv, attempts to propose some solutions to redevelop the township by creating new services and spaces aimed at the improvement of the living and safety conditions of the informal settlements, in order to stimulate in the inhabitants the rise of the desire to improve the place where they live with an active participation of the whole community. Another objective was the planning of new housing units, an aim approached according to the principle of the progressive replacement of the informal shacks, in order not to upset the inhabitants, not to create inequalities and not to exclude them from the design projects, always keeping as a main purpose the preservation of the unstable balance among those who have settled in the township for over 30 years.

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

iii

SEGREGATION STRATEGIES

Residential areas Economic status H High M Middle L Low

White

Indian and/or Coloured

H M

Economic status not differentited

Barracks/compounds A1 Municipal township A2 Informal housing

African

M-H

A1 L

A2 A2

White C.B.D.

The segregation city

Indian C.B.D. C.B.D. Frame Industrial Major road routes

iii

Residential areas

iv 12

White

Economic status H High M Middle L Low

Indian and/or Coloured group area

I C T P

African

Hostel A1 Municipal township

Indian Coloured Township Privately developed

C T

ZO R FE I T F BU

L L

IORC IC P AL BA

The apartheid city

The images above were taken from Lemon A., Homes Apart. South Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Segregated Cities, Claremont, David Philip Publishers, 1991

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

“Urban planning has strong specific responsibilities in worsening of inequalities”2.

and the

The city planner’s main task is, by properly using the design, to avoid as much as possible the differences within the city spaces, to create meeting places of mixité, to facilitate communication by defining and improving the road networks, the transports, making the city accessible in all of its places by whoever lives in there. In the South African case, cities have been planned, for more than a century, with the intention and awareness to separate, to divide and to segregate, following and giving strength to an ideal and a government that for almost the whole twentieth century have turned the disparity into their strength. The racist stereotypes against nonwhite people, strengthened over time starting from the arrival of the first settlers on the Cape area, take shape in a concrete way with the construction of the first Native Location in Ndabeni (Uitvlugt) in 19013 This “place for natives” can be considered the first township of Cape Town (the first official one will be Langa, built in 1923). The outbreak of an epidemic of bubonic plague was used as a pretext for the first forced removal of nonwhites from the city center to a decentralized area, bounded by fences, consisting in five large dormitories for five-hundred people each and six-hundred and fifteen tin shacks thought to host eight people each.4 Ndabeni lays the basis for all the following residential segregation strategies, studied and implemented

2. Secchi B., Prima lezione d’urbanistica, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2000 3-4. http://www.sahistory.org.za/place/ndabeni-location

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

i Super cheap insurance. A section of N2 Highway

iii

iv 14

by the governments that will come after. The intolerance towards the black Africans, the coloured and the Asians arises from the fear of the difference and causes a disruption of solidarity leading to the breaking apart of the society with no more civic sense. Moreover the good sense of people is soon set aside for fear to be judged by common sense. In “La città dei ricchi e la città dei poveri” Secchi talks about how intolerance denies the concept itself of proximity, by removing and separating activities, buildings, people, public spaces and their inhabitants and visitors.5 The fear of disease, of the contagion, of diversity have a common reaction, the use of defense devices. Yet this is not the only cause and origin of the spatial separation choice. The policies of the city, of governments and of the land operate simultaneously. “Appoint, locate, define, specify and delimit, separate and remove, tie and splice, open and enclose (…), these are the features of the main devices of the city and of the land projects and at the same time the main control devices of the compatibility or incompatibility between its different intended uses, of virtuous or perverse redistribution of wealth and of the construction of a shared idea of safety”.6 The absence of an indigenous urban tradition, has meant that the first settlements were established by the white explorers, who considered Cape Town as a space subdued to their cultural domain since its origins. The city of the settlers has turned its back to the local population since the very beginning. The construction of the seventeenth-century city walls separating the city center from the

5-6. Secchi B., La città dei ricchi e la città dei poveri, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2013

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Town’s Township

For use by white person. A sign of apartheid that forbids the access to the non-whites

sandy and inhospitable expanse of the Cape Flats, laid the foundations for the following development of the city based on the principle of segregation, of hiding and removing. Over time the city’s defensive walls have been replaced with less noticeable devices, less monumental but not less effective, especially if designed and disposed correctly.. B.Secchi in “Prima lezione di Urbanistica” compares the mobility of people and things to the hydraulic figure. The traffic behaves as a flow that passes through the city and moves depending on the shape and the capacity of the channels that contain it. Depending on the kinds of channel it finds it can be faster or slower, congested or not.7 A road network designed as a sponge is ideal to manage the flow that passes through it. The roads within are many and in case one is blocked, it is easy to find an alternative that can easily lead to destination. In doing so the city can be entirely covered, intentionally or not, by connecting all of its parts logistically and also socially. A system of roads designed as a network of pipes arranged following a certain hierarchy, prevents from the fluid percolation. The paths are univocal and bound and, in case a pipe obstructs, the traffic stops. The pipes isolate, they separate the city into segments that can be quickly crossed. The analogy between the road and a network of pipes perfectly suits the South African context. The most clear and intuitive example in Cape Town is the N2 highway which connects the city center to the south-western end of the province. The road has few branches and it is primarily used by those who go back and forth

7. Secchi B., Prima lezione d’urbanistica, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2000

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

i City Bowl business district

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from the airport, located along the highway 20 Kilometers far from the center, and by the residents of the townships who work downtown and then go back to the dormitory settlements by night. The lack of social, economic or touristic points of interest in the parts of the town that run along this road, makes it an absolute unidirectional artery road with a function of barrier more than of connection. It defines, fences in and separates the poor among them but mostly it hides them from the view of the road passengers removing the poor from the sight of those who skillfully planned it. Besides the planning first of the segregated city and then of the apartheid city, in the South African context other elements came to strengthen and to widen the exclusion policy. The strategy of control, that officially began with the Urban Areas Act in 1923, provided the forced transfer of natives to special camps. It was later improved by the apartheid government in 1950 by means of the Group Areas Act which envisaged the construction of dormitory towns divided depending on the race. Finally it was strengthened over the years by other small adjustments and devices expressly built up by the government supporters.8 The gated community is one of these and it is common to live in there nowadays in South Africa. The demonstrations, the protests with clashes, the huge disparities between rich and poor people, an increased crime rate during the twentieth century, have generated in the citizen a feeling of constant apprehension and fear. The instinct to hide one selves behind high walls that surround and reassure,

8. http://www.sahistory.org.za

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

The website of a company specialized in electric fences

protect and conceal goes against any principle of a relational city. The result is a set of closed systems that avoids the communications between the inhabitants, increases inequalities and slows down the way toward a more equal and fair city. The urban planning and the exclusion devices chosen by the white governments, fearing the different and looking for security, are dictated by intolerance and by the desire for supremacy and have played a key role in the shaping of todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s South Africa. Infrastructural barriers, roads, walls, buffer spaces, the systems of access to health and educational services, to the house itself, everything has had, over time, a role in making the city a perfect segregation instrument, an instrument that still today is able to recall many shadows of apartheid.

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

iii

iv Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

AN OVERVIEW

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

SOUTH AFRICA* 1996

2001

40583573 44819778 51770560

2011

27.6% 11186987

1220813 sq.km 42.6 People/sq.km

LANGUAGES • Afrikaans

13.5 %

• isiNdebele

2.1 %

• English

iii

• isiXhosa • isiZulu

• Sesotho sa Leboa • Sesotho

• Setswana • siSwati

• Tshivenda

• Xitsonga 20

9.6 % 16

22.7 % 9.1 % 7.6 % 8

2.5 % 2.4 % 4.5 %

• Indigenous creoles and pidgins 1.6 % The data of the chapter were taken from Statistics South Africa, Census 2011 Statistical release–P0301.4, Pretoria, 2012, www.statssa.gov.za, from the report Western Cape: Informal settlements status (2013) of the Housing Development Agency (HDA) and from the report City of Cape Town, State of Cape Town report 2014 - Celebrating 20 years of democracy, 2014.

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Town’s Township

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

WESTERN CAPE 1996

2001

3956875 4524335 5822734

2011

47.2% 1865859

129462 sq.km 45 People/sq.km

iii

LANGUAGES

• Afrikaans 49.7 % • English

20.3 %

• Others

5.3

• isiXhosa 22

24.7 % %

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Town’s Township

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

POPULATION DENSITY >3000/km2 1000-3000/km2 300-1000/km2 100-300/km2 30-100/km2 10-30/km2 3-10/km2 1-3/km2

<1/km2

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iv 24

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

iii

LANGUAGES

• Afrikaans 34.9 % • English

27.8 %

• Others

8.1

• isiXhosa 26

29.2 % %

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Town’s Township

CAPE TOWN 1996

2001

2563095 2893249 3704026

2011

44.5% 1140931

2445 sq.km 1515 People/sq.km

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

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POPULATION DENSITY >3000/km2 1000-3000/km2 300-1000/km2 100-300/km2

30-100/km2 28

10-30/km2 3-10/km2 1-3/km2 <1/km2 Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

CAPE TOWN 3.740.026

2445 sq.km

1515 People/sq.km 0km

40km

TURIN

907.079

130 sq.km

6977 People/sq.km

iii

LONDON

8.615.246 30

1738 sq.km

4957 People/sq.km

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

POPULATION DENSITY >3000/km2 1000-3000/km2 300-1000/km2 100-300/km2 30-100/km2 10-30/km2 3-10/km2 1-3/km2 <1/km2 ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

POPULATION GROWTH

POPULATION OF CAPE TOWN

-------------1996 2.563.095

2000000

-------------2011 3.740.026

BLACK AFRICAN COLOURED

1500000

ASIAN WHITE

1000000

N° FAMILY MEMBERS

3.92

500000 0

3.50 BLACKS

TYPE OF

HOUSE

(N° families)

FORMAL

OTHER

COLOURED

1996

2001

ASIAN

2011

WHITES

OTHERS

TOTAL

N°

250762

56.4

327383

91.3

13852

97.1

230575

14961

82.8

837533

78.4

54500

12.3

18082

150

1.1

337

0.1

1889

10.5

74958

134914

30.3

7531

2.1

141

387

0.2

850

4.7

143823

13.5

4607

5634

1.6

123

0.9

1528

0.7

369

12261

1.1

444783

100

358630

100

14266

100

232827

100

18069

100

1068575

100

INFORMAL SHACK

BACKYARD

INFORMAL SHACK OTHERS TOTAL

ACCESS TO SERVICES IN THE INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS

iii

32 24 % % 53 % 65 %

76 % 68 %

REFUSE REMOVAL

Accesso to service: Removed by authority / private company at least once a week

iv 32

32 42 % % 3 % 6 %

19 % 37 %

6 % 4 %

35 % 59 %

75 %

SANITATION

WATER SUPPLY

Higher level of service: Flush toilet. Connected to sewerage system

Higher level of service: Piped/tap water inside dwelling Basic level of service: Piped/tap water inside yard or Piped/tap water on community stand, distance less than 200m from dwelling

Basic level of service: Flush toilet with septic tank or Pit toilet with ventilation

