6. Urban regeneration and mega-projects in Durban
6.1.2. Policy aspects of the city’s development
Planning within Durban is governed by a number of policies and plans which have been formulated and control how the city is managed. This package of plans includes the Long Term Development Framework (LTDF); the Integrated Development Plan (IDP), which has a focus on development sustainability and integrated space; and the Spatial Development Framework (SDF) which incorporates four spatial development plans for the city, including the Central Spatial Development Plan (CSDP), which focuses on central Durban (Sim, 30/04/2010). A brief overview was provided of these in Chapter Four, and this section will present a more in depth review; highlighting aspects of urban regeneration and sustainability which are relevant to this study.
LTDF and Imagine Durban
The 2001 LTDF identified a set of development challenges faced by the eThekwini Municipality that need to be addressed both in the short and longer term. Some of these challenges include:
creating economic growth, jobs and income; alleviating poverty; developing our people; ensuring a safe and secure environment; and striving for sustainability (eThekwini Municipality, 2001; Nel and John, 2006). The LTDF therefore highlights the crucial role which urban regeneration has to play in the city, as well as the importance of sustainability. The LTDF also identified a number of phases which the city would like to achieve, with the long term goal being that of creating a sustainable city (eThekwini Municipality, 2001).
Imagine Durban, as noted in Chapter Four, is a project on integrated, long-term planning, and is specifically focused on incorporating sustainability into the city. The LTDF and Imagine Durban process therefore have a clear focus on creating a more sustainable city in the long term, highlighting the emphasis which the city is placing on sustainable development and sustainability.
There is also an emphasis on urban regeneration as an important aspect required in the development of the city in both of these documents.
IDP
The eight point plan, which is a major focus of the IDP and was outlined in Chapter Four, involves the implementation of a number of programmes and projects which provide a basis for the type of development which is occurring in the city. Table 6.1 illustrates some of these programmes which are significant in terms of this study, as they illustrate the incorporation of urban regeneration and sustainability elements within the planning of Durban.
Table 6.1: Some of the relevant programmes of the Eight Point Plan Plan Programmes
One Developing a sustainable & integrated spatial planning system; ensuring sustainability of the natural resource base; and developing a sustainable land use system
Two Stimulation of sectors that promote investment and economic growth, and create jobs Supporting and growing tourism and related industries, promoting the municipality as a lifestyle destination, and a strategic focus on sports events
Identification of appropriate projects, including the Kings Park Precinct Project; and managing the informal economy: street trading and retail markets
Three Implementing an effective public transport plan; creating sustainable public spaces;
management guidelines which target economic, social and environmental benefits are being applied within urban renewal
Four Developing and implementing a water quality monitoring system; improving air quality management systems; and the development of a climate change adaptation strategy
Five Developing the city as a smart city, in order to cope with current and future challenges Six Preservation and management of heritage assets; and creating opportunities to promote
the development of sport and recreation within communities
Seven Formulated to achieve attributes of good governance, including accountability, responsiveness, management innovation, public-private partnerships and citizen participation
Eight Include budgeting according to IDP priorities; programmes to grow and diversify revenues and ensure sound financial management; energy efficiency programmes, renewable energy programmes and climate change programmes
(eThekwini Municipality, 2011).
The programmes within these eight plans highlight the focus which the city has on promoting a more sustainable city and improving conditions for all of its citizens, as well as pursuing the goals of urban regeneration. The social, ecological, economic and governance aspects of sustainability are included in these plans, with emphasis on programmes which can lead to improvement in all of these dimensions. Sports events are highlighted as a strategic focus of increasing tourism, and enhancing the image of the city; the need to manage the informal economy, particularly street trading and retail markets is noted; and the preservation and management of heritage assets is explicit in these plans (eThekwini Municipality, 2011). These are important as they cover aspects of the three mega-projects investigated in this study.
