The City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) joined some cities of the world to commemorate World Planning Day on Wednesday.
This day, which puts the spotlight on the city planning profession, has been celebrated throughout the world for decades now.
This year’s celebrations are convened under the theme, ‘learn globally, apply locally’. The focus is on the value of learning from planning cultures globally; and fostering innovative, sustainable, and equitable solutions to address global challenges.
“With the city having penetrated the planning space and received global accolades, the theme ‘learn globally, apply locally,’ comes at an opportune time for us. We embrace it, understanding that for us to become one of the leading cities of the world, we need to learn best practices globally and implement these lessons in our space,” says MMC for Economic Development and City Planning Ald Nomadlozi Nkosi.
Last year, the city’s Growth Management Strategy (GMS) won an award in the category of planning for cities and human settlement/plan-making in the Commonwealth.
This was in the Commonwealth Association of Planners (CAP) Awards for 2022 – a global platform of specialists to recognise and honour excellence across the built environment.
The council approved the Growth Management Strategy of the city in 2022. This is an annexure of the Municipal Spatial Development Framework (MSDF).
The MSDF states, “The Growth Management Strategy should empower the municipality to proactively manage growth sustainably, guide spatial transformation and support economic development.”
“The CoE’s global recognition affirms the credibility of the city strategies at a local level. It also underpins the city’s ability to achieve global standards in managing development and measuring the impact of growth and development throughout the city,” explained Nkosi.
“Inroads have been made in the city’s Spatial Planning and Land Use Management By-law 2019; the Municipal Spatial Development Framework 2015 and the Land Use Scheme 2021. However, a lot still needs to be done to improve the city’s response to local challenges and dynamics.”
Some of the identified challenges that need urgent attention are:
• Land and sufficient bulk availability within priority areas.
• Fostering economic growth by facilitating mega-developments.
• Sustainable funding of sinkhole rehabilitation in disadvantaged areas.
• Incentivising high-density and high-rise developments.
• Reinforcing compliance with the correct use of land and buildings.
• Enhancing revenue through the use of creative urban design and spatial tools.
• Reducing red tape and manual processes in development applications.
“The progress we witnessed in the City Planning Department would not have happened in isolation, hence, we must appreciate the collaborative efforts of the Infrastructure Cluster comprising Economic Development, Transport, Energy, Water and Sanitation, Roads and Stormwater and Human Settlements departments for the continued support and co-operation in shaping the city’s built-up environment,” said Nkosi.
“On this day, let us applaud and support the dedication of the executives and the administration in relentlessly working to make our city climate responsive, resilient, equitable, and sustainable in ensuring a better future for all within our city.”