Higher level

57 %

43 % 65 %

ELETTRCITY SUPPLY

Accesso to service: Elettricity used for lighting

Basic level No access

2001 2011

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Town’s Township

MAIN STREETS RAILWAY CAPE FLATS AIRPORTS KHAYELITSHA CITY BOWL

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

THE POPULATION

The total population of South Africa has growth by 60% from 1985 to 2011,approximately of 19,5 million people.This reflects the high birth rate of the country and the large flow of migration that characterizes the country from many decades up to now. In 1996 South Africa had 40,58 million of people and 51,77 million in 2011. Today it is estimated that the population is of 52,98 million, of which the majority belongs to the black African etnicity. The Western Cape province has a population of 5,82 million, that grew up by 47,2% from 1996 to 2011. In 2014 the estimated population is of 6,02 million, representing 11,04% of the total population of South Africa. The largest ethnic group of the province is the coloured (48,8%). Cape Town is the legislative capital of South Africa and the state capital of the Western Cape province. In Africa it is the tenth greater city as to dimension. The population since 1996 has grown by 44,5% going from 2.563.095 to 3.704.026 inhabitants. Today it is estimated a total of 3.860.589 inhabitants which altogether form the 64,12% of the population of Western Cape, denoting how the Cape province is mostly urbanized. The coloured population is the most numerous one and corresponds to a 42,4%of the total inhabitants. The black African one represents a 38,6%, followed by the white population with a 15,7% and finally by the Asian group with a 1,4%. The remaining people are divided between various ethnic groups such as the Chinese, Zulu

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Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

Lion’s Head 669masl

Signal Hill 350masl

Robben Island Stadium

Parliament

CBD

ii The City Bowl seen from Devil’s Peak

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or immigrants from other African countries. A significant finding is the growth in terms of numbers and proportion (124,3%) of black Africans in Cape Town between 1996 and 2011. The difference between the black Africans population and the coloured one has also decreased rapidly. In 1996 the coloured were a 23,3% more numerous, while in 2011 the difference decreased to the 3,8%. The inhabitants of Asian ethnicity have almost remained unchanged in number, growing of a 0,1% from 1996 to 2011. The white population experiences two distinct growth moments: a negative period characterized by a decrease of 0,2% between 1996 and 2001, followed by a period of positive growth between 2001 and 2011 (8%). This situation of a negative growth rate of the white ethnicity in South

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Town’s Township

Container terminal

Distric 6

Table B ay

Black River Liesbeek River Groote Schuur Hospital

CAPE FLATS Africa due to the leaving of the country of around 1 million white people between 1996 and 2001, is considered as a consequence of the end of apartheid connected to a feeling of fear towards non-whites, less controlled after the institution of democracy in 1994. Some analysis on migration to Cape Town between 2001 and 2011, based on the census, highlight some dynamics; between 1996 and 2001 most of the migrations to the city happened within the Western Cape province. A second dynamic reveals that the black Africans, between 2002 and 2011, were the ethnic group with the highest percentage of migrants arrived to the Cape (57,9%), followed by whites (22,4%), by coloured and Asians (13,2%) and finally by other ethnicities (6,5%). A third migration trend, age-related, indicates that the 58,78% of the new arrivals to

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

Cape Town International Airport ~18km

i University of Cape Town UCT N2

CITY BOWL

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Cape Town involves people aged between 25 and 64,range between 15 and 24 years old represents the 24,11% of the new arrivals. The fourth and last dynamic, always in the decade 2001-2011, reveals that the 52,65% of the migrants are men while the 47,35% are women. It was also noted that the migrants choose the new place to settle down based on their ethnicity. For example, the majority of new arrivals from the Eastern Cape, mainly blacks, tended to settle down in the townships composed mostly by black Africans. The township of Khayelitsha is an example. The new democracy of 1994 and its consequent abolition of the laws on control and freedom of movement towards non-whites, have greatly influenced the migratory flows during the twenty years that followed the apartheid. The city growth forecasts predict that the population increase

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

Khayelitsha ~30km

Cape Point ~70km

False Bay

Cape Flats Devil’s Peak

seen

from

will last for over twenty years. By 2022 the city is expected to reach 4,2 million people and by 2032 to exceed 4,4 million inhabitants.

GENIUS LOCI The region of Cape Town is located in the most southern point of Africa. The topographical variety is one of the main characteristics of the territory. The city center is located on the shores of Table Bay and close to the Table Mountain. Imposing high slope over 1,000 meters that falls above the City Bowl, natural amphitheater bounded on the sides by Devil’s Peak and Lion’s Head. The city, from the most ancient center, place of business, has expanded, with residential neighborhoods to the south-west, along the coast, and towards east and southeast along the

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

Seapoint

Green point

ii The City Bowl seen from Lion’s Head with the Cape Flats on the background

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main rail and main roads. Cape Town is an important seaport, having one of the main harbour of the African continent. The international airport traffic is also very important. Around the harbor there is a large industrial area with different mechanical and chemical complexes such as refineries, textile and food processing plants. The first settlements of the colonial period are the proof of how the urban choices have been taken on the base of a hierarchical guideline. The representative buildings and the main institutions are located inside the seaport area and within the city center, near to the Company’s Garden. The buildings climb from Table Bay to the mountain slopes, creating a very diverse city center as to its shape and style. The various dominations that have come in succession have left in the

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Town’s Township

Devilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Peak 1000masl

Table mountain 1087masl

Cable station

City the fragments of every different era. It is possible to find Victorian houses next to skyscrapers, houses of the first Dutch settlements nearby rich contemporary villas. The Universities and the private colleges are located on rich lands once occupied by rich white farmers and transformed over time into rich real estates. The African population, far from the well-protected City Bowl, lives in the sandy and windy plain area of Cape Flats. The Cape Flats is an expanse that stretches from the eastern part of the center to the town of Somerset West, a city which is still under the municipality of Cape Town. The Cape Flats is the area where, during the twentieth century, the greatest townships have been built up and are still expanding nowadays. It is a very inhospitable place, poorly protected compared to the City Bowl, where

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

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Fragments of different times 42

strong winds blow in wintertime and during the months of July and August the rains cause numerous flooding. The variety of microclimates is an additional feature of the city. The topographical traits of Cape Town are very different and are related to the diversification of the microclimates in the region. The town has a Mediterranean climate, with mild, rainy winters and hot and sunny summers. The average temperature ranges from 12 degrees in July and 21 in January and February. Summer temperatures are not too high, because of the influence of the ocean. The presence of trees and greenery in the city center is important in summer in order to protect people and buildings from the sunbeams and from wind. The opposite situation can be found in the expand of the Cape Flats. The vegetation is low, trees are rare, almost absent. This feature makes this area of the town even more inhospitable and exposed. Together with the topographic and microclimatic varieties, another important feature of Cape Town, and of the whole South Africa, is the socio-cultural diversity. Cape Town is a meeting place of many traditions, ethnic groups and beliefs, a cultural city which perfectly fits the denomination of South Africa as a rainbow nation. In the country eleven official languages are spoken. In the region of Cape Town the main three ones are Xhosa, Afrikaans and English. There are also other two ethnic groups, the Indian and the Chinese ones, in a very small number compared to the other three. The Cape Flats is a very vast area which allows the different communities to stay separate, clearly defined and to maintain their

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

own differences. The segregation policies adopted have highlighted this feature together with the lack of enhancements of urban spaces, a fundamental element of cohesion able to bind people together.

THE INFORMAL IN CAPE TOWN Migration is an important demographic process that contributes to the growth of the population and to the spatial growth of the city . From 2001 to 2011 statistics indicate that 39 % of population growth was due to new arrivals from regions outside the Western Cape. The poorest migrants, who constitute the large majority of the new arrivals, settle in the most peripheral townships of the city according to their ethnic group and go to live in informal settlements made of slums, self-built or bought from those who have decided to leave the region. According to the latest census statistics , in Cape Town more than 20% of the population lives in informal houses . Most of the spontaneous settlements are peripheral to the center and are located at the edges or within the township , of which they occupy the residual spaces without permission . The count of the settlements and of their slums is a complicated process and its results are never exact. The difficult access to these places makes it complicated and inaccurate the enumeration of the population , of the slums and of the existing services. In addition it has to be considered the uncertain and constantly changing nature of these urban dynamics . In 2012 there were a total of 141,765 informal dwellings distributed over 378 settlements scattered around

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

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the metropolis. The counts were made by geo-referencing by means of GPS devices and thanks to satellite images. A further problem, especially concerning the survey using aerial images, was the difficulty in defining the boundaries of each slum since they are built side by side and/ or under vegetation. Since the 80â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the growth of slums in the residual spaces has had a strong increase, mainly related to the arrival of a lot of migrants looking for work and escaping from rural poverty. In order to face the poor accessibility and the small number of houses, over the years, numerous informal settlements were born and have raised occupying any kind of land, as in the case of the settlement of Joe Slovo (located southeast of the Langa township) , grown on an area previously covered with vegetation. Often these spontaneous cities have been legitimately demolished by the authorities, or if they have been allowed to stay they were provided with very poor services. In 1994, by the end of apartheid, the housing shortage was estimated at around 1.5 million. The population was growing by nearly 180,000 families a year without a residential building program capable of responding to the problem. With the rise to power of the ANC the governmental low-cost housing programs finally re-started. The newly elected democratic government, for example, ambitiously promised to build one million houses over five years. In the following years they even added to the housing programs, a series of laws aimed at the protection of the informal citizen, guaranteeing everyone the right to a house, with the purpose to end

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

The informal settlements in Cape Town ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

the forced removals from informal settlements, which only increased the number of people on the street and did not solve the problem of informality in the city. The problem still survives today and the current housing programs, progressing slowly compared to the real needs, lead the city to expand more and more horizontally and to generate new dormitory suburbs.

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Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

The informal settlements related to the township ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

1488

Khoekhoe make contact with Portuguese explorers

1300-

1500

c. The Khoesan are established as the dominant power in the southern and southwestern Cape regions

1656

1594-1601

1650

Peninsular Khoekhoe hold monopoly on trade with the Dutch

1650-

1700

c. c. After the first fort and Companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Garden are developed, a street grid is laid out to link the harbour to the mountain 1674

iii

The building of the stone fortification, known as the Castle of the Cape of Good Hope, is completed

1713

Smallpox epidemic decimates Khoekhoe population of the South-Western Cape

1750

Population at the Cape 2500

c.1790s

iv 48

Early colonial building erected and most of the central town developed

Cape Khoekhoe barter with English navigators

1653

2 March, The first slave, Abraham, a stowaway from Batavia, works for the Company

1656

First slave freed in order to marry a Dutchman

1790

1700s

Slavery grows at the Cape, with slaves imported from various parts of Africa and the East, especially Madagascar 1720

Population at the Cape 1450

1739

Last armed resistance by Khoesan in SouthWestern Cape

1807

Promulgation of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act in Britain. Britain hereby bans slave trading which includes the importation of slaves to the Cape. However, ownership of slaves is still legal

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

1818

THE HISTORICAL PROFILE

The Castle of Good Hope, the Dutch fortress dated 1700

The multi-ethnic district of Bo-Kaap, built up by the end of 1700, nowadays victim of gentrification

Cape Town was the first European settlement in South Africa. The history of modern South Africa, since the arrival of the first Dutch settlers to Nelson Mandela’s first speech at the City Hall of Cape Town in the post-Apartheid era, has left here cultural and architectural traces. The buildings in Cape Dutch style coexist with modern skyscrapers and lush botanical gardens. Besides holding the title of the oldest urban area of South Africa, Cape Town can be considered the most cosmopolitan one. Its appearance has been shaped by the Dutch, the Malays, by French Huguenots and particularly by the English. In 1652, the Dutch explorers decided to build the first settlement on the Table Bay shores, at the beginning essentially made of a fortress and of a botanic garden, the Company’s Garden, aimed at the production of fruit and vegetables for the export and for the sustenance of East India Co. After 1657, the settlement was inhabited only by the Dutch and by the slaves they owned. Starting from 1660 the first traces of a urban planning begin to appear and around 1662 the population has already reached nearly 400 units. The city grows at a slow pace and in 1679 there are only 259 free citizens, including 55 women and 117 children, for a total amount of 460 people. Khoe Khoe men work as sailors or as delivery-men, some of them live in the city and are considered free blacks. In 1712 there are 250 private houses and in 1720 the population has reached the number of 1450 units. 49

The data and the historical references are based on the site http://www.sahistory.org. za, and on the texts Homes Apart. South Africa’s Segregated Cities, Khayelitsha: new home - old story ; a dossier of forced removals of Cape Town’s African population and Texture and Memory. The urbanism of District 6.

