Estate Living Magazine Precinct Living - Issue 33 | Page 29

taxes makes living in the area too expensive for the original residents, and
forces them to move out of the area – usually to more affordable suburbs far
from the city centre. When people live further away from the city centres,
they spend more time and money on transport to get to work and school.
When people who are not financially strong are forced to spend more
of their money in this way, they have less to spend on good food, quality
housing and education, and their quality of life drops.
Bo-Kaap
‘We see gentrification as the eradication of the culture and traditions that
make up Bo-Kaap,’ Jackie Poking of the Bo-Kaap Civic and Ratepayers
Association (BOCRA) explains. ‘The people coming in with the new
developments have an income that is way above the income of the present
residents, and they live in these buildings that become islands of privilege
within a community that consists of working-class families that have lived
together for generations.’
Bo-Kaap is not neglected, dilapidated or distressed in terms of both
physical and social structures. The buildings are in good condition, and the
neighbourhood is thriving. Poking, who is a recent incomer to Bo-Kaap, has
merged into the society and proudly describes its old-fashioned sense of
community – the kind of community we strive to create in residential estates.
Bo-Kaap has a history that is a unique and important part of South Africa’s
identity, but it is the very special traditions and culture of the neighbourhood
that are what Poking and her colleagues are fighting fiercely to protect. ‘We
are not against new people moving in,’ says Poking; ‘the fight is that there
is an exclusive rich population buying up our homes, but with no vested
interest in our community.’ BOCRA took the City of Cape Town to court this
year to halt the construction of an 18-storey building on its boundaries that
they say would change the nature of their neighbourhood. Judgement is
reserved at time of writing. The development would be a mixed-use retail,
office and residential building that would take up nearly a whole city block.
When asked if this would not provide much-needed housing for locals,
Poking replies that the units are priced way above affordable.
There is a popular belief that if Bo-Kaap is declared a national heritage
site, it will be protected from gentrification. The neighbourhood meets
the criteria for national heritage site status because of its significance to all
South Africans, but has not yet been declared because of opposition from
some affected parties. As it stands, it is a provincial heritage site, and this
affords it the same protection as a national heritage site.
Ben Mwasinga, manager of the Built Environment Unit of the South African
Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA), explains that heritage legislation
limits the nature and type of development that can occur on declared
sites. The intention is to protect them from undesirable development. ‘But
remember,’ he says, ‘it also limits development by existing home owners,
and they also have to get permission for any changes they want to make.’
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