The City of Cape Town is excited about the great interest shown in the four underused sites that have been made available for carbon-neutral, mixed-use development.
More than a 100 people attended the City’s briefing session on Friday, 14 February 2020, about the four sites that are available to the private sector for development as part of the C40 Reinventing Cities Programme – a global architecture and urban design competition. Interested parties received more detail about the nature of the sites, their inherent challenges, and the expectations, and also had the opportunity to ask questions.
‘I was pleasantly surprised by the number of attendees at this briefing session. We will have to wait and see how many development proposals we will receive by the closing date of 15 May 2020, but the turnout was encouraging. It is a confirmation that the private sector and community sector are interested in the opportunities that these four sites offer in terms of low-carbon and climate resilient development,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Marian Nieuwoudt.
The C40 Reinventing Cities competition requires multi-disciplinary teams of architects, planners, developers, entrepreneurs, environmentalists, start-ups, neighbourhood collectives, innovators, and artists to team up and submit proposals which deliver carbon neutral and resilient urban regeneration.
The first phase of the competition closes on 15 May 2020; by which time interested parties must submit their proposals and development concepts for the sites. Up to three finalists for each site will be shortlisted by August 2020, followed on by the announcing of the winning project proposal in 2021.
The four underused City-sites are located in precincts with access to public transport services, and comply with City policies that pursue inward growth and investment that will support dense, diverse, and transit-oriented land uses:
- Athlone station car park opposite the entrance to the Athlone train station. This site comprises of 0,37 ha. Apart from being close to the station, the area is well-served by minibus-taxis and about 8km from the Cape Town central business district.
- Kapteinsklip station precinct in Mitchell’s Plain. This City-owned site is located to the north and south of Baden Powell Drive at the intersections of Eisleben and Weltevreden Roads. It comprises of 30,6 ha. The site includes underutilised car parks and undeveloped open spaces, and is located on the False Bay coast close to the Mnandi resort and the Kapteinsklip station.
- Moquet Farm in Diep River. The site is on the intersection of Main and Kendal Roads and comprises of 2,1 ha. The rail station is a block away, and the site is ideal for higher density mixed-use development.
- Tygerdal site at the Monte Vista station, Goodwood. The site comprises of 7,6 ha. It is underused and is close to major retail and commercial centres. The site is ideal for higher density transit-oriented development, and could include different housing opportunities to a wide range of income groups.
The developments must be carbon-neutral, resilient and sustainable, and must enhance the urban environment and improve local residents’ quality of life.
‘The purpose of the C40 Reinventing Cities Programme is to transform underused urban sites into beacons of zero carbon emissions and resilient development. It is estimated that an additional 2,5 billion people will live in cities by 2050. Similarly, more and more people will move to Cape Town, and we must plan ahead for this growth. The way we design and build our city today will determine the quality of life of all Capetonians in future – this is very important, given that buildings account for about 50% of urban emissions in C40 cities,’ said Alderman Nieuwoudt.
The design proposals will need to minimise the amount of energy a building uses for heating, cooling, hot water, lighting, ventilation, electrical services, and so forth. The projects will have to reduce energy demand, use energy efficiently, and use renewable energy, or low-carbon energy. Proposals should also address other elements of urban sustainability and include features that address water and energy conservation, sustainable materials, green mobility and so forth.
More information about the competition and the project sites in each participating city is available at: http://www.c40reinventingcities.org. Enquiries about any of the sites or the competition in general can also be submitted on the website.