Alternatives Fortitude, Change and Transformation
"Designing a dream city is easy; rebuilding a living one takes imagination...The city is not a problem that can be solved. It is the eternal impossible question of how we as strangers can live together. Rebuilding a living city - a city which jumbles together multiple and conflicting differences - therefore requires less a utopian plan than a poetics of political imagination" (Donald, 1997)

Because the city is a problem that cannot be solved - the eternal question -there are no emancipatory urban peaks to climb and scale. A progressive urban future and politics is the very act of climbing, daily tenaciously, audaciously and incessantly. Once again, Lula's words are instructive: "Each day, even if we advance a centimetre, we are going forward – without any miracles, without breaking away from our international commitments, simply doing what needs to be done"

N2 Project - Alternatives through Small Steps and Learning by Doing
The Poetics of the Alternative Imagination: Confluence of Forces - the Project's Rationale

• Second Decade of Freedom: Moving our country and society towards the eradication of poverty and underdevelopment by expanding socio –material citizenship, enhancing the process of social cohesion, and building social solidarity
• Central: Focus on the growth and development of the First Economy and responding to the challenges confronting the Second Economy (the structural manifestation of poverty, underdevelopment and marginalisation)

• Commitment to build sustainable human settlements that restores the dignity and citizenship of the poor and is responsive to their coping and livelihood strategies
• A critical pillar of restoring dignity and citizenship; reducing vulnerability; ameliorating poverty; addressing the shelter needs of our large 'floating population'; and, enhancing safety and security is the focus on informal settlements

• Sustainable human settlement development is core to the realisation of the objectives of the Second Decade of Democracy - it is the material foundation of the alternative we strive towards

• N2 Gateway Project is a crucial pillar of the realigned housing strategy within which arresting the growth of informal settlements and upgrading is central to the realisation of the aims, goals and objectives of the Comprehensive Housing Plan (CH P)

• Architects of the N2 Project perceive informal settlements as not merely a ‘housing problem' - it is a manifestation of structural social change, necessitating creative and innovative intervention on institutional, programmatic, financial and management levels
• The N2 Project attempts to build on the initiatives of this government to restore stability to property markets and ensure that its benefits are equitably distributed through the development of alternative housing options/choices (including social housing, hostels upgrading, phased upgrading of old stock) that trigger broader economic opportunities in the city
• The net effect of this project intervention would be to renegotiate the targeting of private sector investment in the city in line with the commitments of the Financial Sector Charter and removing the disincentives contributing to redlining

· Hallmark of the present project derives from robust institutional infrastructure underpinned by a partnership between three spheres of government, welded together to achieving sustainable human settlement outcomes that Immediately arrests the spatial marginalisation of the poor

· Sustainable human settlement development includes wealth creation, poverty alleviation and equity - citizens living in a safe and secure environment and have adequate access to economic opportunities, a mix of safe and secure housing and tenure types, reliable and affordable basic services, educational, entertainment and cultural activities, and health, welfare and police services

· As pilot, the Project serves to illustrate how the three spheres together pioneer a new approach to integrated and sustainable human settlements (higher densities, socio-spatial integration, compaction); (re) activation of primary and secondary markets); through 'learning by doing'

· Housing Backlog: 220 000, 240 000; 245 000(261 000)

· Waiting List: Grows by 25 000,16 000 (new households moving Into province) (p.a.)

· Number in Informal Settlements: 84000,100000,142983

· Present Housing Delivery Rate: 11 000,10 000 (p.a.)

· Backlog Growing: 8 000,15 000 (p.a.)

Stats extracted from various documents (IDP, Court Papers, Census)

• Existing Backlog 142 983 households

• Backlog Grows (con) - 15 000 p.a.

• Assumption - 40% settle in informal settlement

• Delivery - 19 167 (sites allocated to IS current) and projected unit delivery (4001 in 3/4; 10 979 in 4/5; 4773 in 5/6; 4373 in 6/7)

· In 2006/7 - backlog will be 168610 and will have increased by 30 606 households (138004 in 2/3)

• Provisional Estimate Cost for Servicing Informal Settlements (85 000 dwellings is R99.lm in 314 - less than 1% of total budget to service needs of 465 000 and 5.8% of current Hi .7bn directed at poor areas
• Budget rises to R248m in 6/7 but is still based on servicing needs of 85 000 dwellings when the backlog is 168 610

· Also critical - City's entire budget for SISP is dedicated to capital costs and there is no operational budget to maintain services installed

