No Messing in Bonteheuwel’: the Role of Social Capital and Partnership Building in Sustainable Community Development
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Wetenskaplike artikels• Research articles ‘No Messing in Bonteheuwel’: The role of social capital and partnership building in sustainable community development Wilmot Arendse & Zarina Patel 1. INTRODUCTION Peer reviewed and revised The introduction of Local Agenda 21 at the Rio Earth Summit has increased the impetus and Abstract momentum for addressing the This article focuses on a community-development programme (case study) in imperative of building sustainable Bonteheuwel on the Cape Flats, viz. ‘No Messing in Bonteheuwel’. In a period of just over a decade, this community has transitioned from a degraded natural, built and communities globally. This imperative social environment to one where the community have cohered to realise a vision of has had particular purchase as a a place of which they are currently proud. This case study adds to the understanding policy objective in South Africa since of sustainable community development, by tracing the transition from a vicious to a the mid-1990s, in a context where virtuous cycle of community development. The development of social capital within addressing community development the community, coupled with the development of partnerships and the building of needs in deprived communities trust with local government, have been identified as key ingredients in this transition. The benefits derived from the current virtuous cycle for the Bonteheuwel community became a new and urgent focus of as well as local government are demonstrated. This article contributes towards local authorities across the country the understanding of how to foster sustainable communities, and is, therefore, of with the transition to democracy. relevance to local governments and policy-makers. The case study of ‘No Messing in Bonteheuwel’ is presented as ‘NO MESSING IN BONTEHEUWEL’: DIE ROL VAN MAATSKAPLIKE a positive illustration of how the KAPITAAL EN VENNOOTSKAPSBOU IN VOLHOUDBARE objective of building a sustainable community can be achieved. GEMEENSKAPSONTWIKKELING Hierdie artikel, ‘No Messing in Bonteheuwel’, fokus op ’n gemeenskaps ontwikkelings- Bonteheuwel was built as a new program (gevallestudie) by Bonteheuwel op die Kaapse Vlakte. In net meer as ’n township to alleviate housing dekade het daar ’n oorgang in hierdie gemeenskap plaasgevind van ’n afgeleefde shortages for the ‘Coloured natuurlike, beboude en maatskaplike omgewing na ’n gemeenskap wat verenig is communities’ after the forced om ’n visie te verwerklik om ’n plek te skep waarop die mense trots kan wees. Hierdie gevallestudie dra by tot die begrip van volhoubare gemeenskapsontwikkeling deur removals in the 1960s. The die oorgang van ’n skadelike na ’n goeie kringloop in gemeenskapsontwikkeling population is comprised of by Bonteheuwel na te speur. Die ontwikkeling van maatskaplike kapitaal in die predominantly poor Afrikaans- gemeenskap, tesame met die ontwikkeling van vennootskappe en die bou van ’n speaking residents. Although, vertrouensverhouding met die plaaslike regering, is as die sleutelelemente van initially, the area was largely formal, hierdie oorgang geïdentifiseer. Die voordele wat uit die huidige goeie kringloop vir a high housing demand means beide die gemeenskap van Bonteheuwel en vir die plaaslike regering spruit, word that living in backyard dwellings aangedui. Hierdie artikel dra by tot die begrip van hoe om die ontwikkeling van volhoubare gemeenskappe te bevorder en daarom is dit vir plaaslike regerings en is a reality for many residents vir beleidmakers van belang. (Morange, 2002; Crankshaw, Gilbert & Morris, 2000). The township grew rapidly for decades and so did ‘NO MESSING IN BONTEHEUWEL’: INDIMA YEZIMALI EZINKULU ZENTLALO crime, poverty and environmental NOKWAKHIWA KOBUHLAKANI KUPHUHLISO OLULUQILIMA LOLUNTU degradation. Whilst Local Agenda Eli phepha elithi, ‘No Messing in Bonteheuwel’, lijoliswe kwiprogramu yokuphuhlisa 21 emphasises the need for local uluntu lwaseBonteheuwel kwiiCape Flats. Kwisithuba nje seminyaka elishumi, aba bahlali baye batshintsha ukusuka ekubeni yindawo ewohlokileyo ngokwendalo, communities to work with local izakhiwo nakwintlalo yaba luluntu olumanyeneyo ekudaleni indawo olunokuzidla government to address local ngayo. Olu phando longeza kwindlela esiluqonda ngayo uphuhliso loluntu problems, this imperative is not oluqhubekayo ngokuphanda ngokuphucuka kophuhliso loluntu lwaseBonteheuwel always straightforward to achieve. lusuka kokungento lwaza lwenza inkqubela. Ukuphuhliswa kwekhapitali yentlalo kule The community’s dissatisfaction with ndawo, kunye nokuphuhliswa kwentsebenziswano nokuthembana norhulumente the environmental problems provided wengingqi, kuye kwaye kwachazwa njengondoqo