The IDP also contains a set of value filters which were introduced to preserve the meaning of the set of principles and development values which were adopted. These then filter every programme, project and initiative in terms of the values of sustainability; an economically successful city;
poverty reduction; a smart city; a caring city; and a democratic and equal city (eThekwini Municipality, 2008). These value filters further highlight the role of urban regeneration and sustainability in Durban.
From this analysis of the IDP, it becomes clear that the city is focused on a number of main goals and strategies which form part of an urban regeneration strategy, including promoting the city as a tourist destination, creating jobs and enhancing economic growth. Sustainability is also an important aspect which is evident in the city’s development plans, as the need to sustain growth and development is acknowledged.
CSDP
The CSDP is the development plan for the Central Spatial Region (CSR) of eThekwini, within which the three mega-projects are situated. It is based upon a number of SDF principles which guide the way in which development should occur in the city, and each of these principles incorporate ways in which they may be achieved. Table 6.2 presents these principles, as well as some of the ways they may be achieved which highlight urban regeneration and sustainability.
Table 6.2: SDF principles which guide the CSDP SDF principles Achievement Promotion of an equitable
city
Redressing imbalances in the location of employment opportunities; promoting integration; making the city work better for the disadvantaged; and providing adequate, accessible and affordable housing opportunities
Promotion of an efficient city
Promoting more compact development; optimising development in areas of greatest opportunity; encouraging effective use of infrastructure and facilities; promoting cost effective movement systems; and promoting accessibility
Promotion of a sustainable city
Promoting optimal use of remaining land opportunities;
promoting the inherent value of the natural and built environment and introducing environmentally sensitive management of development; alleviating environmental health hazards; and retaining and enhancing positive qualities and productive assets of the Durban Metropolitan Area
(eThekwini Municipality, 2009).
The identification of strategic spatial investment areas at a metropolitan level highlights the areas that can play an important role in promoting spatial principles. The CSDP identifies a number of areas which are covered by a range of projects and initiatives, and require attention and linking to other spatial elements in order to realise the opportunities they present (eThekwini Municipality, 2009). These include a number of development priorities which are important in terms of this study as they reflect elements of urban regeneration and sustainability, such as the promotion of the city as a commercial and tourist gateway; protecting the qualities of the existing built and natural environment; identifying places and elements of historical, cultural and natural significance, and ensuring their maintenance and enhancement. These areas further include ensuring that tourism enhances the quality of the environment and is undertaken in a sustainable manner, and that other competing uses are managed, in order to balance physical, social and economic benefits; and maintaining infrastructure and services, in order to maintain and generate economic opportunities (eThekwini Municipality, 2009).
Major points of focus in the CSDP are environmental sustainability and quality of life. The vision for the CSR therefore requires that physical development balances and integrates a social needs- based approach with an economic opportunity and an environmentally driven approach. “The challenge is thus to ensure spatial development addresses areas of need and opportunity in a way that promotes the relationship between the physical environment (natural and built) activities and people in an efficient, equitable and sustainable manner” (eThekwini Municipality, 2009: 41).
Sustainability is therefore once again highlighted as an important component within the CSDP.
The CSDP further highlights tourism as one of the most important components of the economy, and has identified a number of tourist and recreation nodes, which play a crucial role in stimulating economic generation through earning tourism related revenue. The Moses Mabhida Stadium and the King’s Park Precinct were identified as major tourism destination points which will attract an influx of local and foreign tourists, and possibly major forthcoming events such as the Olympics and Commonwealth Games. The Point Waterfront Regeneration Precinct was also identified as a major flagship tourist attraction within the region, as it is an attempt to extend the city’s fabric, as well as to become a significant, well-defined addition to the city (eThekwini Municipality, 2008). These were also identified as strategic spatial investment/ priority areas; as well as regeneration and urban management in the inner city, which is driven by iTRUMP, which was involved in the proposal for the Warwick Mall (eThekwini Municipality, 2009). Each of the three identified mega-projects were therefore specifically targeted within the development and urban regeneration strategies of Durban, highlighting their important role in the city.
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.