6. Urban regeneration and mega-projects in Durban
6.2. Development, growth and urban regeneration in Durban
The CSDP consequently highlights urban regeneration as a major element of eThekwini’s urban policy, and an array of initiatives such as the three mega-projects which have been investigated, are implemented to meet this goal. Environmentally sustainable development has also emerged as an important element of urban policy, and is emphasised in this plan, as well as in the SDF.
Sim (30/04/2010), a former planner in the Municipality, identified that the main concepts and discourses which are evident in the city’s policy documents are integration, densification and the pursuit of a sustainable city; and there is therefore a parallel process of planning and sustainability within the city. However many elements are not always well aligned to sustainability, and the way in which sustainability is filtered down into planning and specific projects is not always overt (Sim, 30/04/2010). It is suggested that sustainability should underpin each spatial development plan, and that the biophysical environment should be the first layer of framework planning as it needs to be protected and enhanced (Sim, 30/04/2010). This study is focused on exploring the relationship between urban regeneration and sustainability in the city, through the lens of mega-projects, and will therefore investigate whether sustainability has filtered down into three specific mega-projects.
Urban regeneration and sustainability have thus both been identified as vital components of policy and planning within Durban. This chapter will now focus on themes which were identified concerning the role of urban regeneration in the development of the city, particularly through the strategy of mega-project implementation; and the shift towards the incorporation of sustainability.
Chapter Seven will then reflect on the incorporation of sustainability within the city’s urban regeneration, through the investigation of mega-projects.
poor households (Sutcliffe, 2009; Moonsammy, 12/09/2011). Simultaneously, in the last ten years, the city reached a “tipping point” in terms of development (Moonsammy, 12/09/2011).
According to Moonsammy (12/09/2011), the city was on a particular course where there were not many significant changes occurring; and then a number of considerable shifts and changes took place in the city, including extensive growth (Moonsammy, 12/09/2011), and a “refocus on re- energising the city as a different place” in terms of regeneration (Iyer, 03/08/2011). Scott (22/04/2010) highlighted that this recent development has had a strong pro-growth focus, and is associated with neo-liberalism. Urban regeneration and economic growth has thus become a dominant strategy within the city’s planning and development within the last decade, and it is consequently important to explore the drivers behind this in order to gain an understanding of what is occurring within urban processes in Durban.
6.2.1 Drivers of development and urban regeneration in the city
A number of factors have contributed to this pattern of development and urban regeneration which appears to have emerged within the city. Moonsammy (12/09/2011) identified a number of important factors which have been driving development, including growth within the wider economy, the private sector and the property boom, the King Shaka International Airport which has pushed the growth path further north, and the presence of a number of dominant landowners who respond to the market. Maharaj (11/07/2011) also emphasised the role of ‘tenderpreneurs’, which are groups of individuals who are closely aligned with the ruling party, in the development of the city. The tenets of the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), and backlogs in provision, have also led to subsidised housing development occurring within the city (Moonsammy, 12/09/2011), once again highlighting the two imperatives which the city is addressing.
Competition and the neo-liberal growth agenda
Increased competition, and the consequent need to compete with other cities, such as Cape Town and Johannesburg, as well as on the continent and in the wider global context, has also played a role in driving development and urban regeneration within the city (Moonsammy, 12/09/2011).
Durban is thus attempting to market itself, and to integrate into the global economy, secure direct foreign investment, and boost economic growth; contributing to a specific development path of regeneration (Scott, 22/04/2010). Scott (22/04/2010) suggested that the incorporation of such strategies may be in response to the 2001 Monitor Report which focused on the discourse of neo- liberal growth in terms of city development, as well as emphasising the trickle down benefits for the poor which such development has the potential to provide. Each of the mega-projects in this
study appear to fit within this neo-liberal growth agenda which has pervaded much of the city’s planning and development.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 World Cup was highlighted by a number of respondents as another driver of development and regeneration in the city; playing a role in the construction of the Moses Mabhida Stadium, as well as upgrades of infrastructure along the beachfront, in Warwick Junction, and other areas of the city (Savides, 2009a; Moolla, 25/08/2010; Robbins, 22/04/2010;
Scott, 22/04/2010; Iyer, 03/08/2011; Moonsammy, 12/09/2011). In Iyer’s (03/08/2011) opinion, 2010 was a “huge milestone”, resulting in the biggest injection of development in the city. He notes that since 2006, there has therefore been an increased focus on investment, in particularly the public environment and public installations in the city (Iyer, 03/08/2011). The World Cup played an important role in each of the mega-projects of this study, as it drove the construction of the Moses Mabhida Stadium, and played a role in the planning of the proposed Warwick Mall, as strategies of urban regeneration. However, the focus on the World Cup planning resulted in a deceleration in the progress of the Point Development as efforts and resources were redirected to other projects.
The role of the local state in driving development and regeneration
In recent years, the development landscape within the city appears to have been primarily driven by the local state, particularly under the leadership of the previous city manager, Mike Sutcliffe, and the previous Head of the Strategic Projects Unit (SPU), Julie May Ellingson (Scott, 22/04/2010; Sim, 30/04/2010; Iyer, 03/08/2011). The SPU has played a major role in development in the city, as it was formed to drive special and strategic projects, and has driven economic development including the beachfront upgrade, and the Moses Mabhida Stadium and its precinct. iTRUMP has also played a role in driving development from an urban renewal point of view, through addressing the public land upgrade, attempting to improve confidence in the inner city, addressing the deteriorating buildings within the city, and influencing owners to regenerate their buildings by offering tax incentives in terms of Urban Development Zones (Moolla, 25/08/2010; www.durban.gov.za). iTRUMP therefore plays a significant role in the Point Development, and would have been influential in the proposed mall development.
