SA Affordable Housing September / October 2018 // Issue: 72 | Page 4

EDITOR’S COLUMN
Let’s all join together
Addressing the housing deficit, the message at the recent Affordable
Housing Africa conference was very clear - it must be a joint effort.
W
hether you call it emergency housing, rental
discounts, rent-to-buy options or financed by a bank
for individuals or affordable housing – it is clear that
a joint effort is needed.
Who are the role players that need to join hands to make this
happen? Architects, government, private developers,
construction and building companies, associations, social
development organisations, financial institutions, and yes, even
the media – we are all fighting for the same purpose, but we are
working in silos.
Hot topics at the recent Affordable Housing conference held
at Marriott Hotel Crystal Towers in Cape Town included land
rezoning, unnecessary red tape and mixed residential
communities. Long gone are the days where a house is built and
the developer leaves ‘thinking’ that he has succeeded in
addressing the housing crisis.
New developments should be in mixed residential areas,
where retail centres, hospitals, community centres, schools and
public transport is easily accessible. Addressing this problem
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SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2018
does not include four walls, a roof and a door – the complete
infrastructure should form part of the solution.
Another clear message delivered at the conference is that
the housing crisis is not only in South Africa or Africa – it is a
universal pro