The City of Cape Town’s 2020 edition of the Smart Living Handbook was the Winner in this year’s SA Publications Forum competition’s category ‘Best One-off Publication’ at a virtual award ceremony held on 11 November 2020. The publication was also a finalist in two other categories of ‘Best Corporate Publication’ and ‘Best Publication Cover’.
The handbook, now in its fifth edition, was launched for the first time in 2007. It was developed to make sustainable and resilient living a reality for all residents. It provides practical steps that households can take to make their homes safer and save them money, while also reducing their environmental impact.
‘This is a well-deserved accolade – it speaks to our commitment to providing excellent service that will not only empower our residents with tips that will help them live sustainably in their homes, but will also make Cape Town a resource-efficient city. I want to commend our officials who have worked hard over the past three years to produce this informative handbook that provides our residents with information and practical actions to implement in order to protect the environment, save money and make their homes a safer place to live in, ‘said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Marian Nieuwoudt.
The handbook consists of six chapters including, Water, Waste, Energy, Environment, Transport and Heritage. The chapters speak to the key challenges, what the City is doing to manage the resource or issue, what the resident can do at home, and practical resources and steps for implementation.
Each chapter provides the following information:
- Key challenges relating to the resource
- What the City is doing to manage the resource or issue
- What residents can do in their homes to help conserve the resource
- Contacts and information sources, and steps for implementation; and
- Activities and pictures to help the reader interact with the issues, as well as for easy reference.
Different types of households are faced with different environmental issues. High-income households may find that they are high consumers of electricity and need to explore ways to reduce their consumption. Informal households, on the other hand, may find that their greatest problem is householders’ health and safety due to the unsafe use of energy. The City hopes that this handbook will be relevant and useful to all Cape Town homes.
The printed publication is used in face-to-face educational workshops, but it is, like all City publications, also available online.
Furthermore, the City’s Green Infrastructure Programme Trees Guideline was the Second Runner-up in the same category – ‘Best One-off Publication’.
‘It is important that we recognise the role that trees play in our lives and encourage the preservation of both natural and urban forests, which are directly linked to our survival as they provide food, oxygen, and medicine aside from limitless other socio-economic and aesthetic environmental benefits. In addition trees extract carbon monoxide and beautify the environment and are an important link in the ecosystem. It is remarkable how a bland landscape can be immediately transformed into an inviting outdoor area. Learning how to preserve nature’s gifts and care for the environment is something we can all contribute to and enjoy. This guideline gives residents the tools they need to ensure healthy trees for future generations and this recognition is encouraging,’ said Councillor Zahid Badroodien, Mayoral Committee member for Community Services and Health.