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

1814

Cape Town formally becomes part of British Empire after battle of Waterloo

1834

Abolition of slavery at the Cape

1862 1815

Afrikaans is used in Muslim school in Cape Town. The earliest Afrikaans test are in Arabic script in student notebooks

1860s-1870s

1865

First official Census of Cape Town. Municipal population estimated at 28400. Those labelled “other”, “Hottentot”, or “Kafir” number 13300. 9000 people were in paid employment: 1400 in Trade and Commerce; 3200 in Mechanics and Manufacturing; 2300 in Domestic Service

Railways and tramways introduced. Wealthier Capetonians relocate to Green Point, Sea Point and the Gardens

1880s

Emergence of forms of racial stereotyping: Cape Muslim were depicted as “dirty, lazy, ignorant and unruly”; Africans were depicted as “immoral, indecent and dangerous”

1878

1867

1891-1904

iii

Population of Cape Town and suburbs grows from 67000 to 171000

Municipal Act divided Cape Town into 6 districts. Diamonds are discovered at Kimberley. The diamond industry stimulates the economy of Cape Town

1899-1902

1900

iv 50

The first black newspaper in Cape Town, South Africa Spectator, was founded by FZS Peregrino, a Ghanaian who was influenced by ideas of black upliftment. The Spectator became “the voice of the new coloured political elite”

South African war

1901

Using healt legislation, an outbreak of bubonic plague was a pretext for the removal of Africans from District Six and the Dockland barracks to a location at Uitvlugt. This was Cape Town’s first forced removal, and set the pattern for future residential segregation

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Town’s Township

1897

1790

The Spectator, the first black newspaper of Cape Town, voice of the African political class of black ethnicity

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA 1764

0 0

100M 300F

Cape Town is mainly a port city, a trade center for goods and slaves and it is considered a transit point, not a place to settle down, therefore its growth has proceeded slowly over time. In 1732 the city has already evolved in terms of urban development basing its growth on a grid pattern. The upper middle class, the middle class and the free blacks’ working class live together in the small town and mixed marriages become common. In 1795 the British conquer Cape Town at the expense of the Dutch. The change of rule is characterized by a greater willingness to expand beyond the walls, a kind of philosophy unapplied by the Dutch so far. The city begins to expand outside its walls. A new bathing center, a fishermen’s village, renamed Woodstock, an improved road system and a military base built in Wynberg, mark a new expansion pattern along the edges of the mountain. In 1806 the British census indicates that the population has reached 16.428 units, 6.453 of which of European origin (39%). Between 1830 and 1850 the urban setting of Cape Town consolidates and in 1855 the city is extended over nearly 100 hectares. Once that also the transportation routes are finally improved, the city has set the foundations for its metropolitan growth. Southward through the railway towards Wynberg and Simon’s Town (built as a port in 1742); eastward along the main railway line towards Bellville (built in 1861); south-eastward in the Cape Flats alongside a branch of the railroad, down the Atlantic coast through a new road network. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the introduction of a

A map of the city center in 1764

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

1910

1913

The Black Land Act is passed. This Act is significant as land is segregated for the first time within South Africa. Africans are prohibited from owning or renting land outside designated reserves (7,6% of the total land area of South Africa). Property sizes inside the reserves are also restricted

1920s-1940s

The “Garden City” model for urban development is adopted from Britan urban reformers and planners, and adapted in South Africa. The first house in the new Garden Village of Pinelands is completed in 1922. Maitland Garden Village and the township of Langa are developed within this framework of planning

1926

Formation of the Union of South Africa; Cape Town’s population approaches 200000

1914

An Afrikaner nationalist party, the National Party is founded by J B M Hertzog

1918

University of Cape Town established

1927

Langa, built in terms of the 1923 Urban Areas Act, is officially opened. Its layout and design emphasise control and surveillance

1944

1930s

Cape Town homes electrified

iii

1934

1936

Native Representation Act, one of Herzog’s segregatory laws, removes Africans in the Cape from the common voters’ roll

1943

ANC Youth League formed under radical leadership 52

1946

+/- 500.000 people live in Cape Town

The Slums Act N. 53 gives the Cape Town City Council extraordinary powers of exploration of properties in “slum areas”

1940s

Segregated township based on an interpretation of the Garden city model are established. Many families living in overcrowded conditions in District Six relocate to new townships

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Town’s Township

1968

An application of the Garden City model

A Map dated 1950 showing the township of Langa

representative municipal government gives focus and character to the villages surrounding Cape Town by stimulating their growth. The difference in size and quality of houses becomes more and more evident. Large villas on equally large lands are in sharp contrast with one-storey houses and shacks inhabited by African workers. The oldest parts of the city become decrepit. It’s the poorest people, mainly not white, who live there in overcrowded conditions and very poor hygiene. This situation leads Cape Town to be the first city in which the African residents’ houses are deliberately separated from the other citizens’ ones. An epidemic outbreak of bubonic plague in 1901 is seized as an opportunity to forcedly transfer the residents of these neighborhoods to a place away from the city center. The place chosen is Ndabeni, a suburb east of the central core of Cape Town. This is considered the first forced removal of not white people that will be followed, for most of the twentieth century, by a series of town planning and legislative decisions aimed at the segregation and the separation of not white people. The Urban Areas Act, a law proclaimed in 1923, granted the right to local authorities to build designated residential areas for the natives’ control. New strategies of exclusion start to be conceived such as buffer spaces, wide strips of land created to isolate the new areas assigned to the non-whites. The first official township is Langa, built in 1927. During the following decades many others will follow, almost all of them conceived and planned to be built in the marshy and sandy expanse of Cape Flats.

The images above were taken from the Western Cape Archives and Records Service, based in 72 Roeland Street, Cape Town

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

1976

1948

Nationalist Party takes over the government

1950

Group Area Act promulgated, threatening the existence of many coloured, african and indian communities in Cape Town

Segregation is introduced on buses

1960

69 killed in anti/pass demonstration at Sharpeville

1970s

iii

Emergence of the Black Consciousness movement led by young student intellectuals like Steve Biko

1970-1975

New informal housing settlements spring up in Unibel, Crossroads, KTC and Modderdam. African people stream into Cape Town in defiance of the influx control laws

1983

1951

Separate Representation of Voters Act passed. Coloureds removed from the common voters- roll

1952

1956

1949

Prohibition of mixed Marriages Act passed

The township pf Khayelitsha is created, aimed at all legal African residents of the Cape province

Section 10 of the Urban Areas Act, which regulates the rights and movements of Africans, specified who was permitted to live and work in towns

1992

1962

Political prisoners begin serving sentences on Robben Island, which had been placed under the Prisons Department as a maximum security institution. Thousands are sent from the 1960s. Prisoners include Nelson Mandela, Govan Mbeki, Robert Sobukwe

1976

The Soweto Uprisings of 1976 protest against the introducing of Afrikaans as compulsory medium of instruction sparks a revolt in which more than 600 young people lose their lives

1980s

Mitchell-s Plain develops as the largest Group Areas dormitory locality in Cape Town. Houses are constructed in miles of monotonous rows but are also aimed at an emerging middle class

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

The population of Cape Town in 1936 reached 350.318 inhabitants. On May 26th 1948 the National Party led by D.F. Malan came to power together with the allies of the Afrikaner Party of Havenga, establishing the regime of racial segregation known as â&#x20AC;&#x153;Apartheidâ&#x20AC;?. The right-wing National Party remained in power until 1994 shaping its legislature with a policy aimed at promoting Afrikaner culture and the segregation of nonwhite ethnic groups and was supported by the Afrikaners but also by the South African English. The Group Areas Act, a law enacted in 1950, is one of the first significant pillars at the base of the apartheid policy. The law allowed a greater control by the authorities over the non-white South Africans dividing them into well-defined racial groups each one with its specific area of residence within the urban fabric. Moreover it stated that any nonwhite citizen had to be provided with a specific personal pass book, required for any kind of movement within the white areas of the city, in support of the control policy adopted by the apartheid government. One of the consequences was the forced removal of a number of people of African ethnicity from the city center, forced to leave their homes and move to those areas assigned according to their origin, leaving empty and uninhabited areas such as District Six, a multiethnic neighborhood cleared starting from 1966, after being declared a white group area, a district reserved to the whites only. It is estimated that, in 1943, 150.000 out of 482.000 inhabitants lived in slums built in other housesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; backyards or on free land. The privileges differences between

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

1984-1986

Popular rebellion occurs of unprecedented magnitude and intensity, resulting in thousands od deaths, two states of emergency and general political crisis for the apartheid state

1991

Under pressure, the apartheid government od De Klerk passes the Abolition od Racially-Based Land Measures Act 108 of 1991, which repeals the 1923 and 1936 Land Acts as well as the Group Areas Act

1994

The first democratic elections are held in April. Mandela is inaugurated as President on 10 May

iii

1999

16 June, Thabo Mbeki is sworn in as South Africa’s second post-apartheid president succeeding former President Nelson Mandela

2010

11 June, The Soccer World Cup starts

iv 56

1990

On 2 ferbuary, F W de Klerk announces the unbanning of the ANC, PAC and SACP

1990

On 11 february Nelson Mandela walks to freedom through the gates of Victor Verster Prison

1992

Formal negotiations commence between the ANC and the apartheid government

1993

Nelson Mandela is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

1995

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) is created in terms of the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act N°34. The TRC’s brief is to provide as complete a picture as possible of the nature, causes and extent of gross violations of human rights

2009

9 May, Jacob Zuma is sworn in as president of the Republic of South Africa in Union Building in Pretoria

2013

5 December, South Africa’s first democratic elected President Nelson Mandela passes away

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Town’s Township

white and non-white people and the segregation policies continue for the following decades, until the end of the Afrikaner regime in 1994. After Langa a number of other townships were built. The last one is Delft in 1989. The city has an expansion and an evolution connected and bound to the government policies. The townships keep on being built farther and farther away from the town, saturating the Cape Flats, despite this one being the least suitable place in Cape for the urban building construction. The richer areas have developed in the opposite direction, westwards, along the Atlantic coast, making it even more evident the dividing line between rich and poor people. In 1980 the metropolitan area of the Cape is the second largest in the country with its 1,8 million inhabitants. Less than 6% of the colored community still lives in the central areas of Cape Town, the rest are concentrated in the Cape Flats. The job opportunities are almost all concentrated in the city center, some in the central suburbs, with almost the whole workforce living more than 15 km away. The housing problem, characterized by great inequalities, reaches critical proportions during the twentieth century. The inadequacy of the houses has a big impact on all aspects of daily life increasing health, educational and social problems. An increasing migration phenomena, significantly intensified after the end of apartheid and of its laws aimed at the control of non-whites movements, is at the base of an increasing population growth and strongly influences the urban expansion itself. The most recent history has seen South Africa hosting the Football World Cup in

