Efforts to balance Johannesburg’s infrastructural and economic development got into full swing this week when the city unveiled its Spatial Development Framework (SDF).
In a statement on Thursday, Johannesburg spokesperson Mbangwa Xaba said the SDF was unveiled at the City Council’s first sitting since the budget debate last month.
”Councillors dug deep into their ingenuity as they went about translating budget figures into real economic and infrastructure development projects.
”The projects are expected to be well over 170 and will be implemented across the city at the total cost of R1-billion.”
The projects focus on infrastructure reconstruction, upgrading, regeneration, conservation and consolidation. The projects include storm water drainage improvement, the development of parks, road construction and the building of some 100 000 houses.
”The city has an expressed intention to give the previously disadvantaged areas and the inner city a lion’s share of the reconstruction projects as it addresses the imbalances of the past and urban decay challenges,” Xaba said.
The SDF would also address several ”deliverables”, including appropriate population densities, public transport support, growth management and the protection of residential environments. Xaba said that in order to meet the challenge of managing growth in a sustainable manner, the city had adopted the 30-year horizon plan, ”Joburg 2030”. The plan aims at turning the city into a world class African city.
”This vision is supported by a number of plans and policies,” Xaba said, of which the SDF is one. – Sapa