Clearly, there is an urgent need for a new initiative that will simultaneously

• Mobilise hitherto under-utilised capacity and build new institutional capacity
• Engineer modes of urban development and informal settlement upgrading with a particular emphasis on integrating the city, improving equity, restructuring the spatial economy by deepening access of the poor to the benefits of the city, programmatic alignment with other key initiatives (including urban renewal, upgrading of existing stock through the tenure option programme (TO Ps), effecting systemic reforms in the financing and operational infrastructure of for the metropolitan spatial economy

• Mobilise additional funding mechanisms necessary to accelerate the pace of development and support compact, high density settlements

Given its Pilot nature (showcase and spearhead new CHP), project design seeks to secure an appropriate balance between three competing objectives

• Sufficient scope to allow concentrated focus of resources necessary to move to rapid implementation

• Allow scope to develop innovative and replicable solutions to complex and fluid settlement dynamics

• Intervene at a sufficient scale to catalyse and trigger the envisaged urban Shelter developmental outcomes detailed in the CHP, the Provincial Growth and Development Strategy, the City's IDP, City's Housing Plan as articulated in the P resident's Opening Address to Parliament (11 February)

This project is targeted at developing practical models for accelerating development and socio-economic support for the poorest The targeted constituencies are:

• Household resident in informal settlements
• Households accommodated in backyard shacks adjacent to informal settlements

The core projects will intertace with other projects in the city thereby generating multiplier and knock-on effects in other parts of the city

• Given the importance of restorative justice and national reconciliation, the project also includes District Six

Given the above, the selection of informal settlements targeted is guided by the following criteria

• High density settlements located centrally within the metropolitan area
• Settlements are well located relative to regional movement systems and economic opportunities

• Neighbourhoods are highly visible; income and shelter poverty is acute; service levels are poor (although improving); residents lives are under constant threat (fires, disease, crime), subject to flooding, and significant parts of settled land are unsuitable for habitation

• Whilst the project is presently geographically limited to the informal settlements located adjacent to the N2 between the Bhunga Avenue Interchange near Langa and Boystown in Crossroads and also includes District Six, it is meant to bolster and complement existing and planned metropolitan shelter programmes and projects, and significantly boost the delivery rate of housing production. The lessons gleaned from the pilot can serve to enhance the developmental performance of other City concurrent and planned

• 1 5 504 households living in targeted settlements and with inclusion of backyarders (6141) 21645

• Of these households 8766 households will be accommodated in-situ to which will be added 30% from backyards. The remainder are to be relocated to greenfields

Purpose of the N2 Gateway is to Comprehensively address the housing and development needs of communities located in the targeted areas in such a way that individual and household livelihoods are enhanced; people are housed in habitable, affordable and sustainable housing; the city is improved through urban renewal, regeneration, and socio economic development; and, the institutional Capacity

necessary to address wider upgrading needs is assembled. This project triggers and complements other initiatives at restructuring the spatial economy of the city so that its benefits are more equitably distributed

• Significant dent on housing backlog (7% of Western Cape and 15% of inadequately housed citizens in City)

• Project targets a significant component of the most vulnerable in the city and province, residing in living environments that violates their dignity and denies citizenship

• Strives to bolster livelihood and coping strategies; builds the assets of the poor; frontal assault on shelter poverty; improves and enhances urban efficiency and productivity through urban renewal/regeneration, socio-spatial integration, and activation of primary and secondary housing markets; builds the social-public economy

• Makes a substantial contribution and complements other socio-economic programme/project interventions so as to fulfil the objectives of City's housing plan, IDP, targets of the Provincial Housing Development Plan, CHP (U ISP and Social Housing), and integration of all informal areas and other spaces of confinement (old and new housing estates) into the City's fabric

• Result Area 1: Poverty and vulnerability of residents of target area is reduced and their levels of socio-economic empowerment is enhanced
• Result Area 2: Performance and sustainability of the metropolitan system is enhanced

• Result Area 3: Capacity of national, provincial and local government to execute settlement upgrading at scale is enhanced

Result Area 1: Poverty and vulnerability of residents of target area is reduced and their levels of socio-economic empowerment is enhanced

• Residents housed in habitable, safe and affordable housing with secure tenure and access to affordable and reliable basic services

• Safe and secure public environment with access to good quality educational, transportation, recreational and cultural facilities

• Individual and household livelihood and coping strategies are strengthened

• Economic circumstances of residents are enhanced through improved positioning in the city labour market and increased rates of enterprise formation and survival