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

i Dwellings of the N2 Gateway project seen from the N2 Highway

iii

2010, a possible opportunity for prominence and visibility for the country. A case of very negative visibility, instead, was the N2 Gateway Housing Pilot Project. This government housing project envisaged the construction of approximately 25.000 houses (alongside the N2 highway connecting the airport to the city center) destined to the inhabitants of informal settlements. This was accused to be a project aimed at putting the city in the spotlight, seen the oncoming 2010 World Cup, and allowing the building priority to the houses located near Cape Town airport. Furthermore the construction of the housing project in the township of Langa, allowed the government to carry out numerous evictions and to demolish a lot of Joe Slovo informal settlement slums, with consequent relocations of the people in temporary camps (TRATemporary Relocation Area). In 2008 the evicted citizens brought a civil action against the municipality and in 2009 they finally won it with the consequent allocation of 70% of the houses to the citizens victims of eviction. Even today the expansion choices are linked to the legacy of the apartheid urban planning. The city continues to expand and does it disorderly and in an imprecise way, tolerating that its borders broaden more and more , giving rise to the phenomenon of urban sprawl.

iv 58

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

An image of Nelson Mandela on the Civic Center ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

THE EVOLUTION OF THE TOWNSHIP

The townships of Cape Town, built in the course of 70 years, have almost all been built along the N2 hightway. This road represents a barrier between the major townships of the city. Those who drive along this road cannot perceive the hugeness of these satellite cities. For the people who do not live there, it is hard to attend these areas, for a lack of attractive business centers. Each township, before the planning and construction of a new one, has been subject to the phenomenon of saturation of residual spaces with shacks. These ones were built up by the aspiring residents, being a consequence of the inadequacy of the township projects and of the arrival of many immigrants from Eastern Cape. The construction of new satellite towns to cope with the problem of overcrowding, did not help to solve the issue of informal settlements. Still and particularly today it is one of the main problems of the city. After building Ndabeni, the native location created to relocate the African blacks sent away from the center further to a plague epidemic exploited as a pretext and considered the first non-official township of Cape Town, the city starts to consider the expansion problem as an issue. Before the implementation of a new township, the land use plan of 1920 provided for the creation of new districts intended for whites, blacks and colored. The first suburbs thought with the clear purpose to divide ethnic groups and social classes were finally built. Pinelands, a neighborhood for the white middle class was designed on the basis of the garden city. The European-style

iii

iv 60

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

Faรงade, section and plan of a typical house for the townships

houses that used to be surrounded by gardens and trees and separated one from the other by hedges have now replaced them with electrified fences. Langa, the first township of Cape Town, was built in 1927. Located at the beginning of Cape Flats to the city center, closed in on itself by the railroad to the west and north, by the highway to the south and by the industrial area to the east, it was destined to African blacks, being the first large-scale housing project for low incomes people. The houses were long buildings made of masonry with a tin roof. With their one floor height, in their inside they were divided by transversal walls into 40-50 mq flats. The bathrooms, water and electrical current were shared services. The township was fenced and monitored all along its perimeter. In order to go in and out it was necessary to have a pass under penalty of incarceration. The control policy, the forced removals and the population growth prepared the ground and led to the building construction of new townships as Nyanga and Gugulethu. The first one, whose name in Xhosa means Moon, was built in 1946. In just four months more than 5.000 inhabitants of the black spotsยน, were moved to this new township. Located along the N2, 20 Km far from the city center, today it counts more than 60.000 inhabitants. Gugulethu, Our Pride in Xhosa language, was built in 1953, east of Nyanga, always along the N2 highway. It is inhabited by more than 100.000 people, most of which belonging to the black African ethnic group. Nyanga and Gugulethu, as well as Langa, have a lot of problems

The images above were taken from the Western Cape Archives and Records Service, based in 72 Roeland Street, Cape Town

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

The site chosen for construction of Nyanga

iii

iv 62

the

related to the organization of spaces and communication routes, due to the exclusion strategies. In addition there are other problems connected to the climatic conditions of the Cape Flats, like flooding and unstable ground, and to the filling of the residual spaces with informal dwellings. In the following decades other larger and larger townships were built up. Mitchells Plain, raised in the ‘70s, together with Philippi built up in the ‘80s, are the largest ones considering the areas they cover. Mitchells Plain, mainly inhabited by coloured people, together with Philippi, a predominantly black African area, develop south of Nyanga and Gugulethu up tol False Bay. They are almost 30 Km far from the city center to which they are connected by the N2 highway and by a railway joining them to the central railway station of Cape Town. In particular in Mitchells Plain it was thought a super-grid road system intended to be used by cars. The result, considering the limited use of cars by the township inhabitants, was the waste of space with the building of roads which were too large compared to the actual situation that came up in the following years. In doing so an internal separation inside the settlement finally occurred, in addition to the separation from the rest of the city. The last two big townships to be built up are Khayelitsha and Delf. The construction of Khayelitsha is announced in 1983. It is the largest township in Cape Town and it hosts 400.000 people, according to the 2011 census, even if the actual population is estimated to be of more than 700.000 people. It is considered to be one of the most

The image above was taken from the Western Cape Archives and Records Service, based in 72 Roeland Street, Cape Town

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Town’s Township

City Bowl VS Cape Flats. The city center VS the township of Khayelitsha

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

ii Above: a buffer space between the township of Khayelitsha and that one of Mitchells Plain. Below: a typical view of Khayeltisha, Makhaza

iii

iv Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

dangerous townships in South Africa, also as a result of its distance from the city center, far more than 30 Km. It is located east of Mitchells Plain and it is connected to the rest of the city by the railway and N2 highway. Delft is the most recent township. It was built up in 1989. It is very isolated because of the airport located to its west which limits and makes even more difficult the connection with the city. Compared to Khayelitsha it has got a very low density. In comparison to the first townships, no longer considered the city outskirts, the more recent ones continue to expand and to become saturated, despite the persistent conditions of insulation and even though the connections with the city center remain limited and mainly tied to the railroad and to private taxis.

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

TOWNSHIP

ETHNIC GROUP

YEAR OF CONSTRUCTION

INHABITANTS

District 6

1818 DESTROYED IN 1960

26925 (1950 GAA)

Ndabeni

1901

1014

Langa

1923

52 401

Black African

40.2%

Nyanga

1946

57 996

Black African

45.1%

Gughuletu

1958

98 468

Black African

39.6%

Retreat

1958

35 709

Coulored

17.6%

Manenberg

1966

61 615

Coulored

36.2%

Mitchells Plain

1970s

310 485

Coulored

24 .1%

Crossroad

1970s

36 043

Black African

44.5%

Masiphumelele

1980s

21 904

Black African

31%

Philippi

1980s

191 025

Black African

38.2%

Khayelitsha

1983

391 749

Black African

38%

Delft

1989

152 030

Nomzano

60528

UNEMPLOYMENT

iii

iv 66

Coulored Black African Coulored

Black African Coulored Black African

8.8%

41.3%

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

Cape Town townships ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

iii

iv Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

KHAYELITSHA

The city works for you ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

KHAYELITSHA 1996

2001

252342 55.2% 329002 139407 391749 (?)*

2011

38.71 sq.km 10120 People/sq.km

iii

LANGUAGES

• Afrikaans 1.1 • English

3.2

• Others

5.2

• isiXhosa 70

% %

90.5 % %

*The

difficulty in doing an official count of the population living in the slums generates not always correct data related to the number of inhabitants. In Khayelitsha it is estimated a population of more than 700.000 people. Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Town’s Township

Khayelitsha ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

SITE C

SITE B

KHAYA

iii

TOWN 2 ILITHA PARK HARARE

iv 72

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

MAKHAZA MAKAYA

KUYASA

ENKANINI 73

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

iii

iv 74

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

Khayelitsha services Clinic/hospital Church Train staton School Police station Shopping mall Sport complex

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

iii

iv Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

A satellite image of Khayelitsha dated 1986. In the center of the picture the first buildings can be noticed. The sand dune area, subject to strong winds and floods, is not the ideal place to build up a city (The image was taken from the Western Cape Archives and Records Service, based in 72 Roeland Street, Cape Town)

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

iii

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Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION On March 30th 1983 the Minister of Development Cooperation announces the plans for the construction of a new settlement for Africans to be located east of Mitchell’s Plain, around 30 Km far from the center of Cape Town*. Its name in Xhosa language means New House. The project is due to the arrival of a huge number of migrants and to the forced displacements from the informal settlements that took place in other townships. This one represents the last formal area of the city created to settle people of African ethnicity during the Apartheid Era. The original project, however, was complied only with regards to the main infrastructures, since most of the planned houses were not built up and many urban empty spaces, over the following years, have been occupied by informal settlements. In 1982 the estimated black population in Cape Town counts over 220.000 units. Minister Piet Koornhof announces that the first step of Khayelitsha development consists in the realization of 1.000 plots of land of 170 sq.m. each. On each lot it is provided the construction of small shacks, one for each family. Water is supplied from taps placed every four lots. The project includes a lighting system made of high street lights to illuminate large areas and a waste removal service. The plan comprises the construction of a school, a clinic, a post office, two public telephones and the bus service. The construction of Khayelitsha begins in May 1983 and four months later the inhabitants settled are 439. 79

The data and historical references are based on http://www.sahistory.org.za site, on the texts Homes Apart. South Africa’s Segregated Cities and Khayelitsha : new home - old story; a dossier of forced removals of Cape Town’s African population.

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

iii

iv 80

The population grows very quickly and the government predictions to settle 120.000 people in the township are denied over time. In 1985 the inhabitants are already 150.000. During the following years the protests against the government grow and lead to numerous demonstrations and to the refusal to move to the new area. The authorities respond with violence destroying a lot of informal settlements and forcing their inhabitants to move into the new township. The population growth increases exponentially while the township seems unable to meet the needs of the new settlers. This situation drives Khayelitsha to become the ideal place for the development of crime, contributing to its spatial and social segregation. Khayelitsha township is located at about 30 Km south-east from the

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

An overview of Khayelitsha from the observation point of Community Barn.

center of Cape Town. It lies in the Cape Flats, a sandy area with a very different climate compared to the central areas of the city, despite the proximity. During wintertime wind and heavy rains, causing frequent flooding, make this place inhospitable and unfit to live a healthy life. Khayelitsha has a triangular shape, bounded to the north by the N2 highway, to the west by Mitchells Plain township and by Swartklip Road, to the south and east respectively by the Indian Ocean and by Baden Powell Drive (R310). The north-east area borders a wetland that, together with the sand dunes south, limit the expansion of the suburb. The township of Khayelitsha is divided into ten districts and it is the third one of South Africa by size. According to the census of 2011

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

ii Formal fabric VS informal fabric

iii

Khayelitsha suburb has a population of 391.749 units, 118.809 families made up of 3,3 persons each, on average. The population is mostly ethnic black (90%), the remaining one is ethnic coloured, Asian and white. The 45% of families live in formal houses built up by the government since 1983, the year in which the township arose. Considered the high number of informal settlements and therefore the lack of a precise official count , it is difficult to give an exact number of the population living in Khayelitsha. NGOs such as the Social Justice Coalition (SJC), unlike the census of 2011 that counts nearly 400.000 inhabitants, estimate a township population of more than 700.000 units. It is served by a suburban rail line that cuts the township diagonally from north-west to south-east. In addition to the rail system, the transports are mainly bound to the use of taxis, minivans that carry even ten people at a time at cheap rates, connecting Khayelitsha with the rest of the city. There are two main taxi stands, located north in Site C and in Makhaza district, where there is also a large shopping center while the only other one is located in the center of Khaya district. For the whole township there are only one hospital and three police stations.

