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Urban Forum
Published in: Urban Forum 3/2015

01-09-2015

Green-Sighted but City-Blind: Developer Attitudes to Sustainable Urban Transformation

Authors: Leanne Seeliger, Ivan Turok

Published in: Urban Forum | Issue 3/2015

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Abstract

South Africa’s sprawling, fragmented urban form remains essentially intact, despite the inequitable consequences and resource inefficiencies. Government policies have advocated urban integration-compaction for two decades, in the face of inertia and resistance from vested interests. This paper investigates the attitudes of developers towards the principles of sustainable urban transformation. Developers tend to favour a narrow agenda of new green buildings over more environmentally significant brownfield re-development and refurbished buildings. While they recognise the need for higher-density, mixed-use schemes within existing built-up areas, most remain reluctant to get directly involved themselves because of the perceived risks and uncertainties. Yet, several niche developers are breaking the mould and beginning to challenge such assumptions about the potential for profitable investment in hitherto neglected areas.
previous article Integral Theory: a Tool for Mapping and Understanding Conflicting Governmentalities in the Upgrading of Cape Town’s Informal Settlements
next article Accommodation and Tenuous Livelihoods in Johannesburg’s Inner City: the ‘Rooms’ and ‘Spaces’ Typologies

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Appendix
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Metadata
Title
Green-Sighted but City-Blind: Developer Attitudes to Sustainable Urban Transformation
Authors
Leanne Seeliger
Ivan Turok
Publication date
01-09-2015
Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Published in
Urban Forum / Issue 3/2015
Print ISSN: 1015-3802
Electronic ISSN: 1874-6330
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12132-015-9254-8

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