CT AND NINE WORLD CITIES PARTICIPATING IN CARBON-NEUTRAL COMPETITION

The City of Cape Town on Wednesday said it will be
participating to the carbon-neutral competition with Chicago, Dubai, Lima,
Madrid, Milan, Montreal, Singapore, Reykjavik, and Rome.

The competition requires projects to
deliver the most ambitious climate solutions that will
also benefit the local communities.

Following on from the council’s approval at its
meeting on 28 October 2019, four underused city-owned sites were available to
the private sector and other interested parties for carbon-neutral mixed-use
development as part of this worldwide competition.

The competition required multi-disciplinary teams
of architects, planners, developers, entrepreneurs, environmentalists,
start-ups, neighbourhood collectives, innovators, and artists to team up and
submit proposals which delivered carbon neutral and resilient urban
regeneration.

The four sites are located in transit-accessible
precincts in Athlone, Mitchells Plain, Diep River, and Goodwood, and could be
repurposed for transit-oriented development, the provision of mixed-use and
affordable and inclusionary housing, and to
kick-start the overall rejuvenation of the surrounding areas.

The city was now calling on the private sector,
community groups and any other interested parties to submit carbon-neutral
development proposals.

“I want to remind all that this is the
beginning of a process that will take place over a number of years, should the
city decide to go ahead with one or all of the development proposals. Also,
thereafter we will follow a statutory process related to the development
applications, meaning, the public will be able and encouraged to submit
comments during a public participation process,” said the city’s Mayoral
committee member for Spatial Planning and Environment,
Alderman Marian Nieuwoudt.

“We want residents and local communities
adjacent to these sites to be involved.”

All four sites were appropriate for higher density
developments that will include a mix of land uses and community services. 

The city encourages proposals that also include
affordable housing opportunities
for a range of income groups with a variety of topologies and tenure options.
The proposals must enhance the urban environment and
improve the quality of life for residents from the area.

The projects will have to reduce energy demand, use energy efficiently, and use renewable energy, or low-carbon energy. Proposals should also address other elements of urban sustainability, including features that sustainability that address water and energy conservation, sustainable materials, green mobility and so forth. http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/ct-and-nine-world-cities-participating-in-carbon-neutral-competition-2019-12-04