Four projects from Cape Town make it through to the next round of C40 initiative

Cape Town deputy mayor Eddie Andrews has welcomed the progression of four Cape Town-based bids to the second round of the C40 Reinventing Cities Initiative. The C40 Reinventing Cities Initiative is a competition by the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40), a forum that shares strategies for reducing carbon emissions and spurring global action in confronting climate change.

In total 13 bids have been shortlisted to progress to the final stage of the competition in which Cape Town and nine other global cities successfully bid to participate. Andrews, who is also the Mayco member for spatial planning and environment, said he was excited about the progression of the demonstrated projects to the next stage.

He said: “I’m excited that we are now progressing to the next stage. The proposals are of high quality and innovative. This bodes well for a more climate-resilient future for Cape Town and adds to our efforts to promote carbon-neutral urban regeneration through these projects, which will be implemented by private developers on under-utilised, public land. We need new buildings to be as close to zero carbon as possible, and for existing buildings to be retrofitted, for us to meet the City’s commitment to the Paris Agreement.”

Andrews said in October 2019, the City of Cape Town availed four City-owned sites to the private sector for zero carbon development. According to the City, the projects based in Cape Town that made it to the second round were for the Athlone station site: Lead & Reimagine; Circular Community; Athlone Green City. The Kapteinsklip site: CITRA C40; Lathitha Consortium; Mnandi Green City. The Moquet Farm site: Eco-Village; Mouquet Green City; Block by Block; Sustain'ikhaya Development, and the Tygerdal site: Team Revolut, CITRA C40, Tygerdal Green City.

“The areas these sites are located are among Cape Town’s transit-accessible precincts. Athlone, Mitchell’s Plain, Diep River and Goodwood. All four sites have significant potential for transit-oriented development, mixed land uses, and affordable and inclusionary housing. These are aimed at supporting the rejuvenation of the surrounding local areas and transforming them into beacons of zero-carbon and resilient development. The competition was stiff with many innovative solutions and ambitious community-focused plans. I am thrilled these projects made it to the next stage,” Andrews said.

C40 Urban Planning and Design Director Helene Chartier said: “C40 is delighted to note the finalist proposals selected for the Reinventing Cities Competition in Cape Town. Teams selected for the four sites were shortlisted from a large number of submissions. This confirms that there is great interest from the private sector to collaborate with cities to harness a new model of urban regeneration that is more sustainable, resilient and inclusive. We look forward to the next phase of the competition.”