Result Area 2: Performance and sustainability of the metropelitan system is enhanced

• Public transport and service efficiency and equity is improved through compact development and integration of areas into the metropolitan movement system

• Primary and secondary markets are activated in targeted areas and surrounding areas

• Industrial and commercial development in proximate locations is promoted

• water and energy efficiency is secured through the application of appropriate technologies

• Number of households living in informal housing is reduced

• Environmentally vulnerable areas have been cleared and rehabilitated

Result Area 3: The capacity of national, provincial and local government to execute settlement upgrading at scale is enhanced

• National, provincial and local policy on informal settlement upgrading and integrated settlement development is tested and lessons incorporated into the policy review process
• Working models for inter-governmental co-operation and the mobilisation of private and popular sectors are developed and disseminated
• Skills, technologies, systems and procedures appropriate to settlement upgrading at scale have been developed and extended

The success of the implementation of the project is premised on a series of assumptions related to

• Management capacity

• Time
• Inter-governmental co-operation

• Planning

• Financial

• An exhaustive risk analysis was conducted as part of the Business Planning process

• The exercise identified a comprehensive set of factors that could jeopardise project implementation, or impede its progress

• Various risk abatement strategies have been formulated, the success of which hinges in effective partnerships, co-ordinated development effort, political endurance and responsible planning

• Memorandum of Understanding
• Project Identification Report
• Institutionalisation of a Project Governance Infrastructure
• Workshopping of early drafts of Business Plan with civil society representatives and government departments (from various spheres) and another is planned in near future

• Generation of a Draft Business Plan

• Spatial Development Framework (Environmental Sensitivity Study and geotechnical assessments) and studies into feasible housing products and typologies Socio-Economic Survey/Demand Analysis (almost complete)

• Identification of land for resettlement and spatial frameworks

• Appointment of a Project Director (accountable to and reporting to Intergovernmental Steering Committee) to oversee and manage a Turnkey contractor

• RFP for Turnkey Implementation Contractor
• Extensive financial modelling
• Emergency housing intervention for Joe Slovo residents

Project intervention can essentially be divided into three different programme types with different delivery strategies and procedures

• Settlement upgrading: Focuses on households located adjacent to the N2. These settlements are located on, or adjacent to flood-prone land, landfills, servitudes and land that is technically unsuitable for conventional housing development. They are crowded with extremely limited open spaces

• Backyard Shacks: Targets over 6000 households currently accommodated in proximate locations

• District Six: Targets supporting the restitution process through the supply of the infrastructure platform needed to underpin the house/dwelling development process

The envisaged project approach consists of a combination of 5 basic steps

• Effecting immediate improvement in the quality of people's lives through provision of basic health and safety services to all households in targeted

areas (City's SISP)

• Upgrading ot areas within existing settlements deemed suitable for human habitation by means of in-situ and roll-over upgrading so as not to disrupt (minimise disruption of) fragile socio-economic fabric (Joe Slovo, New Rest, Boystown, portions of Kanana and Lusaka)

• Re-establishment of households displaced by de-densification and the clearance of uninhabitable land in new greenfield developments in relative proximity

• Where absolutely unavoidable, the temporary accommodation of households displaced by upgrading in transit accommodation

• Once vacated, the land not suited for housing development is to be developed for community uses and protected against re-occupation (Barcelona, Europe, Kanana)

• Minimal relocation
• Focus on state owned land
• Preferably no environmental constraints and other encumbrances
• Availability of bulk services
• Suitable for fast track development Focus on large tracks of land (>10 ha)

• Electricity: With the exception of Epping, medium voltage reticulation is needed which includes building of major substations and primary cable rings

• Waste Water: Greenfield areas require major upgrading of waste water treatment works - long lead time for the construction of this infrastructure

• Water: Water treatment and bulk supply capacity is available to all of the listed greenfield and brownfield sites as well as District Six

• Solid Waste: New regional transfer station or upgrading of existing installations required to serve greenfield sites

• Transport Infrastructure: Public transport facilities which are to include transport interchanges will be required for all greenfield sites

• Community Facilities: Estimated cost of construction in respect of new facilities and upgrading of new facilities amounts to R105,100,000. The annual operating costs of new facilities is R2,630,000; ensuring that they are adequately staffed is RS,049,026; annual maintenance is P3, 400,000 (59-60- facilities required per area)

• Approach in line with short term financial flows with an eye on sustainable human settlement formation

