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Looking at‘ bad’ buildings: part 2
In part 1( SA Affordable Housing, issue 69), we looked at some of the issues surrounding‘ bad’,‘ hijacked’ or problem buildings in the inner city. With a myriad of definitions and causes attributed to their creation, we look at the solutions.
By Ntsako Khosa
SERI
A complete relook and redesign at bad buildings is required to turn them into a win-win situation for the private sector and residents.
The creation of bad buildings falls both on the private sector and government.
Speaking to the City of Johannesburg and the City of Cape Town, both entities highlight that there are Cityowned problem buildings occupied by residents who couldn’ t otherwise afford alternative accommodation.
“ Providing affordable housing opportunities closer to where people work or close to public transport is nonnegotiable,” says Councillor Brett Herron, the City of Cape Town’ s mayoral committee member for Transport and Urban Development.
“ If architects, city planners, developers and particularly local government can begin to think of these buildings as a real opportunity to design them in a creative way, their current perception could change dramatically,” says Masters in Architecture graduate and 2015 Corobrik National Architectural Student of the Year award recipient, Hariwe Johnson. Completed at the University of Johannesburg, his award-winning thesis titled‘ The‘ Dark’ City: Critical Interventions in Urban Despair’ researches and proposes the redesign and redevelopment of these buildings.
DELIVERING HOUSING FOR ALL
Councillor Brett Herron’ s statement is similarly shared by the private sector and advocacy organisations alike. Socio- Economic Rights Institute of South Africa( SERI) works with communities in low income situations.
“ SERI is a public interest law organisation that works on a pro-bono basis,” says Edward Molopi, researcher and advocacy officer. The organisation operates across three themes namely, securing a home, making a living and expanding political space,“ The work we do [ under theme of securing a home ] revolves around people’ s access to housing and basic services. We work with inner city communities representing them against evictions that would lead to homelessness,” he states.
SERI advocates that there needs to be public rental accommodation.“ The state, at provincial or municipal level, or municipally-owned entities have ownership of the properties and offer them for rental at affordable prices,” says Molopi. Like transitional housing, it offers residents housing with rental charges of less than R800.
According to the organisation’ s 2013 report titled‘ Minding the Gap: An Analysis of the Supply of and Demand
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