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Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

THE FABRIC UNITS

Examples of internal distribution of shacks

AND

THE

HOUSING

The types of housing in Khayelitsha can be divided into two groups. The formal houses built up by the government starting from the foundation of the township and the informal ones. The fabric of the township in univocally connected to these two housing patterns. Formal houses are built up on small and definite lots of land which, side by side, shape rectangular blocks, bordered by a grid road network. This type of fabric makes this place monotonous and alienating. The points of reference are very few and moreover the social gathering spaces are completely absent. Finding oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s way within the formal fabric is not so simple , on the contrary it is easy to confuse the streets and to get lost. The formal dwellings are made of masonry, single floor, with an internal surface around 40 sq.m. In most cases the houses are equipped with a small adjacent appurtenant area on the street side, bordered by a one meter high surrounding wall that separates it from the other housesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; areas. Often the houses have also a backyard where they usually have the bathroom, independent from the main block. The bathroom consists of a precast concrete containing a w.c. It can also be inside the house or else in the adjacent area on the street side. It is very common to see formal houses that have been expanded with self-building by the same residents. Very often they add porches, walls, garages. In some rare cases they even 83

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iii Comparison between the layout of an informal settlement and that one of formal houses in Site B, Khayelitsha

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add an additional floor. Expand and take care of their own house is a sign that the residents have developed a stronger sense of belonging to that place. The informal houses, in which more than half of the population of Khayelitsha live, develop in two different ways giving rise to two different types of structure. The first one is the slum in the yard which is built up in the area adjacent and of appurtenance of a formal house, be it in the front or in the back side. The formal house owner rents the use of the land to the people who built up the slum guaranteeing them the use of the w.c. and of running water. Those who choose this kind of dwelling recognize the value of having access to a bathroom with water as well as to have a higher level of safety. The boundaries of the dwelling are well marked and allow a greater independence from the contest. The second type of informal slum rises illegally on the cityowned land. Several grouped slums constitute an informal settlement. The settlements, constantly changing, occupy the residual spaces, saturating the urban fabric and, in case they arise along the borders of the township, they expand its boundaries. Compared to the slums in the yards, the informal settlements have more disadvantages as to logistics and security. The informal settlement has got a very dense network of internal paths. The slums are built up side by side without a precise logic. Narrow spaces are difficult to be used and deny the sense of direction, moreover the lack of night lighting and of common areas, make the place dangerous and ideal

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

Informal shacks in backyard

Informal settlements

A path inside UT Gardens informal settlement

for an attack. The slums are self-built and made up of a collage of different materials found in the street or bought in special markets. As to the slums of the settlements, their size depends on the family that inhabits inside and on the salary they have at their disposal (the slums in the yards are limited in size from the yard itself). It is possible to find 10 sq.m. slums hosting four people; 70 sq.m. slums with two persons inside; 30 sq.m. slums having ten occupants. The situation is various and is deeply connected to the time factor, that is from how long the slum is inhabited by its owner. Those who have been living in the settlement for a longer time, have had the opportunity to find a larger space to build up their slum and to expand it over time. The most recent settlers have only had the opportunity to build up a slum in the residual spaces with very limited possibility to expand it. The services within the informal settlement are the least possible ones. They are provided and managed by the municipality. There are two kind of w.c. , both for common use, chemical baths and the kind of w.c. used in the formal houses, precast concrete connected to the sewer. Often they are also used by more than 25 people each. Further to the fact that they are a very small number compared to their users, the w.c. are often broken and/or dirty. They should be cleaned once a day but, according to a report compiled by the Social Justice Coalition organization based on interviews to the residents, they are not cleaned more than once a week. The baths are also padlocked by the same inhabitants otherwise it often

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

i Shack built up in a formal house yard

iii

Two-storey formal house, upgraded with self-construction

happens that they are vandalized. The situation of water is as critical as that one of the public baths. The shacks do not have running water. People get it from the taps scattered throughout the settlement, using it also for the laundry. Also the number of water points is very small compared to the number of the residents. There are settlements of more than a thousand people served with no more than ten taps, sometimes out of order and almost always in a bad state. The waste is collected in special bins or containers that once filled remain there for weeks without being emptied by the municipality. This means that the settlements are often dirty, with garbage abandoned along the routes and consequent worsening of the already low level of hygiene. Living in Khayelitsha is not a choice. Those who live in there have been forced firstly by the apartheid policies and then by their low incomes . A high unemployment rate and poverty make the township a very dangerous place. Crime is widespread and homicides are over a hundred each year. Those who do not work easily become criminals and abuse drugs and alcohol. This does not mean that there are no honest residents in Khayelitsha, capable to host and share like few people can do, animated by the willing to change in order to live in dignity and to fight for a better life, even when the chances of improvement seem very distant.

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UT Gardens settlement inside Site B, Khayelitsha

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THE UT GARDENS SETTLEMENT

NO INCOME NO INFO

60 50

R1-R400

>R6400

R401-R800

30 20 10

R3501-R6400

R801-1000

R3201-3500

R1001-R1600

R3001-3200 R2501-R3000

R1601-R2000 R2001-R2500

Average monthly salary at UT Gardens

The informal settlement called UT Gardens is located in the Site B of Khayelitsha township. The area is bordered Northside by the Site C, to the north-east by the N2 highway, Westside by a sandy land of the Cape Flats separating it from Mitchells Plains township and to the south by the district of Khaya. UT Gardens started to be built upon the municipalityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s land about thirty years ago. It is located upon an internal area of the district, made up of formal houses, slums, schools and green areas called wetland because they easily expand themselves following a rain event. It is bordered on two sides by minor paved roads. On the east side Tandazo Drive runs perpendicular to Sigwele Avenue marking the north side of the settlement. To the south the settlement is delimited by the fence surrounding the Ikhusi Primary School, while to the east it is bounded by the TT Section, another informal settlement very similar in size and shape. To the southeast it is bordered by a wetland, an area upon which no shacks can be built because of the ground instability. UT Gardens is one of the many spontaneous settlements of Khayelitsha. In Site B the C.O.R.C. NGO works with more than 40 settlements of different sizes, from the smallest ones made up of 30 shacks to the larger ones composed of thousands of informal houses. It is considered a small informal area. The last enumeration compiled by C.O.R.C., dating back to 2013, identified 355 shacks and a total amount of 955 residents. Like other spontaneous built-up areas, it has 89

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

i W

SIG

VEN

A ELE

TANDAZO DRI

iii

ARY SCHOO

IKHUSI PRIM

355 SHACKS 995 RESIDENTS

10 TAPS (3 BROKEN) 1 EVERY 142 PEOPLE LAND OWNER:

CAPE TOWN MUNICIPALITY

121 PUBLIC TOILET 90

1 EVERY 8 PEOPLE

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

Settlement area: ~19877 sq. m.

Shacks area: ~11467 sq. m.

58%

Walkable area: ~8410 sq. m.

42%

got a system of public toilets connected to the township sewer. The settlement has got 121 public baths, one every eight people. Running water is provided by 10 taps scattered throughout the settlement, three of which are broken while the remaining ones are often in a very bad state and hygienic conditions. The main problems are related to the crime rate and to winter flooding. The dense network of houses and the consequent lack of enough and well-defined public spaces, make this area unsafe, considering how easily robberies, violence and abuse can occur. Walking through the narrow and cramped alleys of the settlement, even if accompanied by locals, a person cannot but feel unsafe and tends to remain always well vigilant and alert. The spaces dedicated to sociability correspond to those of domestic life or, at most, to the small outdoor spaces between a shack and another delimited by precarious fences. In wintertime the settlement is struck by strong winds and flooded whenever there is a storm or a long-lasting weather front. In case of flooding the water level inside the slums, especially for those nearby the wetland, but also for the innermost ones, creates great inconvenience. The houses become uninhabitable and water often raises to their tenantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; knees. In the most extreme cases the residents are temporarily moved to the Andile Msizi schoolhouse, located just north of the area and equipped with emergency beds. In order to try to fight against the problems caused by water, people improvise makeshift solutions, such as concrete or stone slabs or carpets placed in layers on the inner streets of the settlement creating

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

an unstable and inefficient pavement. The settlement is illegally connected to the township power grid. The unauthorized connections are so frequent and usual that there are specialized professionals who, upon payment, connect the shacks to the existing network. Obviously this leads to malfunction in the electrical system with consequent and frequent short circuits often causing fires able to destroy even hundreds of shacks. The lighting system is not widespread downwards, on the contrary, it mainly develops by means of street lights even ten meters high illuminating with their beams even more than one settlement. The choice of this kind of lighting is due to the ease with which lower street lights would be immediately vandalized. The negative result of such a situation is a bad quality of lighting especially among the interstitial spaces between the houses that remain totally in the dark. UT Gardens area is saturated by now not having any other space for the growth of new slums and having almost reached a point of no return in terms of livability. The wetland, without any significant intervention

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Protection systems from flood water

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

Overview of the wetland in UT Gardens, the cause of numerous floods further to winter rains

of redevelopment, remains an unusable area on which there is no possibility of expansion. It would be wrong, however, further to these reasons, to adopt the institutional and usual logic of reblocking , on the contrary instead, it is important to work for a social improvement in order to achieve a better quality of the spaces together with the community, the real subject around which every single project of slum upgrading should turn.

Illegal connections to the power grid

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Actual State

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ACTUAL STATE

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UT GARDENS

PUBLIC TOILET

SCHOOLS

WETLAND

URBAN ROADS

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ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

TYPOLOGIES

Further to the inspections I personally conducted inside UT Gardens settlement, on the basis of my observations and of the photos I have taken on the spot, I have tried to compile and draw up a catalogue listing the different types of shacks that can be found inside the informal settlements of Khayelitsha. My main aim was to figure out the different relations between the settlement houses and their outside areas, analyzing the several typologies. The way of dealing with the rest of the settlement, in fact, significantly changes whether there is or not a fence, whether we consider a one or a two-storey house, or even whether we analyze a restaurant or an illegal tavern. The way in which the slums are built is deeply related to the dangerousness of their location and to the frequency of flood events during wintertime. A higher and stronger fence allows a resident to feel safer in his house rather than outside. The two-storey shacks, rare if compared to the other ones, are located on the perimeter of the area most subject to flood events, so that at least a part of the house can always remain dry. Another purpose of this catalogue is to show which are the real conditions of life inside a shanty town, otherwise difficult even to imagine by a person who has never been there.

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SHACK FOR SALE This is the simplest shack that can be found, very widespread because of its simple construction. It results to be a collage of various materials that, once assembled, give a simple and modest shelter to its occupants. It is highly flammable and subject to flooding.

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

SIMPLE SHACK This is the simplest shack that can be found, very widespread because of its simple construction. It results to be a collage of various materials that, once assembled, give a simple and modest shelter to its occupants. It is highly flammable and subject to flooding.

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iv Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

SHACK WITH FENCE Inside the settlement there are a lot of shacks enclosed by a fence because in this way the occupants can earn and increase their own private space and have the chance of pegging the washing on the line, keeping the dog tied and let the children play. As well as the simple shack even this one is not fireproof and floods easily inundate it.

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

SHACK WITH NET This is a shack not only delimited by a fence but also protected by a net at least two meters high. The reason is the extreme dangerousness of the settlement so that a simple padlock to the door is not felt to be enough by the occupants. The net all around creates an open space where people can live and feel much safer.

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iv Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

C.O.R.C. SHACK This is a shack built up by the C.O.R.C. NGO further to the Reblockin project or after a fire event. Unlike the other shacks these ones are built up with galvanized sheets (fire resistant) and with a better assembly of materials thanks to the expert and skilled workers whose mastery leads to a more resistant result.

