cfsmtb in low earth orbit

Wednesday, September 22, 2004

From South Africa - Can we avert an urban crisis?

Minister Lindiwe Sisulu's magic date of 2014 for the eradication of all informal settlements has placed the issue of sustainable cities on the political centre stage. More recently, media reports have set the country's upper classes aflutter about the possibility of apartment blocks filled with 'low-income' earners invading their leafy suburbs. On the other end of the spectrum the poor are near the end of their tether with confused housing lists, slow infrastructure delivery and chaotic transport facilities. Urban discontent is brewing, and there is general consensus that informal settlements are at the heart of it.