Using SPLUMA for civic action on urban housing
On 3 February, Jaap de Visser presented a lunch seminar at the Development Action Group (DAG) on how to use the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (SPLUMA) for advocacy around urban housing challenges. The seminar was attended by housing rights activists based in Cape Town.
The lunch seminar focused on the history of planning in South Africa, the introduction of new planning legislation and the new role of municipalities. Prof De Visser also discussed the preliminary findings of a study of fifteen municipal planning by-laws. These were analysed to assess whether they take forward the vision of SPLUMA around reducing red tape, responding to informality and clarifying the land use management system.
A key theme was the question how SPLUMA's development principles (such as spatial justice and spatial sustainability) can be used to advocate for more principled decision making by cities.
Download the presentation here.