kolu tshintsho. Iinzuzo ezifunyenwe a catalyst for the Bonteheuwel kule nkqubela kokubini kuluntu lwaseBonteheuwel nakurhulumente wengingqi ziyabonakala. Eli phepha linegalelo ekuqondeni kwethu indlela yokuqhuba uphuhliso community, local government kwiindawo ezinenkqubela kwaye, ngenxa yoko, libalulekile koorhulumente bengingqi and community leaders to work nakubasunguli bomgaqo-nkqubo. together towards a common goal Mr Wilmot Arendse, City of Cape Town, Department of Social Development & Facilitation, 7th floor Standard Bank Building, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa. Phone: 021 444 0718, email: <[email protected]> Dr Zarina Patel, African Centre for Cities and Environmental and Geographical Sciences, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa. Phone: 021 6504306, email: <[email protected]> 1 SSB/TRP/MDM 2014 (65) of addressing the environmental Knowledge Transfer Programme. relationships within the community. challenges. The metaphor of ‘vicious One of the objectives of the The second focus is on partnership- and virtuous cycles’ coined by Knowledge Transfer Programme is to building, specifically between Putman (1993), Cavaye (2000: 11), give legibility to policy processes by communities and local government. and Winters & Rifkin (2003: 43), documenting exemplars from the City Together, these two approaches who argue that virtuous cycles result of Cape Town that can assist in the provide a conceptual approach for in high levels of cooperation, trust, identification of alternate transition understanding the shift between civic engagement and collective pathways to achieve sustainable a vicious and virtuous cycle of well-being, which are characteristics development. City Officials were community development. of a civic community (which will act selected on a competitive basis and partake in collective local actions to work with writing partners at 3.1 Social capital to solve environmental problems). the University of Cape Town to Indicators of sustainable community The metaphor of vicious and virtuous document their experience of policy development include the efficient use cycles is used in this instance to development and implementation of space, minimising the consumption trace a shift from a destructive to at the City. This article is part of this of essential natural capital (Roseland, a constructive cycle of community process. 2005: 10-15), increasing local development in Bonteheuwel. As such, the case study of economic diversity, self-reliance, Through this common ambition, the community development in reduction in the use of energy, community and local government Bonteheuwel has been a key project careful management and recycling worked together for the first time, in which the City Official in this of waste products, protection and building trust and relationships writing partnership has been involved enhancement of biological diversity, that have endured over more between 1999 and 2010. First-hand and careful stewardship of natural than ten years. The ‘No Messing experience of working with the resources (Bridger & Luloff, 2001: in Bonteheuwel’ programme was community of Bonteheuwel, together 379-383). Together with these initiated in 1999 by the Department with documentation that arose from quantitative indicators, factors of Community Development and the project, including minutes and including increasing social capital Liaison in the City of Cape Town and agendas of meetings, workshop and mobilising citizens and their community leaders in Bonteheuwel reports, evaluation reports and governments to achieve these goals, as a classic clean-up campaign newspaper articles, constitute the as well as the fostering of social which led to a series of activities and primary data.1 justice are also identified as being actions by the community and local critical components of sustainable government in partnership. community development (Roseland, This article mainly focuses on 3. CONCEPTUAL APPROACH 2005: 10). Bridger & Luloff (2001: partnerships between local The approach used for understanding 383) and Dale & Newman (2010: 5) government and local communities community development over a argue that developing social capital in the effective delivery of services period of time in Bonteheuwel is in a community is one of the priority and the creation of positive change described as a shift from a vicious factors that need to be enhanced in local areas, as recommended by to a virtuous cycle of community in the development of sustainable Local Agenda 21. development. The first entry point communities in the future. to understand the shifts from one The term ‘social capital’ emerged in cycle to another draws on the 2. METHODOLOGICAL writings by authors such as Bourdieu literature on social capital, focusing (1986), Coleman (1988: 98) and APPROACH on the development