Durban Resilience Strategy 2017 Approved by eThekwini Municipality Council
LONG VERSION Summary timeline of Durban’s Phase 2 resilience journey It should be noted that Phase 1 of Durban’s resilience journey is summarised in the Preliminary Resilience Assessment1 document.
JANUARY - APRIL 2016 APRIL - JUNE 2016 JUNE - DECEMBER 2016 JUNE 2016 - FEBRUARY 2017 JANUARY - JUNE 2017
STEP 1: Systems analysis of Durban’s STEP 2: Identifying Resilience Building STEP 3: Exploring and understanding the STEP 4: Human Benefit Analysis STEP 5: Refining areas for implementation and Resilience Focus Areas Options for Durban Resilience Building Options for Durban finalising Durban’s Resilience Strategy
INTENTIONS & KEY OUTCOMES
The purpose of the systems analysis was to identify catalytic Given the wide scope of the ‘levers for change’, it was necessary to In order to explore the two RBOs more fully, a series of Based on prior climate adaptation work undertaken in Durban, a The purpose of this step was to refine the outcomes and and systemic intervention points that would address the identify more specific issues that would allow multiple ‘levers for conversations with a cross-section of stakeholders was convened in Human Benefit Analysis (HBA) Tool was developed to assess the interventions that had been identified for each of the RBOs barriers to resilience identified in Phase 1 of Durban’s change’ to be addressed in a focused and comprehensive way. It order to identify the key actors and issues for each of the RBOs and potential benefits of each RBO outcome in terms of the human during the stakeholder engagement process and in discussion resilience journey in a comprehensive manner. Six cross-cutting was also intended that these ‘resilience building options’ (RBOs) to understand potential resilience related interventions (linked to benefit achieved relative to the cost of the intervention. It was with the reference group established for RBO 1. Inputs were resilience ‘levers for change’ were prioritised through the should be transformative in their impact (given the understanding the ‘levers for change’) associated with each. The outcome was the determined, however, that the use of the tool as a prioritisation then consolidated and formed the basis of Durban’s draft systems analysis: Strengthen local communities and build outlined in the PRA that resilience is an important contributor to development of an actor map for each RBO; a narrative capturing mechanism would probably be more appropriate during the Resilience Strategy. Inputs on the draft Resilience Strategy social cohesion; Improve the effectiveness of education and systemic transformation) as well as feasible and implementable. the key issues relating to each RBO; and possible resilience implementation phase of the Resilience Strategy. were sought from: administrative leadership, local government skills development; Promote economic growth in line with 21st Two RBOs were identified as the initial pillars for Durban’s enhancing interventions for each. Further stakeholder engagement technical sectors, members of the public and the political century trends and opportunities; Manage environmental Resilience Strategy: ‘Collaborative informal settlement action’ (RBO was then undertaken in order to help identify and input into the portfolio committees, and were used to refine and finalise assets more effectively; Create a more inclusive and integrated 1) and ‘Integrated and innovative planning at the interface drafting of preliminary resilience outcomes and interventions for Durban’s first Resilience Strategy. spatial plan; and Improve municipal effectiveness. between municipal and traditional governance systems’ (RBO 2). each of the RBOs and to secure endorsement and support for these.
WHAT DID WE DO?
• Engaged Durban’s Global Strategy Partner (Dalberg) to • Facilitated stakeholder engagement to identify the RBOs. • Built an initial understanding of the RBOs and key stakeholders and • Further developed an existing HBA Tool. • Developed a draft Resilience Strategy. undertake the Systems Analysis. • Undertook public consultation to secure support for the issues associated with each. • Tested the HBA Tool with stakeholders. • Facilitated stakeholder engagement in reviewing Durban’s draft • Gathered data and identified underlying systemic challenges. proposed RBOs. • Deepened understanding of the RBOs through focused engagements. Resilience Strategy. • Identified priority ‘levers for change’ that would be critical • Convened public engagements to seek input into and endorsement of • Consulted with political leadership in order to secure final to achieving resilience in Durban. the preliminary resilience outcomes and interventions for each RBO. approval and sign off for Durban’s Resilience Strategy • Evaluated and responded to developments in the global climate change policy context relevant to the RBOs. • Reflected on the potential resilience dividend for each RBO.
WHAT DID WE LEARN?
• External perspectives help advance conversations. • Local knowledge is required to determine final resilience priorities. • Use experts and external thinkers where detailed subject knowledge is • Evaluation tools provide a framework to facilitate deeper and more • Active engagement of stakeholders with sector-specific • Local knowledge is critical in informing process outcomes. • High level concepts need to be translated into practical and not available in the project team. focused resilience conversations. knowledge strengthens strategy content. • The availability of accurate and reliable urban data is critical. implementable options. • Working collaboratively is important in areas of work that cut across • The HBA Tool may be helpful in prioritising interventions within each • Establishing a focused reference group creates an • Considerable resources are required to undertake citywide • Opportunities for strategic level interventions with a high resilience sectoral and departmental mandates. outcome during the implementation phase. opportunity to build relationships and strengthen support processes. dividend may also have a high risk of failure if the challenges are • Build knowledge and networks to facilitate greater support for new for future implementation during strategy development. complex and intractable. areas of work. • Transparent and regular communication with stakeholders is important in managing expectations. • Actor maps are a useful tool in facilitating discussions around issues in specific work areas. • Resilience priorities in cities like Durban are likely to be strongly associated with prevailing developmental, governance and political challenges.
100RC PILOT PROJECTS 2012 - ONGOING
RESILIENCE FRAMEWORK PILOT PROJECT BIODIVERSITY SKILLS PROJECT TAKE BACK OUR RIVERS EXTERNAL THINKERS AND FACILITATORS ONGOING PROCESS: Establishing a Sustainability and Resilience Function This pilot project was initiated in response to on-going environment In Phase 1 of 100RC in Durban, the 2015 microeconomics pilot The ‘Take Back Our Rivers’ project was initiated by local External thinkers and facilitators were engaged to help the Durban -development conflict in the north of Durban, where natural ecosystems project study confirmed the skills gap and mismatch that exists in conservancy groups in order to restore the ecological health and Team to explore new ideas, incorporate multiple perspectives and (and wetlands in particular) have been significantly compromised by Durban between job opportunities and the training and experience human amenity of selected rivers through river assessments, test new methodologies in areas of work that were beyond their The creation of a dedicated sustainability function in the City past unsustainable development. A working relationship was formalised of Durban residents. Practical experience has demonstrated that rehabilitation and various restoration strategies and community core expertise and experience. This helped to strengthen the Manager’s Office was first proposed by the (then) City Manager between two significant land-owners and eThekwini Municipality (ETM) this skills gap is particularly acute in the Biodiversity field and action. This initiative recognised that local government alone could credibility of the resilience work and ensure that the outcomes in 2012. This resulted in the creation of a new strategic post to develop a Resilience Framework that could more adequately consider amongst previously disadvantaged communities. In response to this not address all these challenges in Durban. A pilot project was emerging from the process were as accurate and relevant as (Head: Sustainable City Initiatives). Ongoing discussions since the role of both natural ecosystems and the built environment in urban challenge, the Biodiversity Skills Pilot Project was initiated as a way initiated in the Aller River catchment in Durban and funding was possible. 2012 linked to the functions of this post and informed by design and planning. A ‘strategic wetland management framework’ of building the capacity of learners from previously disadvantaged provided by eThekwini Municipality in recognition of the changes in global policy (e.g. the approval of the SDGs) and the and ‘composite offset approach’ have been developed through this backgrounds and providing mentorship and skills development importance of natural assets to long-term urban resilience. Through growing global resilience debate, have resulted in the mandate process. The current focus of the work is on incorporating these that will facilitate tertiary level studies in the Life Sciences generally this pilot, important insights have been gained into building for this post being expanded to incorporate a resilience approaches into Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) applications and Biodiversity specifically. This project will provide important partnerships with local conservancies and facilitating community component. The Head: Sustainable and Resilient City Initiatives and considering options for long term financing and management of insights into how eThekwini Municipality can partner with relevant mobilisation to improve natural resource management. and associated Unit (still to be developed) are located in the the resulting offset areas. This work has provided insights into the best skills building organisations and research institutions in order to Office of Strategic Management in the Office of the City Manager approaches to navigate complex partnerships between institutions with understand and address the critical skills gaps in Durban. and will play a central role in coordinating the implementation of different interests and mandates, and the interventions and changes sustainability and resilience initiatives in Durban. required to translate new resilience ideas into practical and implementable interventions in the context of an existing regulatory and 1 policy environment that does not prioritise resilience. EThekwini Municipality (2015) Durban’s Preliminary Resilience Assessment: An overview of Durban’s Resilience Journey from September 2013 to August 2015. LAUNCH OF 100 RESILIENT CITIES DURBAN'S 100 RESILIENT CITIES PROGRAMME PROGRAMME
2013 PHASE 1 • 2013 2015 PHASE 2 • 2016 2017
START POINT RESILIENCE ISSUES AND FOCUS AREAS SYSTEMS ANALYSIS RESILIENCE BUILDING OPTIONS RBOs FINALISING THE RESILIENCE STRATEGY
RESILIENCE ISSUES RESILIENCE FOCUS AREAS