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iv Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

DOUBLE STOREY SHACK Two-storey shacks are not so common because there are not many people skilled enough to build them. Other difficulties are an unstable soil and the availability of fairly resistant materials. This kind of house allows to partially solve the problem linked to floods because at least a part of the building remains dry. These houses are the result of a time and money investment from the side of its occupants whose first interest is to upgrade them, following their greater economic availability or a stronger sense of belonging to the place, or maybe further to both.

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STILT SHACK Another kind of two-storey shack is the stilt one, non such a common house that is built up to fight against the problem of water. Unlike the other two-storey kind of shack, this one has got an opened area below the terrace.

iv Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

RESTAURANT SHACK There are a lot of restaurants in the township. The local diet is almost entirely based on meat. For 50R, more or less 4 euros, one can buy and eat, strictly with his hands, 10 pork steaks, a packet of sliced bread and a bottle of Coke.

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iv Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

The diet is mainly based on pork and sheep of which they do not thrown anything away. In the aside pictures it is possible to see the smileys, sheepâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s heads, so called because of the smile expression that remains on the animalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s face after being killed. In the images above the entrails of the animal. ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

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iv Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

BARBER SHOP As numerous as the restaurants, the barber shops are often placed inside old and rusty containers or inside the shacks. A cut costs 10R, around 75 euro cents.

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SHABEEN Tavern /store, located within the informal settlement to hide the illegal sale activity of alcohol without license.

iv Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

TAPS Water is supplied by various taps located among the shacks, often along the main roads or the paved ones. Inside UT Gardens settlement there are 10 taps of which 3 broken ones. Every 142 people there is only 1 functioning tap.

PUBLIC TOILETS The toilets of the settlement are all for common use. Shared by families, they are closed with padlocks to avoid vandalism and theft. In UT Gardens there are 121 toilets, 1 every 8 people. In the settlement there are also a lot of chemical baths.

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iv Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

PROJECT PROPOSAL

ENRICO BOSIA, Master of science degree in Architecture Construction and City, 2014/2015

ii A few moments with the people of Khayelitsha, to understand and discuss their needs

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THE INTERNSHIP During the three months spent in Cape Town, I carried out an internship at the NGO Community Organization Resource Centre (C.O.R.C.) for about eight weeks. The C.O.R.C. NGO works under an organization called SDI South African Alliance, which in its turn is member of the larger Slum Dwellers International (SDI), an organization which operates in several countries around the world, with the aim of supporting the social and economic development of the urban poor people. By means of methodologies and projects based on a bottomup approach, the SDI becomes a link between the informal and the formal, cooperating together with the different organizations of the country they work in. SDI South African Alliance is one of these ones. The C.O.R.C., founded in 2002, carries out two types of activities. The first one is to create a network among the many informal settlements of the city, working on various issues such as the right to basic services, evictions and the improvement of the settlements. The second activity is the incentive of women activism through the education to money saving. During the internship my role was that of a cooperator of the technical office. Together we have tried to devise some solutions aimed at the improvement of the settlements in which the NGO works, cooperating with the residents and with the Jakupa architecture studio. In particular the work focused on UT Gardensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; informal settlement. 119

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Hangout spaces settlement

inside

the

I had the opportunity to attend and participate to various meetings with some of the community leaders resident in different informal settlements in the Site B of Khayelitsha. These meetings were intended to learn and study, together with the communities, the problems and the needs within the various settlements. The main philosophy of C.O.R.C. is to develop every project starting from the bottom, that is cooperating with the inhabitants of the settlements in which they work, since the very beginning. This process, which may seem obvious and superficially approached during a planning phase, is fundamental and indispensable in a situation like the informal settlements. The dynamics existing inside a slum are various and complicated. For example, the simple action of entering a settlement is linked to the acquaintance of the community leader, otherwise it would be too dangerous. The general conditions of the slums and the quality of services (water supply, sanitation, electricity, public spaces, police stations, garbage collectionâ&#x20AC;Ś) are so dysfunctional that any kind of intervention, such as to install a new water faucet, would lead to an improvement, although a small one. In addition to the increase and improvement of the essential services, the main aim of the planning process together with the community, was to figure out which are the needs that once met would allow a better social integration inside and outside the settlement with a consequent increase of the sense of belonging to the place. The sense of belonging is crucial. It leads people to take care of their

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

neighborhood and of their own house, improving and upgrading them. Further to the various meetings, it emerged that what lacks in the settlement are some meeting spaces, until now restricted to a few ones such as illegal taverns, barbers or some small house yards. The community actually felt the need of some places in which they could meet, discuss, talk, organize events, play and celebrate by feeling safe. Once identified the target, the following step was to submit project proposals to the community and to the district councilor. Pictures A,B,C,D show some of the proposals submitted to the council. The following step that unfortunately I could attend only at its earlier stage, was the cooperation with an architecture studio to draw up a project proposal, previously agreed upon with and approved by the council. The reduced budget available to the C.O.R.C. has limited the initial design choices to the sole improvement and strengthening of the road system internal to the settlements, the fixing up of a part of the Wetland adjacent to the UT Gardens area and finally the building up of a football field and a square on the restored ground. The map in the next page shows, with a red circle, the area that has been chosen for the future construction of a community center, at present not feasible due to a lack of funds. The choice of the site, nearby the Wetland, was made to encourage people who live outside, to enter the settlements and to allow a possible future development of the community center itself. Working at the C.O.R.C. allowed me to have access to a lot of data and

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information related to the informal settlements, otherwise difficult to obtain. The slums enumeration process performed by the C.O.R.C., has required a large workforce and some weeks to compile exhaustive reports on the examined settlements. A careful planning of the material concerning this analysis was essential for the understanding of the settlement and as a basis for the development of the project proposal (chapter IV). My internship

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experience was also crucial because it was thanks to the organization that I could personally visit the township of Khayelitsha and UT Gardensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; settlement, normally very dangerous places, of a difficult access for a foreign person who does not speak the local language, the Xhosa, and who does not know the place.

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0-10

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10-20 % 20-30 % 30-40 % 40-50 % 50-60 % 60-70 % 70-80 % 80-90 %

90-100 % 124

NOT AVAILABLE DATA

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THE SLUMS IN THE WORLD

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PLANNING THE INFORMAL The term upgrading means a set of strategies and actions aimed at a basic infrastructure improvement and at the improvement of the living conditions inside informal settlements. The main goal of these strategies, on which the upgrading process is based, is the reorganization and the legalization of the informal town. This result can be achieved through actions such as the improvement of the road network and of the sewer and drainage systems, the supplying of drinking water, the upgrading of the electricity grid and the optimization of the hygiene services such as the cleaning up of public toilets and the waste collection. Other interventions in the upgrading process may be those belonging to the social domain: hygiene and health education programs, or aimed at the improving of the education itself. All of them play an equally important role together with the building intervention programs. Working in the context of the spontaneous towns implies a series of difficulties related to the understanding of the processes of birth, and evolution of communities. Propose to and provide the informal settlements with better living conditions is a delicate and complicated process, since the already unstable balances that rule and mark these places are easily subject to be broken. The interventions for improving the existing and the community involvement in the planning processes, as well as being the most economic choices and the less invasive ones rather than the tabula 127

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rasa approach followed by brand new building, help to understand which are the basic needs of the informal contest and therefore to intervene in a more concrete way, having a greater chance of success. The decision to intervene in a radical way, erasing the problem of the informal by totally demolishing the settlements and replacing them with standard buildings is a kind of policy often adopted by the municipality. This method is now heavily criticized, both by experts in the field and by the non-profit associations operating in the settlements. The tabula rasa actions, even if sometimes represent the only solution in extreme conditions, often hide speculative purposes. No matter which kind of upgrading process is chosen, the reality remains that the residents of the informal town, forced into an uncomfortable life made of poverty and marginalization, have to intervene on their own houses in an prompt and uncontrollable way, improving them with emergency materials and adjustments to face the continuous changes of the informal way of life. In this kind of situation, unfortunately, they will never perceive their shack as a real house and the settlement as a place to live and grow their families. The main problems typical of the settlements are linked to different issues. The first one is the lack of enough space to live adequately, since the settlements often have a very high population density. The services and the connections are few and poorly managed , the result being that the slums become a marginal place, cut off from the collective consciousness. As a consequence they turn into dangerous

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

The TRA of Khayelitsha, located at the N2 exit north of the township

places especially for the residents themselves. The lack of places dedicated to sociability forces the inhabitants to live and occupy passageways, having no other place to meet one another . The discussion about the South African informal city is vast and complicated. The adopted upgrading strategies can be divided into two categories and methods of approach. The first one is the principle of total demolition of the informal settlements with a consequent exnovo reconstruction of the houses, a choice that does not solve the typical problems of slums although it actually improves the living comfort. This way of approaching is conducted by the municipality that through forced evictions and demolitions does not care about the inhabitants of the settlements not involving them in the planning processes. The evicted people are relocated in temporary camps called TRA (Temporary Relocation Area). Very often this kind of solution changes from temporary to permanent. The second approach is based on the fundamental point of the informal citizen inclusion in the upgrading strategies, involving them since the very beginning. Those who practice and apply this methodology are the local NGOs. By working directly they want to set more solid basis for the growth and improvement of spontaneous settlements. Working in contact with the inhabitants does not always produce a good quality of planning and a successful result of the upgrading processes. NGOs operate in very different ways independent from each other. Some prefer the strategy of reblocking, consisting in a temporary relocation

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of the inhabitants of a given settlement while replacing their shacks with other better built ones. Others adopt precise intervention methods creating new spaces of aggregation and improving the existing ones. Inside Khayelitsha the major organizations which operate at a local level are C.O.R.C. and V.P.U.U. The first one focuses more on the house issue, dealing with small and larger settlements often following the reblocking mode. This strategy, although developed from below by involving the local community, does not solve many of the problems of the informal contest. The settlement, in fact, remains basically the same, the shacks are better built and arranged following a more rational and precise logic, but the issue of public spaces still lacks to be approached and the choice of replacing the network of narrow and irregular streets with a better defined and more precise road system, based on grid patterns, does not give character to the place not defining concretely the settlement. The V.V.P.U. works in a completely different way. The associationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s acronym (Violence, Prevention through Urban Upgrading) immediately explains which is the adopted approach. They do not handle the house issue but only the one concerning public spaces. The projects deal with the construction or improvement of public spaces such as streets, squares, sport centers, in order to try to prevent the high local crime rate by means of passive monitoring and social aggregation strategies. Passive monitoring means the control of the areas involved in the project by those who attend them, even without being aware of that.

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

The library designed by V.P.U.U. in Harare neighborhood

One of the folies â&#x20AC;&#x153;active boxâ&#x20AC;? of V.P.U.U. located in Ilitha Park

Community hall built V.P.U.U. in Harare

The fact of creating new places of sociability with simple shapes and clear lines allows a higher visibility over the whole area by the residents and this reduces the possibility that crimes take place and at the same time encourages the community to attend and take care of these same places. This strategy, even if not focused on the house issue, a central topic in the South African context, faces the public space matter, almost never or very little approached in South African townships, since when the first development plans of the apartheid towns started to be dealt with. The creation of these places, in addition to the purpose of preventing crime, is intended to give Khayelitsha a new look at a social level. The realization of points of public interest within the township should become a priority in modern urban planning. This would create greater possibilities of social interactions among the residents and those who live outside. This dynamic, almost completely absent today, is not achievable only through the creation of attractive points. It should be implemented by social strategies as well as by infrastructure ones, together with a reversal of the conservative attitude of the South African government whose main aim is still not the resolution of the segregation matter.

