3. Conceptualising mega-projects in contemporary cities: Mega-projects as a
4.3. Policy and planning in Durban
The Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), a socio-economic policy aimed at addressing the high levels of poverty and inequality inherited from the apartheid era, was the initial policy of the post-apartheid period. There was subsequently a realisation that economic growth and job creation were necessary elements to ensure the achievement of these goals, and in 1996 the
Growth, Employment and Reconstruction (GEAR) policy was introduced. GEAR implemented a neo-liberal economic policy which was based on the premise that economic growth is able to provide trickle-down effects, which have the potential to promote social upliftment (Patel, 2000; Atkinson and Marais, 2006; Nel and John, 2006; Todes, 2006; Freund, 2010; Sutherland et al, 2011).
These policies were introduced into cities, such as Durban, and became entrenched in the approach to growth and development, providing the normative framework for the cities’ planning and policy landscapes, including the implementation of LED strategies (Todes, 2006). Three of the main policy and planning instruments which are employed within Durban, and highlight the choices that have been made in terms of their policy priorities, are the Long Term Development Framework - Imagine Durban, the Integrated Development Plan, and the Spatial Development Framework, which contains four Spatial Development Plans.
4.3.1 Long Term Development Framework - Imagine Durban
Overall policy guidance for the future development of the city is provided by the city’s Long Term Development Framework (LTDF), which was developed in 2001 in consultation with major local partners (Nel and John, 2006). It identified critical development challenges as including creating economic growth, jobs and income, with the need to strengthen the economic base of the city; as well as meeting basic needs; alleviating poverty; and striving for sustainability (eThekwini Municipality, 2001), thus reflecting the multiple agendas of the city.
The LTDF was later reviewed though the “Imagine Durban Process” to ensure that all aspects of sustainability are embedded in the Municipality, as well as influencing the city’s Integrated Development Plan (IDP) (eThekwini Municipality, 2008; eThekwini Municipality, 2011). Imagine Durban is a council-led project on integrated, long-term planning, with the goal of developing a visionary plan to inspire citizens, non-governmental organisations, business and government to work together to make Durban the best city in the world (eThekwini Municipality, 2008;
www.imaginedurban.org). It is a community-based process to design a desired development path which will enable the attainment of a more sustainable city (eThekwini Municipality, 2011). Six key theme areas were identified as the most important areas for collective action, and have been incorporated into the city’s IDP. These are:
1. Creating a safer city
2. Ensuring a more environmentally sustainable city 3. Promoting an accessible city
4. Creating a city where all enjoy sustainable livelihoods 5. Fostering a caring and empowering city
6. Celebrating our arts, culture and heritage (www.imaginedurban.org).
4.3.2 Integrated Development Plan
The 1996 Constitution afforded metropolitan authorities a significant role in promoting social and economic development within their jurisdiction; while these authorities are tasked with the formulation of development programmes and objectives by the Municipal Systems Act of 2000. This is achieved through the drafting and review of IDPs, which are the focus of South Africa’s post- apartheid municipal planning system. They are prepared for five year cycles, and constitute the main framework for development targeting, services delivery and management of municipalities, through the identification of particular strategies or sectors that require focus (Marx and Charlton, 2003;
Harrison, 2006; Cornelissen, 2008; eThekwini Municipality, 2008).
The vision of the Municipality is stated in the IDP as: “By 2020, eThekwini Municipality will enjoy the reputation of being Africa’s most caring and liveable city, where all citizens live in harmony”
(eThekwini Municipality, 2011: 37). The IDP also identifies a number of key development challenges, within the Municipality that require continued attention, such as those set out in the LTDF, in order to attain the vision. The Municipality is required to address all of these challenges with limited human and financial resources, and it is therefore imperative that the Municipality makes these difficult and important choices in terms of its development mandate. These choices are made in the Key Development Dialogues, which indicate the priorities which the Municipality has chosen to pursue (eThekwini Municipality, 2011). The IDP also contains an eight point plan which identifies critical areas that the Municipality has targeted. These choices and the eight point plan reveal that the city is aware of its competing obligations (Kennedy et al, 2011), and are presented in Table 4.1.
Table 4.1: The IDP’s key choices and Eight Point Plan
Key choices Eight Point Plan
Creating sustainable livelihoods Develop and Sustain our Spatial, Natural and Built Environment
A caring and empowering city Developing a Prosperous, Diverse Economy and Employment Creation
A financially sustainable city Creating a Quality Living Environment Creating a safer city Fostering a Socially Equitable Environment
Promoting an accessible city Creating a Platform for Growth, Empowerment and Skills Development
An environmentally sustainable city Embracing our Cultural Diversity, Arts and Heritage
Good Governance and Responsive Local Government
Financially Accountable and Sustainable City (eThekwini Municipality, 2011).
4.3.3 Spatial Development Framework: Central Spatial Development Plan
The primary spatial response to the development context, needs and development vision of the Municipality as set out in the IDP is the Spatial Development Framework (SDF), which is the primary level of translation of social, economic and environmental development and management policy into spatial terms, and the Municipality’s primary Land Use Management tool. This was translated into more geographically specific physical development and land use management guidelines through the preparation of Spatial Development Plans. These plans, which were adopted in November 2009, provide strategic multi-sectoral planning guidance for each of eThekwini’s four planning regions, and were prepared for the North, South, Central and Outer West areas (Harrison, 2006; eThekwini, 2009; eThekwini, 2011).
The Central Spatial Development Plan (CSDP) involved a strategic assessment of the Central Spatial Region (CSR), within which the three identified mega-projects are located. The CSR is a highly developed and serviced area which represents the urban core of the Municipality, and is home to approximately 1.30 million people. It is centred on the transport and logistics activities of the Port, and characterised by economic development opportunities for industry, commerce and tourism. The CSDP investigated the major roles of the area; identified important opportunities and constraints for
development of the area, and formulated spatial development guidelines (eThekwini Municipality, 2009; eThekwini Municipality, 2011).
The IDP recognises that the Municipality has to make difficult choices within a spatial framework;
and this is therefore done within the CSDP by connecting actions, resources and expenditure across the metropolitan area to unlock sustainable growth, whilst ensuring that inequitable, inefficient and unsustainable consequences of past development patterns are addressed over a period of time (eThekwini Municipality, 2009). Specific choices have thus been made in the context of the CSDP which fit within the framework of the IDP, including elements of the city’s competing agendas.
The preceding sections have described the challenges which Durban faces, in terms of the need to incorporate multiple agendas in this post-apartheid city in order to pursue a sustainable future; and the policy and planning context within which these difficult choices are made. As highlighted by the shift from the RDP to GEAR, pro-growth strategies have become more prominent in South African cities in order to promote economic growth and development. One strategy which has been identified as able to promote these goals of pro-growth development, as well as providing trickle-down effects through urban regeneration is the implementation of mega-projects. The following sections address the implementation of mega-projects as a strategy of urban regeneration within South Africa, and Durban in particular, as these provide the focus of this study.