LEADERSHIP COLLABORATIVE INFORMAL BOLD AND PARTICIPATORY DURBAN'S STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT SETTLEMENT ACTION GOVERNANCE RESILIENCE GOVERNING SYSTEMS LEVERS FOR CHANGE RESILIENCE STRATEGY OUTCOMES STRATEGY INNOVATION 6 EThekwini Municipality has a committed team of champions that are EThekwini Municipality has enabling and integrated administrative INFORMATION & KNOWLEDGE KNOWLEDGE-CENTRED supported by co-ordinating institutional structures to ensure systems and simplified regulatory procedures that facilitate the CITY collaborative informal settlement action. accelerated implementation of municipal-wide, collaborative informal DURBAN’S RESILIENCE settlement upgrading and partnerships. EDUCATION & CAPACITY BUILDING 1 Strengthen local communities RBO 1 Consolidated quantitative and qualitative community and STRATEGY IS DIVIDED and build social cohesion municipal-collected data, information and knowledge on all informal Collaborative monitoring and evaluation of informal settlement INTO FOUR SECTIONS: AFRICAN URBANISM SYSTEMS settlements in Durban is accessible to all and updated regularly. upgrading interventions is institutionalized in eThekwini Municipality. Improve effectiveness of education EThekwini Municipality facilitates the establishment of proactive, innovative SERVICES & INFRASTRUCTURE The use of land for informal settlements is proactively managed in Durban. 2 and skills development and municipal-wide partnerships to develop and execute collaborative, ANALYSIS climate-smart and sustainable informal settlement upgrading. INNOVATIVE All informal settlements in Durban exhibit improved social, economic SPATIAL PLANNING Resilience Building Option 1: Collaborative PLACE-MAKING EThekwini Municipality secures the human and financial resources and environmental well-being, which in turn enhances Durban’s 1 OF THE 6 Promote economic growth in line with informal settlement action. required to undertake collaborative, municipal-wide informal resilience. ARTS & CULTURE 3 21st century trends and opportunities RESILIENCE settlement upgrading. HEALTH FOCUS AREAS Resilience Building Option 2: Integrated and SUSTAINABLE AND Manage environmental assets 2 innovative planning at the interface between ENVIRONMENTENVIRONMENT ECOLOGICAL CITY 4 more effectively municipal and traditional governance systems. INTEGRATED AND INNOVATIVE PLANNING AT ECONOMY CATALYTIC AND Create a more inclusive and Exploring potential ‘bridging links’ which TRANSFORMATIVE ECONOMY 5 integrated spatial plan THE INTERFACE BETWEEN MUNICIPAL AND 3 focus on additional considerations for SOCIAL COHESION TRADITIONAL GOVERNANCE SYSTEMS further expansion of the resilience work. INEQUALITY Improve municipal effectiveness RBO 2 EQUITABLE AND 6 RESILIENCE STRATEGY OUTCOMES Institutionalising resilience in GENDER 4 INCLUSIVE SOCIETY eThekwini Municipality. SOCIETAL VALUES Secure institutional support for the process of integrating planning between municipal and traditional governance systems. Prior to the application to 100RC, the Durban Team convened a CRIME AND SAFETY number of local government technical departments to secure Consultation process in April 2016 with support for Durban’s potential The Durban Team engaged a broad range of Durban stakeholders, which included a cross-sectoral Municipal Technical Consultation process in January Consultation and Feedback process in Consultation process in June Consultation process in Consultation process in September Consultation process in November Consultation process in January 2017 Consultation process in Feburary Consultation process in Feburary 2017 Consultation process in March and critical thinkers, cross-sectoral Municipal Technical participation in 100RC. This process Team, city and political leadership, a group of ‘critical thinkers’ from within and outside the Municipality as well as a 2016 with the Municipal Technical Team, March 2016 with the Municipal Technical 2016 with the public to share June 2016 with a 2016 with a cross-section of 2016 with the Municipal Technical with a Multi-Stakeholder Working Group 2017 with the Reference Group for RBO with the Reference Group for RBO 1 and cross April 2017 with the Municipal Technical Team and the Environmental sectors to share also helped to build administrative range of stakeholders such as tertiary institutions, NGOs, business and members of the public to ensure that the City Planning Commission, and the Team, City Planning Commission and the public final outcomes of the systems cross-section of stakeholders stakeholders to confirm the issues and Team to refine the outcomes and and the public to refine the outcomes and 1 and the public to finalise outcomes sectoral stakeholders to apply the Human Team, public, city and political leadership on outcomes of the systems analysis and to identify support for 100RC in Durban. resilience strategy development process was representative of the challenges facing Durban. public for the systems analysis process. on the systems analysis “levers for change.” analysis and to confirm the RBOs. to explore the RBOs. to identify interventions for the RBOs. interventions for the RBOs. interventions for the RBOs. and interventions for the RBOs. Benefit Analysis to outcomes for RBO 1. Durban's draft Resilience Strategy. the RBOs.
DURBAN TIMELINE 25 MONTHS 19 MONTHS
100RC TIMELINE 2 3 MONTHS 6 8 MONTHS
DECEMBER 2013 DECEMBER 2013 DECEMBER 2015 JANUARY 2016 APRIL 2016 JUNE SEPTEMBER 2016 MARCH MAY 2017 Durban was selected as one Understanding resilience in Durban: Durban’s resilience Undertaking a systems analysis of the resilience focus areas: Phase 2 began with a ‘Systems Analysis’ of the resilience focus areas Understanding the Resilience Building Options in Durban: In order to explore and understand these RBOs more comprehensively, a series of conversations with a cross-section of stakeholders Finalising Durban's Resilience Strategy: Durban's draft Resilience of the first 32 cities to be journey began with a scoping phase in 2014 to understand some of to identify systemic intervention points that could have catalytic impact across multiple resilience focus areas. Six cross-cutting resilience was convened to understand the key actors and issues for each of the RBOs and to understand potential intervention points for each. The outcome of this work was the development of an actor map for Strategy was presented to the Municipal Technical Team, Strategic included in the Rockefeller the key resilience challenges in Durban. Eighteen resilience issues “levers for change” were identified: Lever 1: Strengthen local communities and build social cohesion; Lever 2: Improve effectiveness of each of the RBOs, a narrative capturing the key issues relating to the RBOs, and possible interventions for each. Management Executive Team, political leadership and members of the public Foundation’s international were identified. Given the interconnectedness of the resilience education and skills development; Lever 3: Promote economic growth in line with 21st century trends and opportunities; Lever 4: Manage in order to gather feedback on the outcomes and interventions proposed, 100 Resilient Cities issues, it was decided that all eighteen resilience issues, grouped environmental assets more effectively; Lever 5: Create a more inclusive and integrated spatial plan; and Lever 6: Improve municipal OCTOBER 2016 MARCH 2017 before Durban’s Resilience Strategy was finalised and approved by full Programme. into six focus areas, would be taken forward into the next phase of effectiveness. Refining the proposed interventions for the Resilience Building Options: The preliminary outcomes and interventions for each of the RBOs were consolidated and refined through further local Council. the strategy development process. The resilience focus areas were: government and multi-stakeholder engagement. Climate change was also considered in the framing of interventions. Public meetings were held to confirm the outcomes and interventions and a Bold and Participatory Governance, Knowledge-centred City, APRIL 2016 JUNE 2016 multi-stakeholder Reference Group was established to work with the 100RC team to finalise the RBO 1 outcomes and interventions for Durban’s Resilience Strategy. In a parallel workstream, a Human Innovative Place-making, Sustainable and Ecological City, Catalytic Identifying Resilience Building Options for Durban: Given the breadth of the ‘levers for change’ stakeholders were asked to identify more Benefit Analysis methodology was developed to assess the human benefit of the RBO outcomes and interventions. and Transformative Economy, and Equitable and Inclusive Society. specific ‘resilience building options’ (RBOs) that could address multiple levers simultaneously, be transformative in their impact and be practically Phase 1 of 100RC culminated in the development of Durban’s implemented. Two priority resilience building options were identified: RBO 1: Collaborative informal settlement action and RBO 2: Integrated Preliminary Resilience Assessment (PRA). and innovative planning at the interface between municipal and traditional governance systems. These were endorsed by stakeholders. 6 7
Contents
1 Executive Summary 30
2 Context for Durban’s Resilience Strategy 34 Background to Durban 35 Critical Ideas emerging from Durban’s Preliminary Resilience Assessment 36 Local and global shifts that have influenced the development of Durban’s Resilience Strategy 38
6 Work areas for Phase 2 of Durban’s 100RC Programme 40 Step 1 | Systems analysis for Durban’s resilience focus areas 41 Step 2 | Identifying ‘Resilience Building Options’ for Durban 43 Step 3 | Exploring and understanding the Resilience Building Options for Durban 45 Step 4 | Human Benefit Analysis 52 Step 5 | Refining areas for implementation and finalising Durban’s Resilience Strategy 54 ONGOING | Establishing the Sustainability and Resilience Functions 55
7 An overview of Durban’s 100RC Pilot Projects 56
8 Durban’s Resilience Strategy 62 Critical principles that inform the RBOs and Resilience Strategy 63 Resilience Building Option 1: Collaborative informal settlement action 70 Resilience Building Option 2: Integrated and innovative planning at the interface between municipal and traditional governance systems 102 Exploring potential ‘bridging links’ 113 Institutionalising resilience in eThekwini Municipality 114 Summary of Durban’s Resilience Strategy 116
9 Monitoring and evaluating the implementation of Durban’s Resilience Strategy 124
10 Reflections on the 100RC Programme 126
11 Concluding comments 129
12 Acknowledgements 130
13 Glossary of Terms 131
14 Reference list 132 8 FOREWORD | 9
Message from the Mayor
The key strategic question for the 21st Century is “how can cities survive and thrive in an increasingly unpredictable world and respond effectively to the unprecedented challenges associated with inter-related social, economic, political and environmental risks?” In a world where the majority of people now live in cities, it is necessary to think about how we all contribute to sustainable, resilient and equitable urban development. African cities in particular face multiple challenges in a context of persistently high levels of poverty and unemployment, and these are further complicated by emergent risks such as climate change and the fact that the current unsustainable development pathway is approaching, and in some sectors exceeding, the planetary boundaries of life sustaining earth systems. Given this complex, and often unpredictable state, Foreword building urban resilience in an African city such as Durban will need to focus on preparing our city for both current and future change, and ensuring that the required partnerships and institutional flexibility are in place to respond more effectively to these challenges. In Durban, the resilience discussion amongst a broad range of stakeholders over the last 3 years has identified six ‘levers for change’ that provide important focal points for determining where we should act in order to build MAYOR ZANDILE GUMEDE a more resilient, sustainable and equitable Durban: Strengthening local communities and building social cohesion; Improving the effectiveness of education and skills development; Promoting economic growth in line with 21st century trends and opportunities; Managing environmental assets more effectively; Creating a more inclusive and integrated spatial plan; and Improving municipal effectiveness. Using these ‘levers for change’ as a diagnostic filter, two initial resilience building options have been identified where focused action could have broader catalytic impact and help transform our city. These two resilience building options are focused on: ‘Collaborative informal settlement1 action’ and ‘Integrated and innovative planning at the interface between municipal and traditional governance systems’. Addressing these two issues however, requires that we think differently about what role we as local government might play in: promoting genuine participatory engagement with a range of stakeholders; and actively facilitating the development of more innovative responses that are informed by appropriate knowledge and implemented through new partnerships. We must also remain responsive to emerging global trends such as the need to address climate change and increase sustainability. This represents a significant challenge for local government, but also a major opportunity to forge alternative development pathways that will promote wellbeing, inclusivity, equity and sustainability.
