In Situ Settlement Upgrading of Mtshini Wam

Project activity involves the in situ upgrading and re-blocking of 250 structures in the Mtshini Wam settlement in Joe Slovo Park (in Milnerton), Cape Town. This is contrasted with projects that focus on housing construction.  Re-blocking involves the rearranging of settlements, opening up safer public spaces and making it easier for municipalities to provide services (as settlements can be too dense for water and electricity reticulation, etc) as well as upgrading of shack materials. To date more than 80% of the structures have been re-blocked. With the onset of the project, materials, engineering services, and short-term employment was given by the City of Cape Town. Relationships between the Alliance and City have improved, due to the City providing the groundwork materials for the re-blocking process. The Alliance reports the success of the project being largely due to the community’s interaction with local authorities. There are regular meetings between Community Organization Resource Centre’s (CORC) technical team, field officers from the Housing Department, town councilors, and project managers. Through the project the Alliance has been able to mobilize 23 informal settlements in partnership with the City of Cape Town. Success of the Mtshini Wam Upgrading project lead to it being the location for SDI’s Five Cities seminar in February 2013. The project has seen a shift from housing provision to in situ upgrading. Community involvement has been strong in this project, with residents volunteering to help officials and contractors deliver (e.g. on waste removal). Activity is also moving towards signing an MOU between the Federation and local government. This will enable residents to more directly influence policy. In order to ensure this and scale, the Alliance is increasing its interaction with other partners, including the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in the USA and a local Non-Profit Organisation working in sustainable design and livelihoods. Challenges for the project include reluctance from the City to utilize the process of upgrading, that involves residents and is initiated by them, in formal planning procedures. There is also little clarity on the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP), the programme under which the short-term employment resides.