Jhb Areas Marked For Densification

the city has ambitious plans to make use of major developments planned over the next three years around joburg, including the gautrain, the cross-city transport network and the 2010 stadiums. densification will piggyback on the physical infrastructure that these three major investments will make, as well as use the present infrastructure in place. the city has identified nine areas to be densified to rationalise the use of infrastructure.

identified as an "investment footprint", the city plans to encourage growth in nine areas to piggyback on to the various developments already under way.

the nine areas to be densified are: kliptown; nasrec, the johannesburg cbd (including greater ellis park); parktown; rosebank; randburg; illovo; sandton; and midrand.

the "investment footprint" refers to the investment initiatives provided by the r20bn gautrain and its joburg stations; the strategic public transportation network (sptn) for the city; and the 2010 soccer world cup, with an estimated investment in joburg of r3, 2bn.

densification has already been taking place in northern suburbs like parkview, bryanston and houghton. and previous agricultural holdings, such as ruimsig, have been settled in recent years. peter ahmad, assistant director of metro, admits that densification has not always been as organised and controlled as it should be, but hopes that in the future applications will be carefully considered, taking a range of factors into account.

the basis of the city's densification policy is aligning it with the sptn, so that communities can be conveniently placed to make use of the public transport networks.

the sptn will consist of 325km of special public transport lanes and intersections, running north and south of the city, and west and east. forty transport interchange nodes will be created, where commuters can switch from one form of transport to another. they will eventually be able to buy a single ticket, making travel via the different means of transport; rail, bus, taxi a seamless journey.

the first phase of the network, starting in soweto, has already been completed. the network will continue through parktown, rosebank, sandton, rivonia and sunninghill.

another consideration is locating people within easy reach of economic activity, to allow people easy access to jobs. also important is to ensure that the impact on neighbours and their private space is minimised. overloading already full schools in the suburbs is also a concern, as is maintaining the present green lungs.

ahmad stresses that the densification policy will protect good existing residential stock, while supporting activity centres, like working and shopping areas.

at the same time there will be efforts made to support a pedestrian environment, where residents can easily access the public transport routes, which include the gautrain feeder system (the shuttle buses to the gautrain stations).

densification is necessary, says ahmad, because the natural population growth that joburg as a city is experiencing needs to be managed. the "peripheral sprawl" that has been happening, particularly in the northern suburbs, needs to be curbed, he adds, otherwise the city will go broke putting in new infrastructure.

the cost of land in these areas is a real issue, and if people can be accommodated in already settled areas, costs can be reduced. besides, if people in far-flung townships can be brought closer to their places of work, their quality of life will be enhanced through a reduction in their travel times.

in the process the overcrowded areas of the city, particularly in the south, will have pressure taken off them by becoming less dense.

at the same time the city acknowledges that there are possible problems that must be considered in densifying the city and suburbs. significant public expenditure will be needed to develop the sptn. secondly, it is increasingly difficult to find well-located land for subsidised housing initiatives. and thirdly, higher densities may result in higher concentrations of air and noise pollution, and pressure on existing open spaces.

the city has proposed a "gross density" of 10 units per hectare as a guide for residential developments.

"by focusing on these locational attributes, the city can use existing infrastructure and services and be able to know where to focus future investment," says ahmad.

several council utilities will be brought together to focus on an area collectively, thereby avoiding a waste of time, money and energy by working separately. these utilities will be represented on an advisory infrastructure co-ordinating committee sub-committee, which will consider future densification applications.

city power, johannesburg roads agency and johannesburg water have identified present delivery capacities in the nine nodes, at the same time estimating and budgeting for future capacity in the nodes. the city acknowledges that there are capacity shortfalls, particularly in electricity provision, in all nine nodes.

residents can expect a one-year transition period, but in future new densification applications will be considered within an urban design context. applicants may be told to "go away and think about" their applications if not in accordance with the new set of rules.

"in five years' time it will be a different story. we are establishing the basis of something visible, tangible," says ahmad.

the nodes define the urban development boundary, and if developers wish to develop beyond these boundaries, they will find it difficult because the city will be reluctant to put in the necessary infrastructure.

ahmad admits that they "don't have all the answers, but we will prevent a train-smash" in the future growth of the city.

the proposal will go before the monthly council meeting for approval at the end of the month. - lucille davie