1 For the purposes of Durban’s Resilience Strategy, an informal settlement is regarded as: a collection of structures, that are made out of basic materials, without local government approval (illegal), lacking basic services, often built on marginal land, and without tenure agreements or complying with planning or building regulations. 10 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy FOREWORD | 11
At the beginning of my term of office, as part of my 100 day pledge, I committed to a specific focus on rural development and human settlements. I am therefore particularly encouraged that Durban is focusing on issues of informal settlements and the Message from the City Manager dual governance system as the two pillars of the city’s first Resilience Strategy. In many ways, these two issues lie at the heart of many of the developmental and resilience challenges facing Durban, and they characterise the complex mix of issues facing most African cities: from the high level of informality that is increasingly part of the fabric of our cities, to the complexities of politics and governance that can hamper our ability to plan effectively for the future of our cities. These challenges prompt us to question the old model of African urbanism based on western ideals, and to build powerful new partnerships that drive transformative change and decolonise our thinking about the African city. In my position as Vice President of the African Region for C40 (a network of global cities committed to addressing climate change), I also support the idea that only climate-smart cities can be truly resilient, reducing vulnerability and risk for local communities and infrastructure, and reducing the impact on life supporting planetary systems.
The critical challenge that lies ahead of us is the translation of these bold ideas into action, and the difficult process of transforming people and institutional structures in a way that creates new partnership opportunities. I look forward to working with all stakeholders in Durban to ensure that we realise the ideals captured in Durban’s first Resilience Strategy.
Sipho Nzuza
In 2013, Durban began its ‘100 Resilient Cities (100RC)’ journey in order to better understand what resilience means in our complex and diverse city, and to unpack some of the most significant social, environmental, economic and governance challenges facing our communities, using new tools and approaches.
Our 100RC journey has now reached a key milestone with the development of the city’s first Resilience Strategy. Importantly, this strategy captures the views of the many individuals, experts and communities in Durban who have helped inform, shape and guide the way in which resilience is being framed and understood in our local context. The two resilience building priorities identified in Durban’s Resilience Strategy, ‘Collaborative informal settlement action’ and ‘Integrated and innovative planning at the interface between municipal and traditional governance systems’ provide the opportunity for bold and transformative areas of action. They speak to the complex and fundamental development challenges facing our city and provide an authentic and appropriate starting point for local level resilience action. At the same time, Durban’s Resilience Strategy also provides an opportunity to highlight the challenges facing many other African cities and many other cities globally. As a result, we look forward to sharing our resilience journey and the many lessons learnt with the 100RC African cohort of cities and the broader 100RC network. It is important to note that the delivery of the Resilience Strategy does not mark the end of our city’s resilience journey, but rather the start of a discussion around a new development agenda for the city. The implementation of the Resilience Strategy is likely to be both challenging and unpredictable, but we look forward to creating new partnerships with Durban’s stakeholders to build a more equitable, just, sustainable and climate safe city and world.
SIPHO NZUZA, CITY MANAGER EThekwini Municipality, Durban, South Africa 12 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy FOREWORD | 13
The inherent message in these two RBOs is that in cities like Durban, the resilience challenges are predominantly Message from the Chief Resilience developmental in nature, and may often be issues that remain invisible, ignored or sanctioned by the formal local 2 government processes, given their complex and systemic nature, and their roots in issues of politics and governance. Officer (CRO) Team Stakeholders have often commented that Durban’s Resilience Strategy has emerged with a focus on two of the most difficult issues in the city. But for us, it is critical that local government learns to work and engage in these complex spaces if we are to build truly resilient cities.
Durban’s specific focus on these two RBOs, rather than on multiple macro-level challenges, reflects our emerging understanding that in complex contexts where a range of systemic resilience challenges need to be addressed simultaneously, a useful starting point for transformative change might lie in ‘focusing in’ on specific areas or issues where these challenges manifest most clearly and immediately. It is proposed that this more focused approach to resilience building will ultimately have a catalytic impact across the broader local government system. We also have a sense that our work tells a very particular story about what it means to be an African city in a rapidly urbanising world; constantly balancing issues of social vulnerability, informality, ecological degradation, politics and governance as local leaders try to determine the most appropriate and sustainable development path for the city. Durban’s Resilience Strategy represents an important contribution to this debate, and we imagine that as the strategy continues to develop, it will ultimately extend far beyond the current RBOs.
In an effort to ensure that our work moves quickly from strategy to implementation, we have already implemented a number of pilot projects that have provided important learnings for future work. We have also worked hard to build the networks that will help leverage new partnerships and funding for implementation. In order to mainstream the work and effectively institutionalise it, we have also worked closely with the City Planning Commission that is responsible for producing the city’s new Development Plan, in order to ensure that the Resilience Strategy and the Development Plan are appropriately aligned.
As a city that is constantly learning, it is important for us to ensure that this 100RC experience becomes the basis for learning and sharing with other cities, and with the New York 100RC team who have spearheaded the international Jo Douwes, Debra Roberts and Manisha Hassan programme. We have therefore developed two documents: a longer and more comprehensive strategy document that details each step of the process we have followed in Phase 2, outlining the lessons learnt along the way, as well as a shorter strategy document which focuses only on the resilience strategy itself and the supporting contextual From the outset of Durban’s resilience journey, it was clear that this exploratory and exciting process would require information. We hope that our resilience story will be useful to other cities and that it may contribute to the debate and more than a single individual! Realising there was strength in numbers, a resilience team was created composed of Dr literature about what ‘resilience’ means in the context of African cities. We are very grateful to those who have worked Debra Roberts, Jo Douwes and Manisha Hassan. Since then, it has taken the insights and skills of all three individuals to with us on this journey and who will be key to the successful implementation of Durban’s first Resilience Strategy. We navigate the complex journey of stakeholder engagement, conceptual development, pilot initiatives and learning that look forward to the next steps! have helped deepen the understanding of what resilience means in Durban and highlight the critical issues that form the basis of the city’s first Resilience Strategy. This journey has been a fascinating one, and one where we have been amazed and humbled by the willingness of so many Durbanites to contribute their knowledge and time to the process.
The two resilience building options (RBOs) that have emerged from this process and that form the foundation of Durban’s first Resilience Strategy are testament to this “business unusual” process, with their focus on ‘Collaborative informal settlement action’ and ‘Integrated and innovative planning at the interface between municipal and traditional governance systems’.
2 This term refers to the CRO and two local government officials from eThekwini Municipality who assist Durban’s CRO with the development and implementation of the Resilience Strategy in Durban. These local government officials are currently employed in the Environmental Planning and Climate Protection Department. In the PRA, the term ‘Project Management Team’ was used to refer to the two officials supporting the CRO. 14 EXPLORATORY NON-PAPER | 15
Introduction
Durban’s Preliminary Resilience Assessment was introduced with a non-paper3 which made explicit our (the CRO team’s) early understanding of the term resilience, and the role it might play in influencing the city’s development path. In a similar fashion, Durban’s first resilience strategy is introduced by a non-paper which further clarifies Durban’s contribution to the broader resilience debate. It is our position that the sort of conceptual exploration recorded in these two non-papers is a critical part of the city’s resilience journey. Efforts to foster and support such enquiries should be central to the 100RC process if its aim is to be influential across the full science-policy-practice spectrum in cities. Given Durban’s similarities to other African cities, sharing our learnings is important to help shape how resilience emerges in such contexts. This non-paper has been developed together with our academic partners in order to ensure that the strategy reflects the critical debates in the prevailing resilience literature.
