Given the current lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19, the City of Cape Town has extended the date for submissions for four underutilised city-owned sites that have been made available for carbon-neutral, mixed-use development.

The four sites are available to interested and affected parties, private and third-party sectors, such as nongovernmental organisations, for development as part of the C40 Reinventing Cities programme – a global architecture and urban design competition.

“We are facing exceptional circumstances, where our movement and social interaction are restricted,” says City of Cape Town Spatial Planning and Environment MMC Marian Nieuwoudt.

“We have also received requests from interested parties to extend the deadline for submissions, and as such, the city has decided to extend the deadline from May 15 to June 12. 

“Hopefully, an additional month will give those who are interested enough time to prepare their project submissions for these sites.”

The C40 Reinventing Cities competition requires multidisciplinary teams of architects, planners, developers, entrepreneurs, environmentalists, startups, neighbourhood collectives, innovators, and artists to team up and submit proposals which deliver carbon neutral and resilient urban regeneration.

Up to three finalists for each site will be shortlisted later this year, followed by the announcement of successful project proposals in 2021 after a second bidding round.

“These dates are provisional, and may change, depending on the world’s efforts to contain th[is] coronavirus,” notes Nieuwoudt.

“We will keep everybody informed. In the meantime, I want to reiterate that the city and C40 remain fully committed to the Reinventing Cities Initiative to develop innovative projects that will see a more sustainable and healthy urban future.”

The four underused city sites are located in precincts with access to public transport services, and align with city policies that pursue inward growth and investment that will support dense, diverse, and transit-oriented land uses, she adds.

They are the Athlone station car park opposite the entrance to the Athlone train station; the Kapteinsklip station precinct in Mitchell’s Plain; the Moquet Farm in Diep River; and the Tygerdal site at the Monte Vista station, Goodwood.

All development proposals must pursue carbon-neutrality, enhance the city’s resilience capacity and sustainability performance, enhance the urban environment, and improve local residents’ quality of life.

“The purpose of the C40 Reinventing Cities programme is to transform underutilised urban sites into beacons of carbon neutrality and reduced emissions,” explains Nieuwoudt.

“It is estimated that an additional 2.5-billion people will live in cities by 2050. 

“More and more people will move to Cape Town, and we must plan ahead for this growth. The way we design and build our city today will determine the quality of life of all Capetonians in future – this is very important, given that buildings account for about 50% of urban emissions in C40 cities.”