the gauteng spatial development framework - Gauteng Online

THE CASE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENTWith the goal of achieving or developing sustainable cities and urban developments, it isessential to be guided by a number of sustainability principles or indicators that enable thecreation of a sustainable framework for development decisions. This is basic to the convictionthat the planet itself requires nurturing. To the extent that human impacton the planet needs a fundamental shift in mind-set, the way cities are created and managedis a vital component of mitigating human impact. Moreover, the highest purpose of citiesis to nurture human life, culture and dignity in liveable environments, providing for thesocial, economic and political needs of urban communities based on long-term sustainability.It is important, at the outset, to recognise the positive qualities of cities in human settlementterms as a basic optimism for the future. Far from being the 'global cancers' that wouldsprawl, envelop and choke the life out of the planet (as thought by many in the anti-citymovements of the 1960s), cities, conurbations and, now, the mega-cities in fact prove tobe very efficient in accommodating vast numbers of people on very small land extents andreleasing the majority of land for productive purposes, be this the protection and conservationof natural systems, habitats and reserves of bio-diversity, protection of aquifers and waterbodies and systems, agriculture and recreation. The UK, for example, is roughly 95%urbanised as a population yet has 85% of its land mass officially designated as rural; theUSA is 85% urbanised yet retains over 90% of its land as rural.In addition, the nature of the economy that goes with urbanisation profoundly affects therate of population growth and, as the world has passed the 50/50 mark in the shift frombeing fundamentally rural to what is now fundamentally an urban order, population growthhas slowed, levelled out and, in many instances, actually declined. The nature of a 'bottomup'economy that characterises rural settlement requires, with human labour as a predominantfactor of production, high fertility rates (fundamentally to provide cheap, unskilled manuallabour and partially to offset high mortality rates where access to healthcare and sanitationis more limited) and escalating population growth ensues. In the 'top-down' economiesassociated with urban settlement, knowledge and the use of technology become predominantfactors of production. The expense of education and sustaining children in an urban societyinevitably directs growth to fewer children and lower levels of conception.All indications are that, by mid-century, roughly 70 to 75% of the world's population willbe urbanised, and attention must inevitably turn to how to reduce the carbon emissions,solid and organic waste, production-related pollution and energy usage that goes withliving in human concentrations. To the extent that many of the human impacts of settlementare increasingly spatially focused and isolated to site specific points globally, the makingof sustainable cities very directly addresses issues of global sustainability.The latest literature encapsulates various perspectives on the dimensions of sustainablecities. The most cogent outline of best international practice in this regard is set out in theMelbourne Principles for Sustainable Cities. These are intended to be non-prescriptive andrather offer guidelines, enabling city development to be achieved according to specificcontexts and circumstances.THE MELBOURNE PRINCIPLES AND CASEThe Melbourne Principles are 10 short statements about how cities can become moresustainable though the application of principles. This model is often referred to as the CitiesAs Sustainable Ecosystems Principles approach (CASE). The Principles are designed to guidethinking and provide a strategic framework which allows for cities to develop sustainablesolutions that bring decision-makers and citizens together. The guiding principles are seenas ethical, holistic and multi-generational as well as applicable to a number of differentscales. The CASE approach is also an adaptive model, capable of being altered in application,and adapting in turn to local context as cultures and technologies, change through timeand local circumstance dictate.PRINCIPLE 1: VISIONProvide a long-term vision for cities founded on sustainability;intergenerational, social, economic and political equity; and individuality.A long-term vision is the starting point, a catalyst for positive change that guides sustainability.The vision needs to reflect the distinctive nature and characteristics of each city. The visionshould also express the shared aspirations of people for their cities to become moreANNEXURE B: POLICY POSITION PAPERSGAUTENG SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK 2011GAUTENG GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT AGENCY152