The non-paper first presents a brief review of both the resilience and contemporary urban development literature and then reflects on the different approaches adopted by 100RC and Durban in building resilience at the city scale. It describes the context and reasons for the selection of the two Resilience Building Options (RBOs) that are the central elements of Durban’s first Resilience Strategy, namely: 1) Collaborative informal settlement action and 2) Integrated and innovative planning at the interface between municipal and traditional governance systems and how these relate to the ‘levers for change’ identified in the city’s 100RC journey. Finally the non-paper reflects on Durban’s contribution to the Exploratory non-paper broader resilience debate.
Resilience and its framing in the Durban context
The concept of resilience is shaping science, policy and practice in cities across the world, through programmes such as the 100 Resilient Cities programme (100RC); the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR)’s Making Cities Resilient Campaign; UN Habitat’s City Resilience Profiling Programme; and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, the definitions and approaches adopted vary and therefore it is useful to explore how resilience is being framed.
The origins of resilience can be traced back to two main fields of inquiry: nature-society disciplines including ecology (Holling, 1996) and disaster risk management (Wisner et al, 1994; Cutter et al, 2008); and body-society disciplines, namely psychology (Rutter, 1987). Resilience has recently re-emerged as an approach to addressing environmental, socio-economic and political uncertainty, complexity and change. Cities, as a result of their concentration of the world’s population, resource consumption, environmental risks and ability to be innovative, have become sites of experimentation for building resilience in both theory and practice (Meerow et al, 2016). Consequently, knowledge and understanding about resilience is being built from a number of different disciplines and sites, resulting in diverse and contested definitions of, and approaches to it, as the global and local struggle for control over the concept of resilience plays out.
Resilience is defined by 100RC as “the capacity of individuals, communities, institutions, businesses, and systems within a city to survive, adapt, and grow, no matter what kinds of chronic stresses and acute shocks they experience” (www.100resilientcities.org, accessed 15/02/2017). Resilience is also defined in terms of ensuring that humanity operates within a safe space (defined by planetary boundaries), producing adaptive spatial, social and institutional forms that can deal with stress and withstand shocks in a context of uncertainty and unpredictability (Steffen et al, 2015; Braun, 2014; Rockström et al, 2009). In the socio-ecological systems (SES) literature, resilience is defined as the capability of a system to bounce back from a stress or a shock “such that it resumes its original configuration, shape, functional relationships or trajectory afterwards” (Welsh, 2013, p 1).
3 A non-paper is discussion paper which is does not form part of formal business. It is a way of introducing new ideas for discussion. 16 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy EXPLORATORY NON-PAPER | 17
This is determined by its responsiveness, ability to cope and learn, and its level of vulnerability and self-organisation According to the SER literature, representations of resilience need to be identified and deliberated by multiple actors to (Welsh, 2013; Folke, 2006). Many now argue that resilience is not only about bouncing back, but that it is also about ensure that the form of resilience that emerges in any particular city reflects the context, multiple voices, concerns and adaptation and transformation, so that systems ‘bounce forward’ to a new and more resilient state (Shaw, 2012; challenges of that city so as to enable transformation to a better world, rather than a life of constant adaptation (Duffield, Pisano, 2012; Meerow and Newell, 2016). The SES literature argues that there are three aspects that are central to 2011; Welsh, 2013; Swyngedouw, 2005). Exploitative systems can be extremely resilient, favouring certain social groups these discussions: resilience, adaptability and transformability (Pelling, 2011; Pisano, 2012). Resilience is when a socio- at the expense of others, implying that resilience is not always a desired state (Welsh, 2013). Resilience therefore needs to ecological system changes, but reverts back to its original critical thresholds. This stable trajectory is shifted through be considered in terms of who benefits, by whom and for what reasons or purposes (Friend and Moench, 2013; Meerow adaptability which is the capacity of the system to adjust responses to different internal and external stressors and and Newell, 2016). processes. Finally transformability is the ability of the system to cross thresholds producing new development trajectories, often through novelty and innovation at points of crisis (Pisano, 2012). Deliberate efforts to encourage resilience building ‘from below’ present opportunities to produce new relations between citizens and the state through the development of skills, new forms of engagement and the sharing of resources (Joseph, An alternate view to the SES literature is put forward by the socio-ecological relations (SER) approach to resilience which 2013 and Neocleous, 2013, cited in Wakefield and Braun, 2014). The SER approach to resilience requires flexibility, explores the relations between society and the environment and reflects on the role of power in these relations and how innovation, partnerships and the co-construction of knowledge. It has as its focus social and environmental justice, local they are constructed. From this perspective, power and politics impact on how resilience is defined and experienced in embeddedness and participatory governance. different contexts. Politics is a process whereby people have the right and the opportunity, as individuals or groups, to Both an SES and SER approach identify and analyse the relationships between society and the environment. An SES approach focuses on the components of a socio-ecological system, the causal relationships between them and how these relationships are connected to and influence each other. However, it does not explicitly focus on the politics or power relations in the system or how these components are produced or negotiated. An SER approach identifies and analyses socio-ecological relations as they emerge in a particular context, by focusing on how they construct and shape each other. It hence reveals the power and politics in the relationships between society and the environment.
The current framing of resilience has largely been as result of its conceptualisation by northern academic communities and the practices and experiences of cities in the north. Ziervogel et al (2017) call for a much deeper and more critical engagement with resilience in the global south, with a focus on African cities. This non-paper supports this approach as it identifies, and argues for different constructions of resilience which are relevant and meaningful to different socio-political and economic contexts, as reflected in the SER approach. It proposes that resilience for transformation, which takes into account “endogenous, locally situated processes, knowledges and norms” (Ziervogel et al, 2017), needs to be adopted in the South African and Durban context. This supports the approach suggested in the first exploratory non-paper in Durban’s PRA.
participate and deliberate in, and make judgements about, for example the resilience or sustainability of the city (Miller, 1980). This means that citizens can decide on the values and rules of society. However inequality is ever present. Authority is always assigned to some more than others, and some are able to exercise power more than others. Politics is therefore the process through which people construct, defend and change the rules and frameworks which inform how they live (Miller, 1980). It is about who gets what, when and how, and by whose knowledge and power. It also can lead to the resolution of conflict and contestation through negotiation and deliberation. Resilience invokes politics as it provides opportunities for critical engagement around, and negotiation about, the material changes, processes and pathways that lead to more sustainable societies. It therefore has the potential to develop more inclusive governance processes which produce more sustainable resilience programmes (Biermann et al, 2015). 18 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy EXPLORATORY NON-PAPER | 19
FRAMING DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO THE 100RC RESILIENCE DEVELOPMENT OF A RESILIENCE STRATEGY
Situating the Durban 100RC process within these dominant approaches to resilience The global resilience An important platform for literature suggests that 100RC exploring the spectrum of resilience is framed differently city resilience action. The 100RC City Resilience Framework (CRF) was designed as a universal framework that provides the lens and drivers depending on the discourse of change to guide the development of resilience in the 100RC cities, enabling them to build their strategies, and to and context that is applied. PRINCIPLES OF 100RC’S APPROACH: compare and share knowledge. The CRF contains four critical dimensions of urban resilience: health and well-being; Two examples are given. • Resilience is understood by seeing the city as economy and society; infrastructure and environment; and leadership and strategy, with each dimension underpinned a system. by three drivers. It identifies seven qualities of resilience as critical to achieving greater resilience in cities across the world • The City Resilience Framework (CRF) ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS THEORY (Arup and Rockefeller Foundation, 2013). An analysis of the CRF reveals that it has been shaped by a systems (SES) DRAWS MOSTLY FROM SOCIAL describes the common components of the city system that need to be considered when approach to resilience. While politics and power are implied in a few of the drivers, they are not explicitly recognised building urban resilience. and addressed. The CRF is therefore more systems-based than political and participatory. • The CRF is used as the starting point for stakeholder engagement to develop a Resilience Strategy. Only two of the drivers of the CRF address politics, namely the empowerment of a broad range of stakeholders and the promotion of cohesive and engaged communities, but in each of these drivers, politics and power are not the major 100RC provides a critical global platform through which to facilitate exploration focus. In empowering multiple stakeholders, the CRF states that stakeholders should be well informed, capable and SOCIAL ECOLOGICAL have access to information and education, that there must be communication between the state and its citizens and SYSTEMS THEORY A SPECTRUM OF ACTION IS around what urban resilience means for each city in the network. Cities like Durban provide important learning and insights that knowledge transfer should take place. However, this driver does not reflect on who produces resilience knowledge POSSIBLE IN CITIES, DEPENDING regarding what “resilience” means in different contexts. EMPHASIS IS ON: and who decides on what resilience means. It rather states that the empowerment of stakeholders will take place • Understanding resilience from ON THEIR CONTEXT through information sharing and knowledge transfer, implying that knowledge on resilience will travel from experts to a systems theory perspective
• Common characteristics of a ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS THEORY. stakeholders. It does not argue for ‘knowledge for resilience’ to be built through negotiation, deliberation and from resilient system. eg. flexible; DRAWS PARTLY ON SOCIAL RESILIENCE AS TRANSFORMATION AS the bottom up. It therefore does not embody politics in its approach to empowering stakeholders. In building cohesive reflective; integrated; END GOAL THE END GOAL inclusive etc. communities, the CRF argues for the need to build a collective identity and social networks, which will invoke politics. This is more relevant In cities where systems are still in • Understanding links between in cities with stable flux, and where there are However, it again does not explicitly address the question of how and by whom this collective identity and social resilience, adaptation and and well-established opportunities to craft alternative transformation networks will be built. It therefore does not foreground politics in the construction of resilience, reflecting rather a systems, that are development pathways to • Working within system being distabilized enhance human well-being and technical and systems based approach to resilience. thresholds through sustainable development, • Connections between environmental risk participatory processes that elements in a system and disasters. In explore political and governance The Durban 100RC team argues that while this SES informed framework may be suitable for certain cities, it does not such contexts, relations are important in adequately address the particular socio-economic and political contexts within which resilience will be embedded in resilience provides determining the nature of the an opportunity to desired city system. In such more complex or diverse cities such as Durban, where transformation is the end goal (see Figure 1). In such cities, a recover and improve contexts, resilience provides an resilience framework should be constructed from below, adopting participatory approaches, rather than being imposed SOCIAL ECOLOGICAL within the present opportunity to transform from the state. present state into a “new normal”. as a framework from above. In this way resilience should be defined by multiple actors in relation to each city’s particular RELATIONS THEORY geographical and historical context. Moench (2014) supports this approach as he argues that resilience should be built Social ecological relations theory through decentralised, multi-actor governance regimes, which recognise local system characteristics. Understanding the acknowledges systems theory but
puts emphasis on governance, DRAWS PREDOMINANTLY FROM SOCIAL
local context in terms of its geography (physical, social, economic, environmental, spatial and political characteristics) ECOLOGICAL RELATIONS THEORY unequal relations and politics. DURBAN helps to reveal the relations between the different elements of a system thereby identifying factors that contribute to emergent patterns of vulnerability and resilience (Moench, 2014). This approach contrasts with that of other cities, EMPHASIS IS ON: • Participatory governance PRINCIPLES OF DURBAN’S APPROACH: where an SES approach may be more relevant. Within the context of a programme such as 100RC, it is important to • Co-construction of knowledge acknowledge this variance across cities, and to accommodate it. Figure 1 reflects the way in which Durban differs from • Innovation • Consideration of thresholds (eg. in ecological the mainstream 100RC approach to developing a Resilience Strategy. • Social justice and financial systems) • The need for new governance • Transformational intent relations to shift systems
• Participatory • Co-creation of knowledge (around resilience and resilience priorities) • Strong grounding in local context • Adopting a participatory “bottom up” approach resulted in the prioritisation of six “levers for change” that provided the framework for developing Durban’s Resilience Strategy.
