Project proposal for transforming Grabouw, Western Cape, into a sustainable community

Date
2007-12
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
Abstract
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Cities and in particular, secondary cities are fast emerging as the dominant form of human settlement. Considering the anticipated growth in the population and the expected global economic growth, what role will cities play in addressing the core issues pertaining to sustainable development? Will cities be able to address these issues at all? Addressing the sustainability of cities is about focussing on addressing the key issues of form and function. These, coupled with the specific social interactions, the cultural and political actions, are the drivers that need to be harnessed, integrated and reworked if cities are to be sustainable in any way. Without a collective and concerted drive to make direct inputs into the three main drivers of a city; planning and design, the resource use and inputs and the social interactions within cities, no efforts to address the hope of leaving legacies of resources for future generations will be realised. If these efforts do not originate in, and grow out of cities, cities will not support, but rather undermine, any attempts at achieving sustainable development. There is an increasing realisation that the current approaches to development are not meeting the needs of the growing global populations and as such, new approaches need to be sought. The one key area where these new approaches hold potential is to attempt to seek ways to create sustainable communities, communities with equitable access to resources and where communities are designed to function in different ways. The town and outlying areas of the Grabouw region in the Western Cape provide a unique and extremely rare opportunity for implementing a wide range of Government policies that have been adopted at the National, Provincial and Local Government levels to give effect to the national commitment to sustainable development and the creation of sustainable communities. These policy commitments span social, environmental and economic policies. Grabouw is perfectly configured in both geographical and strategic terms to become a national model for ‘integrated sustainable development’ and to demonstrate in practice how the attainment of the concept of sustainable development and sustainable communities can be supported. The intention of the project proposal is to facilitate specific actions that would include the framing of a foundation that is the core discussion document for the engagement with the broader communities. The purpose of this document and supporting plan would be to facilitate the communities’ participation in the creation and design of the project that serves to transform the town of Grabouw, and the region, ultimately becoming a national model of sustainability with a community that is resilient and equitable, meeting their current needs fairly, but doing so in a manner that preserves resources for future generations of Grabouw residents and South Africans.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Stede, en sekondêre stede in die besonder, wen vinnig veld as die dominante vorm van menslike vestiging. Met inagneming van die verwagte groei in die bevolking en die verwagte globale ekonomiese groei, kan die vraag gestel word watter rol stede gaan speel om die kernvraagstukke met betrekking tot volhoubare ontwikkeling aan te spreek. Sal stede hoegenaamd daartoe in staat wees om hierdie vraagstukke aan te spreek? Van deurslaggewende belang vir die volhoubaarheid van stede is die fokus op die sleutelvraagstukke van vorm en funksie. Dit, gekoppel aan die spesifieke maatskaplike interaksies, die kulturele en politieke aksies, is die sleutelaandrywers wat ingespan, geïntegreer en herbeplan moet word om stede volhoubaar te hou. Sonder 'n kollektiewe en volgehoue plan om direkte insette te lewer in die drie sleutelaandrywers van 'n stad – beplanning en ontwerp; die gebruik van hulpbronne en insette; en die maatskaplike interaksies binne stede – sal daar niks kom van die wens om hulpbronne vir toekomstige nageslagte na te laat nie. As hierdie pogings nie in stede ontstaan en uit stede groei nie, sal stede nie daarin slaag om enige pogings tot volhoubare ontwikkeling te ondersteun nie, maar dit eerder kelder. Daar word toenemend besef dat die huidige benadering tot ontwikkeling nie in die behoeftes van die groeiende globale bevolkings voorsien nie en dat nuwe benaderings op die proef gestel moet word. Die een sleutelgebied waar 'n nuwe benadering belofte inhou, is om maniere te ondersoek om volhoubare gemeenskappe te skep – gemeenskappe met gelyke toegang tot hulpbronne en waar gemeenskappe ontwerp is om op verskillende maniere te funksioneer. Die dorp en distrik Grabouw in die Wes-Kaap bied 'n unieke en uiters seldsame geleentheid vir die implementering van breë nasionale, provinsiale en plaaslike regeringsbeleide om uitvoering te gee aan die nasionale verbintenis tot volhoubare ontwikkeling en die skepping van volhoubare gemeenskappe. Maatskaplike, omgewings- en ekonomiese beleide word in hierdie beleidsverbintenisse saamgesnoer. Grabouw is ideaal vanuit 'n geografiese sowel as strategiese oogpunt om 'n nasionale model te word vir 'geïntegreerde volhoubare ontwikkeling' en om prakties te demonstreer hoe volhoubare ontwikkeling en volhoubare gemeenskappe ondersteun kan word. Die oogmerk van die projekvoorstel is om spesifieke aksies te fasiliteer, soos die opstel van 'n kernbesprekingsdokument met as doelwit die betrekking van die breër gemeenskappe. Die doel van hierdie voorstel is die fasilitering van die gemeenskappe se deelname aan die skepping en ontwerp van die projek wat dien om die dorp en distrik Grabouw te transformeer tot 'n nasionale model van volhoubaarheid, met 'n gemeenskap wat kragtig en gelyk is, en waar in huidige behoeftes voorsien word, maar op so 'n manier dat hulpbronne vir toekomstige geslagte Grabouw-inwoners en Suid-Afrikaners bewaar word.
Description
Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007.
Keywords
Community development, Urban -- South Africa -- Grabouw, Sustainable development -- South Africa -- Grabouw, Theses -- Public management and planning, Dissertations -- Public management and planning
Citation