• Area-based approach wherein implementation consortia work in teams guided and directed by officials from three spheres

• Bridging finance to ensure implementation at scale and within reasonable time line

• Given the scale and Complexity of project and the need to Carefully manage an array of risks, implementation is to be managed through work streams divided into ten (+1) functional areas I sectors

• These are Statutory Planning; Urban Planning and Precinct Layout; Economic Development; Housing; Land Assembly; Economic Development; Participation and Communication; community Services; Engineering Services; Transportation; District Six

• Each functional area/sector details a purpose; deliverables, current status, statement of work required, and risks and abatement strategies

• Deliverable: Appropriately zoned and subdivided greenfield and brownfield sites within established townships

• Deliverable: Broad spatial frameworks for each of the identified land parcels starting with Phase One; set up and appoint project design teams for each site whose primary responsibility is settlement design (layout) and design/refine unit

· Deliverable: The development and allocation of 22 700 dwelling units and securing of all requirements for their maintenance and operation

• Deliverable: Identification and rapid assembly of land that is in within legal parameters and statutory processes

• Deliverable: Regional infrastructure, earthworks, roads, stormwater drainage, sewerage, potable water, solid waste services, electrical reticulation, street lighting

• Deliverable: Social infrastructure and services, emergency services and social development programmes

• Deliverable: A safe, functional and dignified movement system catering for interactive social and movement needs of residents, with an emphasis on non motorised and public transport and to link communities to wider city opportunities

• Deliverable: An array of LED programmes and projects formulated, funded and in implementation

• Deliverable: All involved and affected communities have regular access to accurate information about the project; are positively involved in decision making and monitoring; engaged in the process of acquiring life skills to exploit new opportunities

• Deliverable: 4000 housing units (500 for N2); Development Framework and precinct plans; new zoning scheme and design guideline; public space interventions

• Project is driven by a partnership between three spheres of government
• The City of Cape Town is the main implementation agency of the project. Provincial and national Departments of Housing provide support to the initiative via (inter alia) facilitating access to land; unlocking and mobilising funding; streamlining regulations and fast tracking applications; and, fostering an enabling and empowering implementation environment. A working Memorandum of Understanding operational Agreement enshrines this division of labour and responsibilities and identifies the critical success factors

The Business Plan was generated by the collective input of six working groups (Finance, Economic Development, Land, Housing Typologies, Communication and Participation and Community Facilities), comprising high ranking officials from various departments in provincial and local government

• Project oversight and co-ordination is directed by an Intergovernmental Steering Committee constituted by senior officials from the municipality, provincial and national Departments of Housing

• The respective officials of the Task Team report direct v to an Executive Committee comprising the Mayor, MEC and Minister of Housing. Their links to these politicians (who are in regular contact with one another) enables rapid resolution of problems and speedy decision making.

• Magnitude of the N2 gateway project coupled with the vertical (inter governmental) and horizontal (intra governmental) financial complexities have led to the development of a financing program impacting on all spheres of government and requires significant financial innovation/flexibility (especially the various existing housing programs) when addressing the funding structures of the project.

• In this regard and acknowledging the timeframes, the financial resources incorporated into the high level budget have focussed specifically on immediately accessible and realisable sources of funding whilst noting the flexible approach required by the custodians of these financial resources

• The realisation of these bud pro rams is solely based on the targeted commitments being receive from t e primary funders, inter alia, the National Department of Housing (NDOH), the Department of Provincial and Local Government (DPLG) and the City of Cape Town (CCT).

• Key informants of the financing program proposed have, inter alia, included addressing equity across the City, long term affordability to the target communities, replicability and sustainable environments

• As the project commences, a programme (and associated multi-stakeholder institutional infrastructure) will be installed to monitor and evaluate the Project en an ongoing basis so as to determine the impact of the project on residents, neighbouring communities, wider economic metropolitan functioning (labour and property market)

• Monitoring and evaluation will comprise the collection of quantitative and qualitative information
• Proposal that the monitoring and evaluation processes be undertaken on a centralised basis comprising a desk top study of all existing data on N2 areas; a questionnaire that obtains baseline data from residents (deepening the findings of the enumeration study); measurement of indices such as crime statistics, pollution levels, aerial photographs etc; annual progress surveys undertaken after that in the first 3 months of every year (utilising methodology and information collected in terms of the baseline survey above

· In addition to the above a data base and management system will be developed for all research and methods formulated to integrate the data collected. This should include a GIS system.