Figure 1: Depending on the city context, different approaches may be needed to build resilience. The 100RC programme provides an important platform for this spectrum of responses to be shared. 20 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy EXPLORATORY NON-PAPER | 21
Durban’s Preliminary Resilience Assessment (PRA), the first major output of Durban’s Resilience Strategy, contains an At the same time that cities have shifted their focus and role, the ways of managing cities and making decisions has exploratory non-paper which argued for a form of resilience which is open, flexible and transformative. Resilience is cross changed. The traditional approach of top-down hierarchical government has given way to governance. Multiple state cutting and it is not neutral or apolitical. It therefore requires an innovative and participatory approach which questions ‘for and non-state actors govern both within and outside the state, shaping decision making (Hajer and Wagenaar, 2003; whom’, ‘through whose knowledge and understanding’ and ‘by whom’ resilience should be built. The PRA also argued Swyngedouw, 2005). Social learning, adaptability and flexibility is required so that governing can take place horizontally that the construction of risk and resilience varies across communities and societies. Recognition of the multiple social rather than vertically, reflecting local contexts and conditions (Pike, 2004; Sowman et al, 2016). Those supporting the constructions of resilience, its political nature, the importance of the local context and the need for transformation have transformation of the city argue for the co-construction of knowledge to ensure that both expert and local, or tacit therefore shaped Durban’s resilience journey from the outset. knowledge shape policy and practice. Often it is the processes of participation and engagement which lead to real change, rather than the interventions that result from information exchange. Through deliberative dialogue, both power and cities Consequently, Durban’s process to develop its resilience strategy is far more reflective of a critical SER approach than are re-ordered and the state and citizens are empowered in decision making (Patel, 2014). Durban’s 100RC journey has the SES approach adopted by 100RC. This is because Durban has used a participatory process of building the resilience included stakeholder engagement, the co-production of knowledge and deliberation to ensure that a more grounded and strategy, drawing on the experience, struggles, contestations, insights and knowledge of multiple stakeholders in the city context appropriate resilience strategy is developed. and connecting them to, and embedding them in, the resilience process to ensure its longer term traction and sustainability. Rather than building a strategy through the direct transfer of the dimensions and drivers of the CRF into Durban’s Resilience Strategy, Durban’s process has been to construct its resilience strategy from within, reflecting on the socio-ecological and power relations in the city. Knowledge and understanding developed through an SES approach has been useful to, and has informed Durban’s resilience journey, such as the value of Rockström et al (2009) and Steffen et al’s (2015) environmental thresholds in shaping the early framing of resilience in the city. Reflecting on the definitions of and differences between an SES or SER approach has also been extremely helpful in the construction of Durban’s Resilience Strategy.
Contemporary urban development
New ways of understanding and responding to urban development are required in a world of uncertainty and change where more than half of humanity, over 3.5 billion people, live in cities. This will increase to 60% by 2030 (United Nations, 2016). Most of this urban growth will take place in the developing world at a pace much faster than the urbanisation of the developed world. Although the Cities Alliance and many other global and national organisations have promoted a vision of ‘slum free cities’, 828 million people still live in slums (United Nations, 2016). With this number increasing every year, the need for resilience is becoming more critical.
The rapid growth of urban areas is placing pressure on land, energy and water resources; on housing, water and sanitation services; on quality of life and social facilities; and is increasing global carbon emissions. However, cities also Building resilience in cities in the south also contributes to the development of new ways of understanding southern offer an opportunity for transformation as a result of their capacity to be innovative, govern for change and create and African urbanism. Cities in the south are growing rapidly within their own urban context, which reflects high levels more sustainable and just ways of living as a result of efficiency gains, human creativity, adaptability and technological of poverty, complex politics, informality, dual governance systems, low levels of services and in some cases high levels of innovation (United Nations, 2016). Most cities in the world are vulnerable to at least one natural disaster and so they environmental services that are under threat. As cities in the north face their own challenges due to the changing economic become important sites for finding new ways of dealing with environmental risk and addressing vulnerability. Floods, and political conditions in the developed world, their power on the global stage in shaping what a city should be, is being droughts and cyclones are the major risks facing cities and these have a strong climate change connection. However it is brought into question (Roy, 2014). Meanwhile, the economic powerhouses of the south, including India and China, are the insidious, less obvious creeping risk or chronic risk, characterised by poverty and the loading of environmental stress experimenting with new forms of urban development and social welfare, producing cities that are reshaping urban theory in poor and un-serviced living environments which undermines the improvement of quality of life. Chronic risk therefore (Roy, 2014). needs greater attention in creating a more resilient urban world. The first non-paper outlined the challenges of urbanism in Africa reflecting rapid urbanisation combined with poverty Cities can be defined according to their boundaries, population size, function and form, and their position in the (the highest percentage of urban slum dwellers in the word), rising informality, weak governance and limited pro-active global hierarchy of cities, or city-systems. However these more traditional definitions do not adequately reflect the planning. This is creating underfunded and poorly managed urban spaces with complex interconnected challenges or complexity and dynamic nature of contemporary cities. Cities are now defined as a nexus of multiple economic, social, ‘wicked problems’ which are difficult to address (Pieterse and Parnell, 2014; eThekwini Municipality, 2016). This form of environmental and political relations which constitute urban life. Cities are seen as the growth engines of the global urbanism, which is often socially unjust and unsustainable, produces and is reproduced by environmental degradation. economy, as social and political spaces for human development, as innovative spaces for resolving global environmental Rapid urban growth in Africa is also occurring in the context of an unprecedented global environmental crisis whereby challenges and more recently as experimental and critical spaces of building resilience. Cities now assume multiple roles, human actions have modified four out of nine critical earth system processes to the extent that they exceed proposed often shaping development, policy and practice in ways that extend way beyond the power and influence of their own planetary boundaries, risking the destabilisation of the earth system at a planetary scale and endangering human well- nation states. being and development opportunities (Steffen et al, 2015). 22 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy 23
However African cities also offer hope and opportunity for change as it is in these cities, over decades, that resilience has been built from the bottom up. Here the urban poor, in their efforts to ensure their ‘right to the city’, are continually adapting and building their resilience as they experience poverty, inequality and environmental risk. They find and navigate new pathways, some of which are resilient and transformative, through the daily challenges they face. In some cities they are supported by progressive and innovative local authority officials and civil society organisations who through their ‘will to govern’ help to build resilience. However, it is the loading of these challenges and environmental risks on the urban poor, and the ongoing structural socio-economic inequality they experience, which increases their vulnerability and reduces their resilience. Wilkinson and Pickett (2009) argue that addressing inequality leads to an improved quality of life for all, not just the urban poor and hence it is central to building resilience. This section of the non-paper provides the context and background to RBO 1, collaborative informal settlement action, and RBO 2, integrated and innovative planning at the interface between municipal and traditional governance systems. Cities of the south are therefore beginning to define the future of cities (Oldfield and Parnell, 2014). This means that new ways of understanding cities need to be developed that reflect both southern and northern urbanism to reveal the complex ways that cities across the world are changing. Durban’s 100RC journey has begun to do this by constructing its Resilience Understanding the context of RBO 1: Informal settlements in Durban Strategy from its own context, rather than applying the 100RC resilience framework developed from a northern, global perspective. Urban development in the global south is both uneven and unequal. Urban planning processes and capacity in these cities cannot keep up with the pace and intensity of urbanisation and the decompression of existing crowded settlements There are multiple scales at which action and intervention can take place and this makes resilience building complex within cities. As a result ‘slums’ or informal settlements have become ‘home’ to the urban poor, with 33% of urban and challenging. While many 100RC cities have opted to develop city-wide resilience interventions, Durban has chosen residents in the developing world living under such conditions (UN-Habitat, 2012). In South Africa informal settlements4 to embed its first resilience interventions in two city spaces which represent the resilience challenges facing the city: are defined according to their “lack of security of tenure; informality; poor and sub-standard building materials; lack informal settlements and areas under both municipal and traditional governance. The city is therefore focusing its resilience of access to services, although many informal settlements in South Africa are provided with basic services such as building at a local scale within the city, recognising that lessons learnt in these spaces, with their intense political struggles, communal tap points and rudimentary sanitation” (Sutherland, 2016, p 18). The distinctions between formality and environmental and social risk and new forms of governance and urbanism, can be up-scaled and used to develop resilience informality are not always clear (Roy, 2011), generating considerable conflict between the state and its citizens, but also more broadly