Infrastructure

1. As previously submitted, the Department has adopted a multi-pronged strategy to alleviate the worsening affordability pressures across both the rental and ownership markets. Tackling the housing affordability crisis is primarily focusing on spatial transformation, bringing residents closer to economic hubs and areas of opportunity.  With specific reference to the Cape Metro, the City of Cape Town’s Human Settlements Strategy emphasises the importance of well-located housing in enabling access to economic opportunities, public transport, and social amenities. Accordingly, land identification and housing development are being aligned to the Municipal Spatial Development Framework (MSDF), with priority given to Development Corridors, Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), or Mixed-Use Intensification areas.  

The Department supports the development of affordable housing within gazetted Restructuring Zones (RZs) and Priority Housing Development Areas (PHDAs), which are designed to attract investment in well-located areas and provide rental options at below-market rates. The Department has developed a significant social housing pipeline and is actively advocating for adequate funding for the implementation of the pipeline while simultaneously investigating and pursuing alternative funding models and sources of finance.

The Department has released numerous well-located provincial land parcels in the Cape Town CBD and surrounding areas for residentially led, mixed-use developments. These opportunities include Prestwich Precinct, Leeuloop, Founders Garden, 353 on Main, 10 Fort Wynyard Street, Mandarin Court, Oude Molan Precinct and Stikland Hospital. All these are major inner-city and metropolitan developments that are designed to provide affordable rental and ownership opportunities within walking distance of jobs, transport and amenities. Beyond the inner city, the Department is focusing on numerous "integrated" projects that include schools, clinics, and commercial spaces to minimize travel costs. These projects include the Welmoed and Ithemba projects with multiple other provincially owned sites that are currently being ‘de-risked’ in order to be released to the market for the development of future social and affordable housing.

2. All these initiatives are planned to provide well-located opportunities, limiting the displacement of residents from their communities.