The City of Cape Town on Wednesday said it will be participating to the carbon-neutral competition with Chicago, Dubai, Lima, Madrid, Milan, Montreal, Singapore, Reykjavik, and Rome.

The competition requires projects to deliver the most ambitious climate solutions that will also benefit the local communities.

Following on from the council’s approval at its meeting on 28 October 2019, four underused city-owned sites were available to the private sector and other interested parties for carbon-neutral mixed-use development as part of this worldwide competition.

The competition required multi-disciplinary teams of architects, planners, developers, entrepreneurs, environmentalists, start-ups, neighbourhood collectives, innovators, and artists to team up and submit proposals which delivered carbon neutral and resilient urban regeneration.

The four sites are located in transit-accessible precincts in Athlone, Mitchells Plain, Diep River, and Goodwood, and could be repurposed for transit-oriented development, the provision of mixed-use and affordable and inclusionary housing, and to kick-start the overall rejuvenation of the surrounding areas.

The city was now calling on the private sector, community groups and any other interested parties to submit carbon-neutral development proposals.

"I want to remind all that this is the beginning of a process that will take place over a number of years, should the city decide to go ahead with one or all of the development proposals. Also, thereafter we will follow a statutory process related to the development applications, meaning, the public will be able and encouraged to submit comments during a public participation process," said the city’s Mayoral committee member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Marian Nieuwoudt.

"We want residents and local communities adjacent to these sites to be involved."

All four sites were appropriate for higher density developments that will include a mix of land uses and community services. 

The city encourages proposals that also include affordable housing opportunities for a range of income groups with a variety of topologies and tenure options. The proposals must enhance the urban environment and improve the quality of life for residents from the area.

The projects will have to reduce energy demand, use energy efficiently, and use renewable energy, or low-carbon energy. Proposals should also address other elements of urban sustainability and include features that address water and energy conservation, sustainable materials, green mobility and so forth.