Although some of the projects which are being undertaken are driven by national government, which presents the local government with clear imperatives concerning what they require; other projects are developed by the city and are based on their decisions regarding the development
path they wish to follow (Robbins, 22/04/2010). Iyer (03/08/2011) noted that the public sector has been the most dominant in influencing development in the inner city, and that in his career he has not seen any other city leadership invest as much in changing the face of Durban (Iyer, 03/08/2011). This is illustrated in the choices which they have made, as all three of the projects investigated in this study were driven by the local state, as opposed to being undertaken by the national government. The Point Development and Warwick Mall were both planned through public-private partnerships involving the local state, and the decision to build a new stadium for the FIFA World Cup was taken at a local level.
Development and urban regeneration are thus being driven by a range of factors, and are predominantly being driven by the city through the implementation of a number of pro-growth regeneration strategies. Durban has consequently witnessed a number of significant changes within its landscape in recent years.
6.2.2 Changes in the Durban landscape: evidence of urban regeneration
In the last ten to fifteen years there have been some prominent changes within Durban, including an increase in residential development and retail due to the property boom. Tongaat Hullet Development, which is a dominant land owner has become a property developer, and played a significant role in the Durban north region in projects such as Cornubia, and in the inner city in endeavours such as the redevelopment of the Point area. This serves to highlight the role of the private sector in public-private partnerships. There has also been an increased focus on investment, particularly in the public environment; and the development of the new airport, which has been on the agenda since 1972. Further development includes uShaka Marine World; the development of the International Convention Centre (ICC) and a number of shopping centres, which have generated some positive externality effects; the development of gated estates;
investment in infrastructure, road upgrades and public transport; and increases in port activity which has led to the current plans for the expansion of the port (McCarthy, 2000; Todes, 2000;
Breetzke, 2009; Sim, 30/04/2010; Iyer, 03/08/2011; Maharaj, 11/07/2011; Moonsammy, 12/09/2011). There have therefore been a number of significant changes in the landscape of the city, many of which are highly conspicuous, and a number of which have not been as visible.
Development in the city
During the last five years, private sector projects, such as the Point in particular, have been impacted by the recession, which resulted in a loss of confidence in markets and the economy.
This resulted in the bulk of construction, building and investment being public sector driven,
particularly in the inner city (Iyer, 03/08/2011). Moolla (25/08/2010) emphasised that the face of the inner city has changed in recent years, with the revamping, restructuring and renovation of many existing buildings; while another aspect of development in the inner city has involved the movement of businesses out of the area due to perceptions of “crime and grime” (Todes, 2000;
Moolla, 25/08/2010).
Another change which is evident is that there has been an increase in informality in the city, in terms of trading, land use, buildings and settlements. According to Moonsammy (12/09/2011), it has been difficult “for people and even city officials to accept that they have to work with informality and give recognition to it”. However as Durban is situated in a developing country, informality plays an important role, and it requires efficient management and acceptance (Moonsammy, 12/09/2011), as well as inclusion within urban regeneration strategies. The proposal for the Warwick Mall therefore played an important role in the plans for urban regeneration which included the city’s informal economy.
The development in the inner city cannot be viewed in abstraction from what is occurring in other areas of the city. Development has also been edging out to the South, with projects such as Harbour View and Galleria; and particularly to the North, which has seen the significant development of the Gateway commercial sector, as well as projects such as Riverhorse Valley and the new Dube Trade Port (Breetzke, 2009; Moolla, 25/08/2010; Maharaj, 11/07/2011).
According to Maharaj (11/07/2011), this is representative of the mobility of capital, as capital is leaving the inner city and moving to other areas. As opposed to growth in the inner city which has been public sector driven, the growth in areas such as Umhlanga has been predominantly driven by the private sector (Iyer, 03/08/2011). It is now important to look at which other precincts or areas require regeneration and capital investment in terms of development (Moolla, 25/08/2010).
6.2.3 The future focus of development
Urban regeneration also features prominently in the future focus of Durban. In the next few years, the city will be focusing on development that creates jobs, particularly in terms of industrial development; the port expansion and its associated benefits for the city; building on tourism investments, such as the Kings Park Precinct; enhancing the manufacturing component of the city;
and promoting a general investment in confidence in the city. Densification, the provision of public transport and associated development; promoting green economies; energy efficient development; mitigation of climate change; responding to housing backlogs; and the drive of
development to the North, including the Dube Tradeport and Cornubia are further areas which the city will be focusing on (Sim, 30/04/2010; Moonsammy, 12/09/2011).
Urban regeneration has thus been identified as a significant aspect of planning and development in the city; and from the above discussion, it can be ascertained that large scale projects appear to play an important role within the city’s urban regeneration strategies. This is consistent with Swyngedouw et al’s (2002) assertion that mega-projects are one of the most visible and influential urban regeneration strategies which are pursued by contemporary cities in the context of the prevailing competitive landscape.