in the city in the future. The city has selected two resilience building options (RBOs) which reflect the providing opportunities for building resilience at the formal/informal interface. complexity, politics, challenges and elements of risk and resilience in their most intense and profound form in the city, rather than attempting to address the CRF dimensions and drivers across the city scale. The following section presents the Informal settlements are often located on marginal sites exposed to high environmental risk and have limited social two RBOs for Durban, reflecting on why and how they have been used to “do things differently” and to “re-assemble facilities. However they also offer opportunities for the urban poor to claim their ‘right to the city’ as they are often well resilience” in the construction of Durban’s resilience strategy (Oldfield, 2014, p 7). located in terms of job seeking opportunities, are affordable and flexible, enable self-development, and exist as a result of well-established social networks that provide a buffer to reduce risk and vulnerability. As argued by Roy (2011, p 223) the slum should be viewed not in an apocalyptic way, but rather as a place of “habitation, livelihood, self-organisation and Overview of Durban’ Resilience Building Options politics”. The innovative spaces that are produced by the urban poor in cities should be viewed in light of the “flexibility, pragmatism, negotiation, as well as the constant struggle for survival and self-development” of the slum citizens (Bayat, 2007, p 579). These processes of ‘life in a slum’ reflect many aspects that resilience strategies hope to build. Informality The city of Durban represents a particularly valuable site to explore, define and enhance resilience due to its combination can be seen as a failure, a lack of development or a problem in cities by those tasked with managing them, but from the of high value environmental resources which are under pressure, rising climate change impacts, low economic growth, perspective of those who live and survive through informality, it creates social, economic and political opportunity when high levels of informality, inequality and poverty, low levels of citizen participation in decision making, high levels of the formal system has failed to provide such options. Informal settlements therefore already reflect high levels of adaptive social capital, already existing resilience and adaptation, and a dual governance system. These characteristics mean that, capacity and resilience. However the loading and combination of risk, a poor living environment with limited services, a increasingly, Durban has more in common with other African cities than with South African cities such as Johannesburg lack of knowledge, resources and technical capacity and insufficient municipal support around critical issues undermine and Cape Town. Durban also has a strong and well capacitated local government. It is a global leader in innovative this capacity, resulting in ongoing struggle and poverty. Local government has both a regulatory and management role and governance and experimental learning, particularly in environmental planning and climate adaptation, water and is mandated to improve the quality of life and reduce risk in the city. It therefore has to balance a more open, innovative sanitation delivery and the upgrading of informal settlements. The city therefore provides an excellent point of departure and flexible response to informality with the need to implement legislation and maintain ‘order’ and ‘rights’ in the city. for deliberating and building resilience in cities in the south, and particularly cities in Africa. Durban’s Resilience Strategy has therefore selected informal settlements as the focus of RBO 1 as they offer significant opportunity for addressing the ‘levers for change’ identified during Durban’s resilience journey. Under the 1994 Housing Rather than applying the CRF across the city to address the drivers of resilience (as defined in the CRF), Durban has chosen White Paper the dominant approach to housing the urban poor in South Africa has been through state-provided ‘free two pillars, or resilience building options (RBOs), around which to develop its resilience strategy, based on the way in basic housing’ for the poor. One of the critiques of South Africa and Durban’s mass delivery of RDP5 houses since 1994 which these RBOs address the resilience focus areas and ‘levers for change’ that emerged in the city’s resilience journey. is that this approach has not produced sustainable and integrated human settlements for the urban poor. In 2004 the The six levers are: strengthen local communities and build social cohesion; improve effectiveness of education and skills Breaking New Ground (BNG) policy was developed to address the shortcomings of the 1994 Housing White Paper. development; promote economic growth in line with 21st century trends and opportunities; manage environmental assets more effectively; create a more inclusive and integrated spatial plan; and improve municipal effectiveness. These two RBOs have emerged from multiple stakeholder engagements and a systems analysis as being two ‘spaces’ in 4 According to the South African National Housing Code informal settlements are identified according to their inappropriate locations, limited Durban which offer the best opportunities and benefits for defining, building and enhancing resilience. public and private sector investment, illegality and informality, poverty and vulnerability and social stress.
5 RDP houses are named as such as the state driven housing programme was associated with the national state’s Reconstruction and Development Programme which was developed in 1994 to guide transformation in South Africa. 24 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy EXPLORATORY NON-PAPER | 25
The BNG supported the upgrading of informal settlements, although the political will and commitment needed to Understanding the context of RBO 2: Integrated and innovative at the interface between municipal and support this approach was not realised (Huchzermeyer, 2011). This was followed by the introduction of the KwaZulu- tradtiional governance systems Natal Elimination and Prevention of Re-Emergence of Slums Act (2007). This was later taken up by national government and enables court orders to be issued to legitimise the demolition of informal houses. The Land Invasion Control City management in Durban is made more complex than other South African metropolitan municipalities as a result of Branch in eThekwini Municipality continues to remove new informal houses in existing settlements and in places where its dual governance system. The Municipality shares the governance of 38% of the municipal area (97 000 hectares), informal dwellers try to occupy land illegally. However, this is often a case of ‘stemming the tide’, as the Branch cannot located predominantly in its rural periphery, with 21 traditional councils (TCs). This municipal-traditional dynamic keep up with monitoring the growth of informal settlements. However, more recently the national Department of originated in 2000 with the national municipal demarcation process that led to the extension of the municipal boundary Housing has recognised that it cannot continue to deliver RDP housing at the pace and scale that is required and has over traditional or Ingonyama Trust (IT) land. The institution of traditional leadership is enshrined in the Constitution and issued statements, supported at the highest political level, that informal settlements will be upgraded in South Africa, governed by national and provincial legislation, operating in parallel to the democratic political system. This dual system forming part of the housing solution for the urban poor. is typical of the African context. In many African cities customary land tenure regimes operate alongside democratic local government structures due to the elevated or formalised status of traditional leaders (Ubink, 2007). The respective Durban has adopted a progressive approach to informal settlements, in many ways shaping national government governance roles of traditional councils, the Municipality and other governance actors at provincial and national level responses to informality and upgrading. The city accepts informal houses as part of the urban fabric and has developed within the IT landscape have resulted in a complex web of governance. While these roles are relatively separate in some innovative processes to deal with informal housing. It has engaged in different levels of informal settlement upgrades areas, in others they overlap creating governance challenges, particularly with respect to the relationship between the in partnership with organisations such as Slum Dwellers International (SDI) and Project Preparation Trust (PPT). The Municipality and traditional councils at a local level. Incremental Services Programme, which is implemented by the Municipality’s Human Settlements Unit, with the support of Engineering Services in eThekwini Municipality, provides community ablution blocks, pathways and, more recently, The Municipality’s efficient delivery of infrastructure services in IT areas, where a predominantly rural level of service is electricity to informal settlements that will not be relocated in the near future. being provided in terms of the Municipality’s differentiated services model (Sutherland, et al, 2014), is uncontested by traditional leadership. Meanwhile, traditional leaders’ role in upholding traditional values and promoting peace, stability The official housing backlog of informal settlements in Durban is 238 000 households, which means that just over 800 and social cohesion in traditional communities (KZN, 2005) is of value to the Municipality and its residents. However, 0006, or approximately 22.4% of the city’s population, live in informal settlements (eThekwini Municipality, 2017). The distinct challenges between traditional and municipal governance are being experienced in the sphere of customary Resilience Strategy therefore has the potential to address the risk and resilience of almost a quarter of the population of land tenure practices (traditional land allocation and leases) resulting in development that is largely unaligned with Durban supporting the choice of RBO 1 as a pillar of the strategy. Informal settlements are a critical element of housing municipal spatial plans and not subject to conventional land use planning control. Traditional land allocations on IT for the urban poor in Durban and therefore need to form part of the solution to the city’s housing challenges. They also land, mainly for residential use, have rapidly increased in recent years driven by a reverse migration of lower and middle reveal in their most intense form, the multiple socio-ecological and political relations and risks that constitute the city, income households, with citizens choosing to leave the townships and central urban areas in favour of the traditional providing a highly relevant and important space within which to understand, enhance and build resilience. If resilience can land tenure system and way of life (Sutherland, et al, 2016). Densification ‘hot spots’ have emerged that present the be enhanced in informal settlements in the city with their multiple connections to other parts of the city, then it can be Municipality with considerable servicing and other challenges and which threaten the long term resilience of the city built in other areas facing resilience challenges. and its communities in these areas of the city.
