Alex on the move
Most new urban development occurs on open land, but what happens
when the land earmarked for development is already heavily populated?
After the advent of a democratic government and the repeal of
restrictive apartheid laws, the population of Alexandra increased
dramatically. People in search of employment in the city flocked into
Alexandra from rural areas in South Africa and neighbouring countries,
dramatically overloading an infrastructure already under strain.
Congestion in informal settlements, in the hostels and along the banks
of the Jukskei River made living conditions stressful, unhealthy and
dangerous.
One of the challenges facing the Alexandra Renewal Project has
always been the issue of people occupying land needed for development,
whether for housing, roads or bridges.
In the early days of the ARP, the policy was to develop and de-densify,
moving people right out of Alexandra.
Approximately 10500 shack dwellers living in unsafe and/or badly
situated locations, along London Road and on the banks of the
Jukskei for instance, were moved and rehoused in areas such as Diepsloot and
Braamfisherville. The
policy was extremely unpopular with those relocated even though they
had substantially better access to urban services.
The current ARP Housing Strategy was greatly influenced by the
lessons learnt from the early years of the Project. Residents are no
longer moved out of the Greater Alexandra area, instead innovative
architectural and planning solutions have been developed to
"capacitate" rather than to "de-densify".
Decisions about relocations are not taken unilaterally, but in full
consultation with both Alexandra's social and political structures,
for maximum benefit to the broader community. The guiding principle is
“how do we allocate housing so that the overall benefit is greater
than simply to the beneficiary.” The programme focuses on relocating
people who are living in hazardous conditions or on land that is
needed to develop public spaces or to upgrade/maintain engineering
services.
The Alexandra Transit Village is used as part of the relocation programme
to provide temporary accommodation for people who are being moved. The
Transit village consists of approximately 443 housing units, a new
storage facility in which occupants can store their belongings until
they move to their permanent homes, and recreational facilities.
Over the years of the Project great numbers of shacks have been
removed to make way for new developments and residents have taken
occupation of new housing in a number of areas within Alex.
The RCA is located in Old
Alex, it was the scene of violence during the early
1990's, and many houses were destroyed and people displaced. The aim
of the Project was to provide affordable housing within an integrated
area for beneficiaries who were displaced as a result of the violence
that occurred during the 1990’s. As not all of the households could be
accommodated in the RCA area, a second housing project, comprising of
777 housing units, was undertaken
in Riverpark.
The Extension 8 housing project is located on the East Bank
of Alexandra and comprises the development of approximately 554
subsidised houses. Households from London Rd and the Jukskei River
were relocated here.
There are 3 hostels in Alexandra; the M1 and M2 hostels and Helen
Joseph. While originally designed as single sex hostels they have been
hugely overcrowded with both families and single people. The upgrade of the three hostels,
at an estimated cost of R60-million, will take three years to
complete. The aim of the project is to transform the hostels into safe
and healthy communities that contribute to the social and economic
revitalisation of Alexandra. The hostels will be partially demolished
and redeveloped, and turned into one, two or three bed-roomed family
units that will be available to rent. The vacant land between the
hostels is also being developed.
The Extension 7 Housing Project is located in the East Bank of
Alexandra. The development consists of 1704 institutional subsidy
units (RDP) to be disposed of by deed of sale and are constructed on 80m² sites.
The Extension 5 Housing Project is located in the East
Bank of Alexandra next to the Extension 7 housing project. The
development consists of 533 RDP & 345 Affordable Rental Units.
Development in Alexandra is ongoing, the face of the township is
changing, and its people are on the move. No longer shunted out, they
are accommodated within the communities that they call "home". The ARP
continues to strive to find the best possible solution for every
strata of resident within the broader Alex community. Construction has
just begun on an innovative, world-first project to provide
affordable rental shelter in permanent structures to people who, up
until now, have only been able to afford the flimsiest of shacks. The
ARP continues doing it for the people of Alexandra. |