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What is the slum ugrading?

FACILITIES: COMMUNITY CENTER TENURE REGULARISATION: PLAYGROUND REGISTRATION SCHOOL DEMARCATION PARK DOCUMENTATION CLINIC DAYCARE CENTER PHYSICAL IMPROVEMENT: PUBLIC SPACES SANITATION STREETS DRAINAGE

AREA-BASED PLAN

WATER SUPPLY COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION POWER LINES EXISTING SETTLEMENT

iii HOUSING IMPROVEMENT: CONSTRUCTION HOUSING EXPANSION TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE BUILDING LOANS

DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES: SOCIAL ECONOMIC HEALT CULTURAL EDUCATIONAL

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The scheme above was taken from UN-HABITAT, Streets as tools for urban transformation in slums: a street-led approach to citywide slum upgrading, 2012

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ii COMMUNITY BARN The Community Barn is a business incubator specialized in technology and innovation.

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LIBRARY V.P.U.U. project located in Harare and opened to the public in 2011

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EMPOWER SHACK An experimental project designed by the Urban Think Tank Studio. In Site C a shack prototype has been built up as inspiration for future reference and implementation

ACTIVE BOX The active box designed by V.P.U.U., located in Ilitha Park, is a reference point for the residents and contributed to the decrease of crime in its surroundings

COMMUNITY HALL The Community hall of designed and built V.P.U.U.

Harare up by 135

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FOUR CASE STUDIES

In addition to the experience lived with C.O.R.C. and the upgrading work that V.P.U.U. achieved in Khayelitsha, the following projects are an inspiring selection for the design choices and help to have an idea of the different kinds of approach in the slum development. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always useful to remember that the slums in the world, although they may have many features in common, remain linked to their own identity. This fact does not allow a complete standardization of the interventions in the informal context. Each settlement has got its own personality to preserve, to deal with and to take into account as to the design processes.

iii

EMPOWER SHACK In 2014 the Urban Think-Thank Studio has designed and raised a housing unit at a low cost in Khayelitsha, in Site C, a northern district of the township. The project, that was developed further to a workshop, to the mapping and to different studies on site, established as its aim the improvement of the life quality inside the BT Section of the settlement. Together with ETH in Zurich, a prototype was created with a prefabricated modular system. Designed to be built up in one single day, the Empower Shack consists of a wooden structure, buffered by aluminum corrugated sheets. These latter allow a good fire resistance and are implemented by a flooring of magnesium plates able to withstand water and high temperatures. In addition to the single housing unit project it has been studied also

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Empower shack Khayelitsha

Site

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a possible development of the TB Section of the settlement, together with the residents, favoring twostorey shacks thus ensuring greater space between the houses making them safer and less exposed to risks in case of fire. This project wanted to be an example for a possible upgrading process involving the informal in Khayelitsha by building up low cost houses easily assembled by the residents themselves.

Potty project in New Delhi

POTTY PROJECT The Potty Project is an intervention of infrastructure upgrading performed in the settlement of Savda Ghevra in New Delhi. It was made by the organization CURE, an NGO operating in India, in collaboration with the ARCSR research unit of the London Metropolitan University together with the neighborhood community. In particular it is based on the design ideas of the architect Julia King, researcher and staff member of the NGO. The issue of health has taken precedence on the housing one. The project consists in the application of targeted solutions to reach an implementation of the sewerage system, with the aim of improving the level of hygiene in the area. The field studies have shown that the primary needs were the intervention on the sewer network together with the need to arrange the houses for possible implementations with internal bath units. The settlement roads have been upgraded and implemented with a new sewerage system which, once connected to a septic tank, ensures a significant improvement of the health and hygiene conditions of the area. In addition to the sewage

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water network, a treatment tank for the waste water was placed in order to allow its recycling. This project allowed more than 300 families to upgrade their houses thanks to the installation of a bath inside, a safer and more dignified option, especially for women and young girls.

INCREMENTAL HOUSING STRATEGY The project, presented by Filipe Balestra and Sara GĂśransson in the city of Pune in India, stands as a direct method of intervention involving informal realities with an upgrading purpose. The main objective was to think about how to preserve the life patterns of the place and the typical settlement relations, actively working together with the community, encouraging its development while using as a starting point the urban characteristics of the area. The design strategy, born of a governmental initiative, involves the construction of incremental housing and, in some cases, the completion of existing ones. They propose three different kind of housing, composed by a concrete frame and equipped with a bathroom and a kitchen. The base module consists of a 25 sq.m room which, being overlaid, forms units of two or three storey above ground level. The incomplete construction of the buildings let the inhabitants have the chance of upgrading them according to their needs

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Incremental housing in Pune

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ELEMENTAL: INCREMENTAL HOUSING The Chilean architecture Elemental Studio, since the beginning of the 2000s, has produced a series of projects aimed at the improving of the living standards of the poorest sections of inhabitants. The idea behind the projects is to build up houses whose residents may have the opportunity to expand independently, thus allowing the project funder to have enough money to raise up many other housing units. The project of Quinta Monroy, Chile, was created with the purpose of restoring a spontaneous settlement of the city of Iquique. The main problems the designers had to face were related to the population density and to the little budget at their disposal. The vertical development of the new houses has allowed an expansion of the available floor space and, as a consequence, a repositioning of the residents on the same site where the old settlement stood once. The houses develop over three floors above ground level and are embedded in horizontal slats to form a sort of comb. The interstitial spaces are deliberately left free, ready to meet any possible implementation by the residents themselves. The project challenge was to imagine the initial nucleus and its possible evolution, having to take into account any possible functional changes of the interior spaces. The selfconstruction changes its perspective : it is no longer seen as a factor of environmental degradation but becomes part of the landscape.

Incremental housing by Elemental

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UPGRADING UT GARDENS

The report Streets as Tools for urban transformation in slums is another of the points of reference for the design process referred to the informal settlement of UT Gardens. Prepared by UN-HABITAT (United Nations Human Settlements Program), the United Nations program for human settlements, it presents the roads as pivotal points in the development strategies of the slums and of the urban transformations. Roads are the point of departure for a physical integration of the slums in the formal context being an official system of urban planning and management. Their development must be accompanied by a set of public policies and strategic interventions, in order to accomplish and strengthen the strategies of social and environment inclusion. These ones include the strengthening of the access networks to the slums, more job opportunities, better houses, an increase in the medical care system and the improvement of the sanitary conditions. These strategies take into account that opening, creating or widening roads within a settlement requires a certain number of shacksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; relocations which need to be discussed together with the residents, in accordance with the development plans of the town. An active involvement of the residents of the settlement is critical to the success of the design process. It is also important to consider the numerous and frequent disasters that the informal settlements often have to face (floods, fires, landslides) designing and building up according to the disaster management requirements and the rescue and relief operations.

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The project is intended as a possible new scenario for the requalification of the South African spontaneous agglomerations. Specifically it was designed to be applied to UT Gardens settlement, following the experience gained on site. The project proposal can be divided into two distinct strategies. The first one is aimed at improving the infrastructure and connective tissue, in order to solve the problems related to the outflow of waters making the settlement a safer place. The second strategy deals with the house issue and adopts a development plan less invasive as possible. The new housing units have been designed in order to gradually replace the existing ones, so to contain the relocation of the residents.

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PROJECT PHASES

The drawing represents a possible arrangement of the shacks of an informal settlement within a township. Apparently they seem randomly arranged, on the contrary there are major and minor roads, guidelines for the slum development. The projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s primary objective is to improve and enhance the roads and the internal circulation. Subsequently the aim is to progressively replace the existing shacks with a new model of housing units outfitted to an autonomous upgrade.

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Main street

Secondary street

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PHASE 1

The red shacks in the drawing are the ones intended for dismantling. Their removal allows the widening of the existing spaces and the creation of new paths. The families living in the removed shacks are located in a TRA (Temporary Relocation Area) until Phase 6A (Transfer 1). The transfer to a TRA is usually unwelcome because it causes a series of problems to the people involved, mainly the abandonment of their houses, of their community, the dislocation to areas with a less comfortable transportation system or farther from their job places. This is the reason why the design process limits as much as possible the relocation of the families to the TRA. Trasfer 1 is followed by a second and last dislocation that involves a smaller number of families (Phase 6A).

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PHASE 2

The minimum width foreseen for the roads is 3 meters, in order to ensure the transit of the emergency vehicles together w a greater visibility so to feel safer and untroubled when walking through. An increased visual field is directly connected to the idea of passive monitoring of the settlement, carried out by the residents themselves and to a consequent decreasing of any kind of crime within the area.

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PHASE 3

Once the shacks have been removed and the new roads have been identified, it is possible to proceed with the construction of a new sewerage system, to be integrated to the existing one. The aim is to improve the waste water management, at present in very bad conditions, and the rainwater one to avoid the frequent flooding events especially during wintertime.

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PHASE 4

The selected roads are paved. Their section is carried out in order to canalize and direct the rain water. During the rainy season in the settlements in danger of flooding it is common to have a few tens of centimeters of water nside the houses. The purpose of the pavement is also to further mark the main routes, giving them importance and visibility together with a stronger identity to the settlement itself.

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Sections of new roads

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PHASE 5

Along the way two different kind of spots are set, a red type and a blue type, different in size. They are meant as small public spaces (provided sometimes only with few seats), visually connected at least with another spot. This choice is based on the passive monitoring concept, which consists in giving the chance to the residents who attend and live in the spots and around the roads to supervise even unintentionally over the other residents. These spots, besides being meeting places, are thought as the starting points for the process of a progressive replacement of the informal houses. They are provided with water and electricity in view of a connection of the new housing units.

Spot section

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PHASE 6

Around the spots the new houses basements and frames/skeletons are built up. The number of the new units is equal to the one of the shacks removed during Phase 1. The blue shacks are the ones belonging to the families whom the new houses are assigned to. The first units are destined to the families with a higher monthly income. Being units with an incremental development, it is more likely that families with a higher income are able to upgrade their house in a shorter delay.

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TRA (Temporary Relocation Area)

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PHASE 6A

The shacks left by the families who have moved to the new houses are used to allow the families displaced to a TRA during Phase 1 to get back to this area. Again other shacks nearby the spots are selected for dismantling. Again, the families living there are requested to move to a TRA (Transfer 2). During this phase it is still necessary to dislocate these families because of the need for greater space for the construction of new housing units.

PHASE

As regards Phase 6, a greater number of new houses are built up compared to the shacks removed during Phase 6A. The yellow houses belong to the families destined to the new units.

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PHASE 6C

6 new units are occupied by the yellow families leaving their shacks to the families of Transfer 2, while other 3 by the families involved in Transfer 1. The shacks left empty by the 3 families moved during Transfer 1 can be demolished to leave space for the construction of new housing units. This helps to avoid the dislocation of other families to temporary camps.

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PHASE 6D

The replacement process continues as in Phase 6C. The priority in the assignment of the new units is given to the families of Transfer 1, followed by the families of Transfer 2, and at last to the remaining shacks. 152

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PHASE Step)

129 129 131

127

128 127

126 126

64 c

125

(Final

Hypothetical layout after the conclusion of the process of replacement of the shacks. The construction of vertical development units allows to increase the floor area, thus allowing the definition and construction of new roads and, in case of need, of new spots.