The resilience and adaptive capacity of Durban’s citizens is also reflected in RBO 2 through the efforts and strategic Customary law provides for traditional councils to allocate land to individuals for residential and subsistence purposes, decisions of residents across the income spectrum who access land through the traditional land allocation system. The next resulting in a customary land right although the state retains ownership (ITB, 2014). While land allocations occur without section contextualises traditional authority land in Durban and hence RBO 2. any municipal consultation, lease applications are reviewed by the Municipality. These customary land management practices are problematic for the Municipality because they are largely unaligned with its strategic spatial plans that provide development density, environmental and other guidelines to promote order, safety, efficient service delivery and the protection of the environmental resources within the city’s boundaries. The exclusion of most residential development from planning assessment in the absence of layout plans and/or land use schemes means that the Municipality is unable to direct and manage this rapid growth to strategically plan for infrastructure services delivery. Land allocation practices ignore road reserves and servitudes leading to bulk service provision challenges, and do not make adequate provision for pedestrian and vehicular access to individual sites.
At least 50% of IT land is of high environmental value and plays a critical role in providing environmental services to the whole city area. As land pressures grow, the allocation of marginal and environmentally sensitive land, such as floodplains, wetlands, steep slopes and the coastal zone has increased, putting households at risk from flooding and heavy rainfall events, especially in the context of climate change. The frequent allocation of land within important biodiversity areas that are critical to the long term sustainability of the city, is leading to the loss of indigenous forest and grassland areas and alien plant invasion. These changes have already had a considerable negative impact on the environmental services on which many residents depend (Sutherland, et al, 2016). Widespread illegal sand mining to support the increased building activity on IT land is damaging river banks, speeding up soil erosion and putting communities at risk. The installation of sanitation solutions by new households also presents a potential health risk for traditional communities, due to installation problems and the high density of development in some areas.
6 This assumes a household size of 3.4 people 26 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy EXPLORATORY NON-PAPER | 27
Water provision in the traditional communities is already a challenge with frequent water shortages being experienced. A Durban’s resilience strategy, through RBO 2, will therefore begin the process of addressing these challenges, opening up further risk is the loss of land previously allocated for agricultural and grazing purposes that could lead to food insecurity the space to negotiate and deliberate over new ways of planning and managing these areas. Given the politics and newly for the poor in traditional communities. Despite these very real risks and challenges, the IT areas provide a range of emerging understanding of these challenges, the Resilience Strategy has argued for integrated and innovative planning at opportunities and benefits to new households (Sim and Sutherland, 2017). The traditional system enables households to the interface between municipal and traditional governance systems. Interventions and actions in this space can only be legally gain access to land for a minimal cost compared with the private property market. Currently these households are developed once a political process to engage around RBO 2 has been established at the highest levels of municipal and not required to pay municipal rates or to abide by the costly building plan submission process. Access to free basic services traditional governance. that are efficiently provided by the Municipality is another drawcard. Approaching land use management in traditional areas through a partnership approach based on shared knowledge Beyond the financial benefits of moving to IT land, the traditional, rural lifestyle is also very attractive to new residents. production presents an alternative that can benefit other African cities facing similar challenges. Examples include the peri- For traditional leaders, and existing residents who ‘sell’ portions of their land allocation, this residential migration also urban areas of cities in Ghana and Cameroon where land falling under customary tenure is increasingly being allocated offers financial benefits. All of these benefits, at least in the short term, can contribute to increased household resilience. to ‘outsiders’ for residential use with detrimental results, including landlessness, food insecurity, increased poverty and Households are skilfully negotiating the traditional land tenure system and the municipal service provision system to secure social unrest (Ubink, 2007; Fisiy, 1992; Kasanga and Kotey, 2001). While unlike Durban, planning systems are already in their own serviced housing. Many households find themselves in the gap between eligibility for RDP housing and having place, these are unevenly applied and tensions between the traditional and municipal systems persist (Owusu-Ansah and the means to access the formal property market. The traditional land tenure system provides an opportunity for citizens to Braimah, 2013). If successful in promoting an integrated partnership approach between the two systems, Durban could build and ‘own’ a decent home in a short period time if they are able to fund the building costs without requiring a bond, offer useful lessons to similar African cities that enhance resilience towards transformation rather than misguided attempts as this would trigger the application of a formal lease through the IT. Nonetheless, these opportunities come with a range to enforce conventional planning in these contexts. of risks, including increasing inequality and class differentiation in some IT areas, the development of residential areas with no land use plans, the building of houses with no building plan approvals or controls, the development of housing on land which has been allocated for services or as servitudes, and a lack of grey and storm water management.
National planning legislation7 provides an opportunity for better land use management in IT areas through its requirement that municipalities prepare ‘wall to wall’ land use schemes by 2020. However, this has been delayed in Durban due to poor cooperative governance, engagement and understanding between the Municipality (at both political and administration levels) and traditional leadership. Traditional leaders are concerned that a scheme will undermine their customary powers and lead to municipal rates payment requirements. The Municipality is legally entitled to charge rates on IT land, in order to recoup some of its service provision investment in these areas.
However, it is hamstrung by the lack of cadastral information, street addresses and details on land rights beneficiaries, as well as lacking a model for fair property valuation in this context. Other legal challenges and the complexities of introducing conventional planning in a traditional context have all delayed the scheme requirement.
While the resilience challenges and risks in IT areas in Durban are wide-ranging, the underlying cause is predominantly governance related requiring the integration of governance across the municipal and traditional systems. This will require political will, sensitive engagement and a mutual willingness for shared learning and knowledge creation that may result in a new and hybrid form of land use management that respects and incorporates indigenous knowledge and local context. Recent research with a range of governance stakeholders in relation to the dual governance dynamics in traditional areas points to the need for a new governance approach that works with the traditional land tenure system, rather than imposing conventional land use management in this context (Sim and Sutherland, 2017). High level political support from city leadership is critical to ensure that the city engages with traditional leadership in a new way that moves beyond the binary of these two power systems to shared and integrated governance. Likewise the high level support of traditional leadership at Ingonyama8 and ITB level along with the local TC level is very important if meaningful integration is to be achieved. A greater level of coordination and alignment between the activities of the different line departments involved in traditional areas will also be required, along with sufficient human and financial resources committed to integrate the municipal and traditional systems in Durban.
7 The Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act, 2013. 8 The Ingonyama is the king of the Zulu nation. 28 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy EXPLORATORY NON-PAPER | 29
Summary It is also acknowledged that implementing these two initial RBOs will not ensure a transformed future for Durban. As the city’s resilience work progresses, it is likely that further RBOs will need to be added to create the critical mass of change Durban’s 100RC journey has identified six levers for change to frame its Resilience Strategy. Informal settlements and required to drive Durban from a resilient to a transformed state. Resilience thus requires a long-term commitment from all areas under dual governance are spaces where these levers come together in interesting and powerful ways, such stakeholders in the city and the establishment of appropriate knowledge management systems to ensure that this journey as through building partnerships (which includes both the levers of building social cohesion and ensuring municipal is recorded and analysed in a way that contributes to building resilience in Africa. effectiveness), or through protecting and enhancing ecological infrastructure (as a result of education and skills development, promoting green economic growth in line with global trends and managing environmental assets more Durban’s resilience strategy also makes a contribution to the global debate on resilience as the city’s approach, which has effectively). There are also strong connections and similarities between the two RBOs that can strengthen learning focused on socio-ecological and political relations, has greater potential for transformation than the SES approach proposed between and across these different spaces in the city. by the CRF. Through Durban’s resilience strategy, traditional planning and development paths are being challenged and reconceptualised as the city attempts to reduce risk and vulnerability in informal settlements and dual governance areas. These include access to land outside of the formal property market; access to and use of free basic services; self- This will require hybrid and informal planning thereby building a new form of urbanism reflective of the New Urban determination or self-development; their location in the city in relation to the history of the city; the need for the Agenda and SDGs (UN-Habitat, 2016) regulation and management of these spaces to protect the quality of life and health of their inhabitants, and the way that they disrupt the binaries of formality and informality. The Resilience Strategy in its outcomes and interventions Swyngedouw (2009, p 601) argues that “proper urban politics fosters dissent, creates disagreement and triggers the reveals how working in the two RBOs will enable the greatest traction for, and transformation through, the levers for debating of, and experimentation with more egalitarian and inclusive urban futures”. The RBOs chosen for Durban’s change. Resilience Strategy trigger politics in multiple ways and therefore will produce the kind of debates and disagreements that will be challenging and contested, but which also have the potential to transform the city. If these deliberations are led by political leaders with the will to produce a resilient and sustainable city for all, Durban may just be able to cross The contribution of Durban’s experience to the resilience debate the threshold into a new development path. Resilience is not socially, ecologically or politically neutral and the particular themes which are identified and constructed as critical to the city’s Resilience Strategy will determine which social groups Participating in 100RC has provided Durban with the opportunity of being innovative within its own city space, learning and which environments will be undermined, and which will be protected or enhanced (Swyngedouw, 2009). It is therefore from other cities, engaging with its politicians, officials and citizens around resilience to build the strategy from below, critical that the participatory governance approach to resilience which has been established in Durban’s 100RC journey is sharing and co-producing knowledge, challenging existing modes of thinking and developing a pathway into the further developed and enhanced as the Strategy is implemented. relatively new, untested and complex field of urban resilience. Given that this is a relatively new conceptual space, as well as Durban’s similarities to other African cities, it is important to share learnings about how resilience emerges in such contexts. African cities present a unique opportunity to advance the resilience debate at the global level. Their ‘sticky systems’ and ‘wicked problems’ require unconventional and ‘clumsy solutions’ reflected in “policies that creatively combine all opposing perspectives on what the problems are and how they should be resolved” (Verweij et al, 2006). As such, they will act as a reality check within the 100RC programme and provide lessons applicable and relevant to the vast majority of the world’s urban residents.
