June 20, 2002
By Les Tilley
THE City of Johannesburg released its blueprint for the future development of the metropolis at a function last night in the new visitors centre on the top floor of the Metropolitan Centre in Loveday Street.
The long-awaited Spatial Development Framework (SDF) document is an urban management tool that deals with the city's planning strategy in areas such as transportation, housing, open spaces, etc. These are aimed at achieving the city's vision of building a world-class African city and it provides development direction, co-ordinates initiatives and identifies key interventions/development areas for improvement.
At the launch last night, Executive Mayor Amos Masondo said: "The Spatial Development Framework constitutes a mirror image of Johannesburg in the future. The city is changing and I am confident that it is changing for the better."
The SDF provides six prime development strategies, from creating an urban development boundary to transportation and environmental management. It is the framework for implementing the Joburg 2030 plan for the city which was released last year and is key to correct budget planning as the City's budget follows the priorities outlined in the SDF.
"It is important to recognise that the SDF is an evolving process during a building and development phase," the document says. "The next step will be an enhancing phase, detailing issues of a more technical nature…
"The departmental plans, ie Integrated Transport Plan, Integrated Infrastructure Plan and Sustainable Development Strategy, will provide technical specifications to detail the strategies in this document."
On the issue of setting the urban boundary for the city, Herman Pienaar, director of the Development Planning department, said that, for example, Johannesburg had water and sewerage pipelines of 9000km in length compared to an average of 4000km in other cities around the world with a similar size population of around three million residents.
"This is not sustainable," Pienaar said, pointing out the extra cost of maintenance and replacement in Johannesburg. "The urban boundary will ensure that urban sprawl doesn't spread any further."
He said that due to apartheid planners, areas like Diepsloot and Orange Farm are not integrated into the city and add to the urban sprawl. "We have to live with it but we don't want to perpetuate it". Another strategy is to develop what is called activity nodes, where both private and public investment tends to concentrate. "It offers the opportunity to locate a range of activities, from small to large enterprises, and is often associated with mixed-use development," the SDF states.
The City is also determined to change "from a predominantly private vehicle transport system to a predominantly public transport system" as can be seen be the Guatrain project, according to Pienaar. While the north/south transportation route is well developed (from the inner city to Midrand) and is to be further strengthened by the Gautrain, the City is planning to improve the east/west transport link along the mining belt. "The provision of linkages is essential to connect Soweto and City Deep to the rest of the city and to open opportunities in the mining belt," according to the SDF document.
It points out that such a corrider development can deal with economic, social and environmental issues. "The east-west corridor would stretch from the western boundary of the city to the East Rand. Some of the components of a corridor, such as the rail and road networks, are already in place. Providing connections along the mining land would also make a significant contribution to integrate the city".
One area that needs development is the strategy on the environment. The City planners note that "the lack of an accessible and functional open space system prohibits Johannesburg from becoming a world-class city. Open spaces fulfil numerous functions in the city, including protection of areas with natural or cultural significance, protection of watercourses, recreation, entertainment, education, tourism, provision of space for exchange and transactions (public squares)."
Pienaar said: "Large tracts of land are still available in Johannesburg. We plan to create eco-reserves for ecological and cultural preservation and to support eco-tourism and provide recreation opportunities."
He said that the City sees the two most significant housing developments as taking place in Cosmo City and the Inner City. The SDF acknowledges that housing delivery is slow and notes that there is an adequate supply of owner/occupier housing options but that there is a shortfall in rental accommodation.
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