PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
SA Urbanism
What does it mean for the country
BY KATE THOMPSON – DUWE
The principles of New Urbanism can be applied to most cities today considering how quickly a large portion of the world ’ s general population is migrating into urban areas . A statistic from the United Nations Population Fund ( UNPF ) states that the world is undergoing the largest wave of urban growth in history ; more than half of the world ’ s population now lives in towns and cities , and by 2030 this number will swell to about 5 billion .
Pam Golding ’ s MD of the Western Cape , Laurie Wener , comments : “ South Africa is no exception to
the global movement of urban regeneration , with many local conversions of commercial buildings to residential and mixed use , which had already started 14 years ago , and new builds . Apartments that are within easy commuting distance to hospitals , universities and corporate institutions are very sought after as the traffic congestion and the price of fuel is ever increasing . Attractive to investors are generous tax benefits when buying new units within certain urban zones e . g . Cape Town ’ s UDZ ( Urban Development Zone ). Scaling down from large houses to smaller lock up and leave
42 AUGUST 2016 SA Real Estate Investor www . reimag . co . za