6.2 Epistemic notions
6.2.1 Sustainability
In line with the rise in environmental consciousness and the global awareness of the limits to economic growth, the national government of South Africa has adopted sustainable development as an overarching political strategy to guide the way that the country is developed and managed. Being holistic in nature, sustainable development has penetrated all policy arenas and has become entrenched in the operation of the different levels of government (Oelofse et ai, 2006).
In the case of the environmental decision-making process of the SCH, all actors on the team are in one way or another accountable to the same legal context which is associated with their respective disciplines and the discourse of sustainability has therefore become inscribed in their day to day practice. As a result, despite their often conflicting fields of expertise, they all subconsciously emulated the concept of sustainability at some point in the process. It is evident that 'sustainability' became an epistemic notion as it was not formulated by the team members but served to shape their actions as well as their interpretation of reality. The fact that it crossed sectoral divides is further proof of this.
In identifying the priority of the project, the City Manager's response was rooted In the principles of sustainable development, which refers to balance:
"For me it's trying to get that balance. One of the things is we are not going to put economic issues, if we can help it, at the expense of environmental and at the expense of the social, so for us its prioritising within each one of those and finding a solution that really is addressing all three, because they are contending
issues, theycan be contending issues" (City Manager, 14/06/05).
His interpretations were very clearly framed by this notion of balance and he reiterated this frequently: " ... whenever I look at these things I try and look at them in terms of those three key dynamics because, and what for me are the key social dimensions, key environmental and key economic dimensions" (City Manager, 14/06/05). So it appears that because of his role as City Manager, he was consciously referring to sustainability as the broader framework for development. This was also evident in the response of one City Official when discussing the regenerative benefits in an economic context and was quick to acknowledge the integral role of the concept of sustainability: " ... and look, I'm saying there's always a consciousness of sustainable development... I understand all of those kinds of dynamics" (City Official 4,
10/06/05).
During the series of meetings and workshops, there was constant reference to sustainability in terms of the various options put forward. Interestingly it was used in different contexts:
financial sustainability, ecological sustainability and social sustainability. For example one consultant noted that in terms of the "long term sustainability issues, recreating nature is more expensive than maintaining an unnatural piece of nature" (Consultant 5, 15/11/04). Another consultant who was responsible for presenting the options noted that the development" ... must be ecologically sustainable" (Consultant 3, 02/04/05).
These different contexts were also reflected in the summary of agreements which listed principles of the development. The first was "[s]ocial, economic, and environmental sustainability in terms of access and use must be considered judiciously" whilst the second was
"[fJinancial viability within the context of social, economic and environmental sustainability must be considered" (Pravin Amar Development Planners, Minutes, 11/10/04). It is interesting that they have aligned the social and the financial aspects of the project against the three 'pillars' of sustainability.
On the other hand, other actors which spanned the different sectors portrayed notions of sustainability less consciously. One actor made reference to the social justice principles of sustainability as follows; "[k]ey stakeholders obviously involve the various users of the beach, current users and future users of the area ... " (City Official 3, 20/05/05). Similarly, one of the Developer's consultants asserted:
"I'm not working for Moreland, I'm working for the broader public good, you know, I'm working for a future generation that I don't even know of and that's the thing about urban design, it's a multi-client, its not one client, the guy that pays you, because that's not what's important, that's the patron that helps you do what you do, what we love to do, which is about making better places for everybody..." (Consultant 3, 24/06/05).
Sustainability was therefore a very dominant concept which formed an overarching framework for the other development issues. It was most strongly and consciously illustrated by the City Officials due to their role as regulators, but also subconsciously depicted by other actors from different sectors. The frequent use of the term 'sustainable' was supported by the concepts of balance and intergenerational equity. Sustainability, as a way of thinking from this particular period, is a powerful epistemic notion regulating the actor's thoughts and actions.
6.2.2 Urban renewal
Progression, which drives society at large, is a goal of contemporary government institutions.
Particularly in the local context, authorities are responsible for maintaining and improving the urban fabric with its associated physical, economic and social spin-offs. In this way, 'urban renewal' emerged as the second epistemic notion which influenced the way in which the host of actors conceptualised development.
The strength of 'urban renewal' as an epistemic notion lies in the holistic manner in which it supports progression in terms of the Point Precinct directly as well as the wider Municipality. It became evident that all members of the team referred to the development in terms of the way it would facilitate 'urban renewal' with associated benefits for the wider population of Durban over and above the physical improvement of the area.
In light of this it must be noted that the SCH development proposal specifically focused on increased land values, increased rates of revenue and providing a facility which would attract high income spend in the area. Therefore the degree to which it would actually enhance the regenerative benefits of the existing development (uShaka Marine World and the canals and associated development) was unquantifiable. Despite this disparity between the benefits of the entire development versus the specific benefits of the SCH, it was the dominant perception that 'urban renewal' or 'regeneration' was the primary factor driving the development and therefore the rationale behind the SCH as the third component of the large development. This became evident in the answers to the first interview question which was "[w]hat is the goal or purpose of the SCH development?" For example a City Official gave the following answer: "[i]n theory it is supposed to be upgrading the Point area, supporting the Point area and having economic and development spin-offs back to the CBD" (City Official I, I0/05/05). Similarly, another actor described it as follows: " ... it started out to my mind being a fairly simple goal, which was to enhance the quality of the Point area in the first instance and Durban metropolitan area in the second instance (Consultant 2, 16/05/05). However, there were also those team members who highlighted the fact that the SCH was only one element of the development. It became a common line that the SCH 'completed' the Point Development and added value to it. The value of the overall development was perceived by a Developer as follows:
"Really the whole thing was to obviously rejuvenate, regenerate, the piece of land which had incredible value in a strategic location but nothing could happen, nothing had been done to it for however number of years. So to get that, fulfill that potential, to unlock that potential, then that would obviously have knock-on effects for the City centre to get people to re-invest in the City centre, get land values up and all that's happened to create a major new tourist destination for Durban" (Developing Agent I, 17/05/05).
However, there were a few individuals who did specifically mention the broader socio- economic benefits of urban renewal and how it would facilitate the city's capacity for progression.
"Well you see, in my mind, the argument wasn't about spend, the argument was about rates, we had to present a view of the Point and we had to present a view of the City which was basically the case, I mean, for me the evidence was that you increase your base of rateable income of properties in the City, you increase your employment and relatively very high levels of spend .... the important thing is for jobs and more revenue so they can spend that revenue on poor people, so that was my thinking" (Consultant 2, 16/05/05).
So it was widely recognised that the Point was firstly in a strategic location and secondly in physical decay, and out of this arose the impetus to regenerate the entire area. The benefits of this would increase the City's economic base, allowing them to address social issues elsewhere within the Municipality. More specifically the SCH added value to this Point Development, increasing the rate base as well as the property prices in the area. Because urban renewal was viewed as a positive practice in terms of both the City and the Developer's objectives, as well in terms of the socio-economic and physical change it would signify, it was used by nearly every member of the team crossing disciplinary boundaries and became the primary rationale behind the project, thus regularising the manner in which the actors understood the development.