the gauteng spatial development framework - Gauteng Online

HOUSINGIt is important that the GSDF takes a position on two housing related issues: the presentapproach to public housing delivery and the pressure this places on the GCR's urban structureand infrastructure cost; and the 'leap-frog' effect of private 'lifestyle residential estates'beyond the fringes of the urban extent; both fundamental threats to a sustainable urbanstructure.Both the way in which public, subsidised housing is delivered and lifestyle residential estatesfulfil a market demand, have demonstrably negative effects on the policy of urbancontainment. Both issues need to be addressed since present policies and trends in thisregard are fundamentally at odds with the transformation required in the GCR's urbanstructure and the approach to growth on which the GSDF is based.It is recommended that an integrated planning review be undertaken to determine howpublic housing delivery, on the one hand, and policies regulating the proliferation of'standalone', low density residential estates, on the other, can be re- directed to complywith the principles underpinning the GSDF. It is within this perspective that the followingview on housing is set out.It is clear that the provision of state and provincially subsidised housing for first-time homeowners who qualify for the once-off housing subsidy is accountable for a substantial amountof pressure to extend beyond the existing urban extent to peripheral areas, causing unwantedhorizontal sprawl. No doubt various factors have combined to focus housing delivery inthis way, inter alia,(a) the assumption that the relatively lower cost of land in these peripheral areas makesthe land component of housing delivery more affordable;(b) the assembly of extensive tracts of land at scale is possibly more easily achieved inthese peripheral zones; and(c) the land in these areas may be politically less contested than in areas more embeddedin the urban system where the 'not-in-my-back-yard' (NIMBY) syndrome is likely to bemore prevalent.Inevitably, however, one must consider(a) how to integrate public housing initiatives into the mainstream of the urban systemand, more importantly,(b) make public housing an integral part of urban development rather than a blindobjective in its own right. It is clear that the focus on public housing delivery, undera system of subsidy that increasingly manifests flaws, is leading to a single-mindednessof approach that is neither good for the urban system nor the recipients of such housing.Too many people, who can least afford it, are displaced to the urban periphery orbeyond and are unable to access opportunities (economic, social,educational);similarly, the urban system is unable to afford them, in a sustainable way, withincreasing amounts being spent on transport subsidies and infrastructural investmenthaving little or no return.It is the intention to fundamentally redirect public housing as a provincial strategy in Gautengso as to align it far more significantly with urban structure and sustainability. The next threeyears must see significant movement in this respect and provincial leadership, on behalf ofthe most important sub-continental conurbation, must carry the debate with CentralGovernment. This view has been presented to the provincial housing department and itshould be prepared to take the debate further. Several alternative spatial models have beenput forward in the GSDF and these approaches must receive more detailed attention.The proliferation of affluent, low-density residential estates beyond the urban fringe is alsoat odds with the spatial compaction intentions of the GSDF. Review of this practice, in linewith the policy position paper in this regard in Annexure B, is required. Although the UrbanEdge Delineation Policy has recently been repealed, the approval of these projects over thepast nine years, notwithstanding clear policy guidelines in terms of the Urban Edge delineation,is cause for concern as this has impacted on the sustainability of the GCR.SECTION 5: FRAMEWORK FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GSDFGAUTENG SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK 2011GAUTENG GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT AGENCY66