129

128

130

62125

124 62

124

61 116 113

116

123

114

113 112 112

132

52 55 51 51

53 26

50 50

103

104 102

f o

48 47 85

70 71

18 76

76 21 22

75 69

79 78 79

67 67 81

80 68

39 7 40

134

135

94 92

10 10 41

83 84 84

17 11 91

12 13

66 19

20 80

37 35 36 3

37 8

33 36

74 23

4 6

17 74

119

87 88 88

n 73 73

120

135

119

1 3

44 44

102

101 101

105

132 120

118 46

131

104 103

122

118

130

108 25 27 108 106 107 106 107

122

117

121 121

57 57

133

117

109

123

58 129

28 54

110

29 110

109

56 56

111

115

111

115

g 114

66 82 82

The process applied to a part of the UT Gardens settlement

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- 5 REMOVED SHACKS TRANSFER OF FAMILIES TO A TRA

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CURRENT STATE NARROW ROADS, FLOOD EVENTS, NO PUBLIC SPACES.

PHASE 1 IDENTIFICATION OF THE SHACKS TO BE REMOVED

PHASE 2 REMOVAL OF THE SHACKS AND TRANSFER OF THE FAMILIES TO A TRA (TRA located north of khayelitsha)

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- SEWER SYSTEM - ROADS UPGRADING - SPOTS

The families with a higher income are the first ones to be chosen to occupy the new housing units. The empty shacks are used to allow the coming back of the families removed to a TRA during PHASE 1.

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The spots guarantee a connection to electricity and to new water taps.

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

PHASE 3 UPGRADING OF THE SEWER SYSTEM

PHASE 4 ROADS UPGRADING

PHASE 5 IDENTIFICATION OF THE SPOTS, PASSIVE MONITORING

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- 5 NEW HOUSING UNITS BUILT (5 REMOVED) - 4 SHACKS REMOVED TRANSFER OF FAMILIES TO A TRA

ii M a t e r i a l s provided by the NGO

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PHASE 6 CONSTRUCTION OF THE BASEMENTS AND FRAMES OF THE HOUSING UNIT DESTINED TO THE FAMILES WITH HIGHER INCOMES

PHASE 6A RETURN OF THE FAMILIES TRANSFERRED TO A TRA

PHASE 6B CONSTRUCTION OF NEW BASEMENTS AND FRAMES(nr. Basements > nr. Removed shacks)

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- 6 SHACKS

BUILT (4 REMOVED)

- NO MORE RELOCATION

ii Expansion of the housing unit in self-building

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PHASE 6C RETURN OF THE FAMILIES TRANSFERRED TO A TRA, EMPTY SHACKS, NO MORE DISLOCATIONS TO TRA.

PHASE 6D CONSTRUCTION OF NEW BASEMENTS AND FRAMES.

PHASE 7 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; FINAL STATE NEW ROADS, NEW SPOTS, POSSIBILITY TO UPGRADE THE UNITS.

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Project State

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THE PROJECT

Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

NEW SEWER SYSTEM RELOCATED TOILETS

COLLECTION OF FLOODWATERS ROADS UPGRADING 1

SPOTS

FIXING UP OF THE WETLAND

HOUSING UNITS

ROADS UPGRADING 2

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FORMAL

URBAN ROAD

ACTUAL STATE

PROJECT

SECTION AA

SCHOOL

URBAN ROAD

ACTUAL STATE

PROJECT

SECTION BB

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INFORMAL UPGRADING

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WETLAND MEETING COMMON AREAS

ACTUAL STATE

PROJECT

SECTION AA

SCHOOL

ACTUAL STATE

PROJECT

SECTION BB

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URBAN ROAD

INFORMAL

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iv Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

THE HOUSING UNIT The first element of the housing unit to be built up is the concrete basement. It is filled with inert materials found on site and it is between 50 and 60 cm high, in order to isolate the unit from the ground. Flooding, during wintertime, is very frequent. The roads made of sand and earth, become impassable sloughs. The shacks are filled with water, sometimes high up to the knees. The residents are forced to leave their shacks for an indefinite time, going to live in temporary camps set up in schools, for example. The basement has got the function of raising the new housing unit from the ground level thus avoiding the flooding of the entire house. Once combined with a good design of the roadsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; sections and pavements, the problem of flooding can be avoided/ limited, improving the quality of life inside the settlement. The basement is the starting point for the construction of the housing unit frame, a space frame composed of pillars and bolted beams with various sections (cross or H section, tubular profiles). The section of beams and of pillars is designed to facilitate the insertion, the slot and the fixing of those elements that will constitute the walls of the unit. Actual shacks are built with recycled materials or with materials purchased in special roadside markets where different kinds of objects can be found and sold such as doors, windows, bathtubs, mattresses and railings. While walking around the settlement it is possible to notice how much the shacks appear as a collage of all these materials. Some of them are built up and assembled more

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iv Recycled materials on sale along the streets of Khayelitsha Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

skillfully, others in a more random and unstable way. The intent of a housing unit is to allow the construction of a more solid shack thanks to the greater support and to the strength ensured by pillars and by the concrete basement. The process of replacement of the shacks, implemented by C.O.R.C., provides that an existing shack is changed with another one built up with materials far more resistant to rain and fire (galvanized sheet). They are assembled by professional builders together with community experts that ensure a greater solidity of the house. The new shack has got the same square meters as the replaced one. This solution does not solve the problems of the settlement. It releases a more solid shack, yet still subject to flooding in case of heavy rains, and does not allow to increase the walkable area of the settlement. The designed housing unit presupposes the same logic, with the difference that the new housing units have a vertical development, thus allowing the widening of the settlement streets and consequently a greater visibility. Once the basement and the frame are built, the institution in charge of the process ensures the return back of the same square meters as the replaced shack. The materials to be used for the assembling of the new housing unit are provided by the institution itself. In addition to the return back of the same surface as that one of the old shack, an extra frame is provided in order to allow the construction of another surface equal to half of the house itself. This gives the possibility to improve and widen oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own house using the materials of the replaced

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shack together with any other new ones. The transfer from a shack to a housing unit allows an increase of the floor area. Inside the settlement there are houses ranging from 15 to 75 square meters. For example, a house of 75 square meters, re-constructed according to the logic of the new housing unit, occupies ~ 56 sqm. allowing to earn the 25% of the surface previously occupied. In drawing (B) some different possible evolutions of the housing unit can be seen. The inhabitant can decide to upgrade the unit as he wishes, in order to use the whole structure for himself or else to rent it for a residential and/ or commercial purpose. This allows the creation of new scenarios and dynamics inside the settlement. The potentiality of this unit is that it gives the owner the opportunity to make a profit by renting a part of its structure, being thus motivated to a consistent upgrading. The increased parts, rented for residential purposes, allow the movement of families from the slums in the yards (drawing A) and avoid the construction of new shacks by the numerous immigrants arriving from the Western Cape every year.

iii Actual state of the settlement

iv 176

Development objective of the settlement

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The upgraded parts, rented for a commercial purpose (food, taverns, barbers, witch doctors, â&#x20AC;Ś), allow the creation and movement of attractive poles within the settlement, thus increasing its attendance and therefore the safety degree. At an advanced stage of the shacks replacement process (Phase 6D), having more surface available, it can occur the possibility to enlarge the basements of the housing units and to increase in size the support frames. The owners of the units, thanks to the rental incomes and to their work, are able to upgrade their own house. The possibility to develop it in vertical allows to maintain the floor area unchanged. It is

+25%

of floor area

A. Shack area VS housing unit area

B. Possible developments of the housing unit. OWNER TENANT BUSINESS

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also possible to develop one’s own house horizontally in some cases. The business activities front onto the main roads giving them greater importance and increasing the attendance of the settlement. This process also leads to the creation of a social and economic mixité within the settlement, giving the owners a main role in the development itself.

SETTLEMENT AREA: ~19877 mq

SHACKS AREA: ~11467 mq 58%

FLOOR AREA: 8410 mq 42%

With the new housing unit, freeing up to the 25% of the surface of each shack replaced, the floor area gained is ~2867 m. The relationship between the open spaces and the area occupied by houses is thus reversed

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iv 178

Hypothettical development of the settlement

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BASEMENT AND FRAME WITH DETAIL

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FIRST IMPLEMENTATION BY NGO, WITH DETAIL OF KNOT FRAME AND WALL

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EXPANSION IN SELF-BUILDING FOR A PERSONAL USE, WITH WALL DETAIL

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EXPANSION IN SELF-BUILDING TO BE RENTED TO THIRD PARTIES, WITH ROOF DETAIL

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EXPANSION IN SELF-BUILDING FOR A PERSONAL USE AND FOR A COMMERCIAL USE, WITH DETAIL OF NGO WINDOWS AND INFORMAL ONES.

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Upgrading Khayelitsha: analysis and development strategies in a Cape Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Township

CONCLUSIONS The first step of this research was the approach to the reality of the place, the first-hand experience of the situation with its problems, in order to discover the diversity of another way of life and to describe the dynamics, the behaviors and the living practices of a city built on its prejudices after years of targeted segregation policies. The thesis proposes a hypothetical intervention strategy to the issue of the informal in South Africa townships. The attempt is to move away from the logic that leads todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s processes of upgrading interventions. If once the inhabitant used to be considered an object to relocate, now he becomes an integral part of the process. The spontaneity and the irregularities of the shacks represent fundamental values and are expression of a specific culture which must be the starting point for an attempt of resolution of the uncounted problems of the South African spontaneous cities.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Bezzoli M. - Marks R. - Kruger M., Texture and Memory. The urbanism of District 6, Cape Town, Cape Technikon, 2002 Coetzer N., Building Apartheid - On Architecture and Order in Imperial Cape Town, Cape Town, Ashgate Publishing Ltd, 2013 Huchzermeyer M. - Karam A., Informal Settlements. A perpetual challenge?, Cape Town, UCT press, 2006 Huchzermeyer M., Cities with “Slums”. From informal settlement eradication to a right to the city in Africa, Claremont, UCT press, 2011 Judin H. - Vladislavic I., blank___ Architecture, apartheid and after, Rotterdam, 24 NAI Publishers, 1999 Ley A., Housing as Governance: Interfaces Between Local Government and Civil Society Organisations in Cape Town - South Africa, Berlino, LIT Verlag, 2010 Lemon A., Homes Apart. South Africa’s Segregated Cities, Claremont, David Philip Publishers, 1991 Noble J. A., African identity in Post-Apartheid public Architecture. White Skin, Black Masks, Farnham, Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2011 Otter S., Khayelitsha uMlungu in a Township, Rosebank, Penguin Group, 2010 194

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Rosa M. L. - Weiland U. E., Handmade urbanism. From community initiatives to partecipatory models, Berlin, Jovis Verlag GmbH, 2013 Secchi B., d’urbanistica, 2000

Prima Roma-Bari,

lezione Laterza,

Secchi B., La città dei ricchi e la città dei poveri, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2013 Surplus People Project, Khayelitsha: new home - old story ; a dossier of forced removals of Cape Town’s African population. Cape Town, Surplus People Project, 1984 /// Centre on Housing Rights & Evictions (COHRE), N2 Gateway Project: housing rights violations as ‘development’ in south africa, 2009 City of Cape Town, State of Cape Town report 2014 - Celebrating 20 years of democracy, 2014 Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Township Transformation Timeline, 2009 Housing Development Agency (HDA), Western Cape: Informal settlements Status (2013), 2013 The Khayelitsha Commission Inquiry, Towards a safer khayelitsha, 2014

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UN-HABITAT, Streets as tools for urban transformation in slums: a street-led approach to citywide slum upgrading, 2012 UN-HABITAT, The state of african cities 2014. Re-imagining sustainable urban transitions, 2014 Lotus International. Learning from Fevales, nÂ°143, 2010 /// www.capetown.gov.za www.nu.org.za www.sahistory.org.za www.statssa.gov.za

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