A critique of South African housing policy and some postulations about planning and policy-making in African cities

Abstract

The article primarily provides a critique of current South African housing policy based on a review of the first phase of the N2 Gateway project in Cape Town. This project was designed as a pilot to demonstrate the principles of the Breaking New Ground policy paper produced by the National Department of Housing in September 2004. The article is structured into five sections. The first is introductory. The second briefly describes recent changes in housing policy intention and practice. The third introduces the N2 Gateway project. The fourth is a critique of current housing policy raised by the review. The final section is more speculative. It raises the question of the commonalities imposed by context on the practice of spatial
and policy planning in African Cities.