Durban’s approach to developing its Resilience Strategy has differed from many of the other cities participating in 100RC. The city has attempted to construct an African conceptualisation of resilience which is embedded in the particular context, history and geography of Durban. Twenty three years after democracy, the city of Durban is taking on a new ‘form’, as African urbanism begins to profoundly shape the city in contrast to the neo-liberal, urban entrepreneurial model which emerged and has become well established since the 1990s. The city is both being built from above and below. As a result, Durban is beginning to reflect and become more relevant to other African cities, most particularly because of its informal settlements and its dual governance system in the periphery of the city. The two RBOs that have been developed as the pillars of Durban’s resilience strategy will therefore be applicable and relevant to many other African cities.
Africa’s development path will have a ripple effect on the globe, given the extent of the development and urbanisation that is still required for the continent. Patterns of urban change in Africa are beginning to appear in the north as inequality increases and as migration continues, particularly across Europe. A review of some of the northern cities’ resilience strategies reveals that Africa’s resilience challenges are not only present in Africa. Although the extent and depth of the problems are not the same, increasing homelessness and housing shortages are addressed in a number of northern resilience strategies. In northern cities too, inequality is identified as a contributor to risk, and informality is beginning to emerge as a coping strategy for those who cannot access the formal system. These cities have well-established and The non-paper has been prepared by: Dr Catherine Sutherland (School of Built Enviroment and Development Studies, entrenched development paths that will need to adapt to the new challenges associated with informality and inequality. University of KwaZulu-Natal) and Miss Vicky Sim (Victoria Sim Planning and Enviromental Consultant); Dr Debra Roberts, eThekwini Municipality; and Mrs Jo Douwes, eThekwini Municipality The opportunity in Africa is that African cities still have the potential to choose an alternative development path that leads to transformation and just sustainability. For the full list of references cited in the non-paper refer to the Reference list on page 130 30 CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 31
Executive Summary
Durban’s resilience journey9 began in 2013 when the city was selected to be amongst the first 33 cities to join 100 Resilient Cities (100RC). 100RC (pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation) is dedicated to helping cities around the world become more resilient to the physical, social and economic challenges facing urban communities in the 21st century. 100RC supports the adoption and incorporation of a view of resilience10 that includes not just the shocks (such as earthquakes, fires, floods etc) but also the stresses that weaken the fabric of a city on a day to day or cyclical basis.
The first phase of 100RC in Durban was initiated with a scoping exercise aimed at better understanding the perspectives of local stakeholders regarding the meaning and relevance of ‘resilience’. This included the development of a community perspectives snapshot, interviews with experts, and a resilience ‘agenda setting workshop’ involving a range of stakeholders. What emerged from these diverse sources was a local understanding of ‘ resilience’ focused on the need to respond to current and future change in a way that helps address existing, endemic and pervasive social, environmental and economic challenges. Informed by this local understanding of resilience (which continues to evolve as the resilience process in Durban develops), the eighteen resilience issues identified by local stakeholders were clustered, culminating in the production of a ‘Preliminary Resilience Assessment’ (PRA) which identified six ‘Resilience Focus Areas’ (each comprising a number of resilience issues). These were: Bold and Participatory Governance; Knowledge-centred City; Catalytic and Transformative Economy; Innovative Place-making; Sustainable and Ecological City11; and Equitable and Inclusive Society. Durban’s PRA and its six Resilience Focus Areas represented the culmination of an 18-month process of stakeholder engagement, risk assessment and research.
Given the breadth and interconnectedness of the Resilience Focus Areas identified during Phase 1, Dalberg12 was appointed at the beginning of Phase 2 to undertake a ‘systems analysis’ (January to April 2016) in order to identify Executive Summary catalytic and systemic intervention points that would address the barriers to resilience underpinning the Resilience Focus Areas identified in Phase 1. It was proposed that these so-called ‘levers for change’ could have catalytic and systemic impacts across multiple focus areas if addressed appropriately. The six ‘levers for change’ identified through the Systems Analysis were: Lever 1: Strengthen local communities and build social cohesion; Lever 2: Improve the effectiveness of education and skills development; Lever 3: Promote economic growth in line with 21st century trends and opportunities; Lever 4: Manage environmental assets more effectively; Lever 5: Create a more inclusive and integrated spatial plan; and Lever 6: Improve municipal effectiveness. Although the outcomes from the systems analysis were useful in confirming and reinforcing the original findings of the PRA, the ‘levers for change’ did not sufficiently refine or prioritise the resilience challenges facing Durban and as a result actionable areas for intervention could not be easily identified using the ‘levers for change’ alone. Additional focused engagements were therefore undertaken with a variety of stakeholder groups from April to June 2016 in order to identify specific areas or issues where the ‘levers’ could be addressed simultaneously in order to reduce risk and enhance resilience in the city. Through these engagements, two resilience building options (RBOs) were identified by a range of different stakeholder groups: RBO 1 ‘Collaborative Informal Settlement Action’ and RBO 2 ‘Integrated and innovative planning at the interface between municipal and traditional governance systems’. Addressing the ‘levers for change’ through a specific focus on these two RBOs was seen by stakeholders to be potentially catalytic in achieving greater resilience and transformation in Durban, not only in the immediate spaces and communities affected by informal settlements and issues of traditional and municipal governance, but for all Durban residents, given the wide- ranging impacts of the two RBOs on broader city resilience. Importantly, these two RBOs were seen to be strategic entry points into the complex resilience landscape in Durban that could facilitate a focused testing of what is required in these two specific contexts to address the six resilience levers for change in a systemic way. The two RBOs represent issues that are urgent priorities for people in Durban, where addressing the levers for change could have broader and more catalytic impact across the city.
9 A graphic summary of Durban’s 100RC journey can be found on the inside front cover of this document.
10 In the Durban context, ‘resilience’ refers to the capacity of the city to respond to current and future change, regardless of whether this is social, political, economic or environmental, by initiating and strengthening areas of work that enhance the ability to respond to change, as well as transforming systems that exacerbate risk of all kinds.
11 It is important to note that the importance of this lever as a prerequisite for urban resilience, was reiterated at the Melbourne Network Exchange (06-08 February 2017) between the 100RC cities of Melbourne, Durban, New Orleans, Boulder and Semerang, which focused on ‘Urban Biodiversity and City Resilience’
12 Dalberg is a development consulting company and was allocated by 100RC to Durban as the city’s ‘Global Strategy Partner’. 32 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy 33
A series of focused conversations were then held with local government officials, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), community-based organisations (CBOs) and research institutions to understand: the key actors linked to the RBOs; the major challenges and issues associated with each of the RBOs; and potential areas for intervention in each RBO that should be included in the Resilience Strategy. These conversations determined the outcomes and interventions identified for each RBO and form the foundation of Durban’s first Resilience Strategy. Given the focus of the RBOs, Durban’s Resilience Strategy captures a complex mix of issues associated with social vulnerability, informality, ecological degradation, politics and governance that will have to be addressed as part of the city’s resilience building efforts, and points to the need for a new form of African urbanism characterised by: new partnerships; transformative change; and an ability to build on and enhance the existing strengths in Africa’s human and natural systems. The process of developing a Resilience Strategy in Durban has also highlighted the spectrum of resilience action that is required in cities and emphasises the need for every city to be able to determine the course of its own resilience journey in order to increase the likelihood that the outcomes are accepted and actioned by local stakeholders.
How to read Durban’s Resilience Strategy
Durban produced its PRA in September 2015. This document detailed the process that was followed to arrive at the six Resilience Focus Areas that became the starting point for the second phase of Durban’s 100RC journey. Where relevant, summarised information from the PRA has been included in the current document in order to provide the necessary continuity and context to understand the Resilience Strategy. For the most part, however, it has been assumed that Durban’s PRA and Resilience Strategy will be read together, and that it is not necessary to repeat information, other than where this continuity and context is critical.
Two documents have been produced for Phase 2: a longer and more comprehensive strategy document (this version) that details each step of the Phase 2 100RC process in Durban, and outlines the lessons learnt, as well as a shorter strategy document which focuses only on the Resilience Strategy itself and the supporting contextual information. The long version may be more useful to other cities who would like to more fully understand the process that was used in order to develop the Resilience Strategy, while the shorter version is designed for policy and decision-makers who may be more concerned with the contents of the Resilience Strategy rather than the details of the strategy development process.
Along with the ‘mainstream’ work that has been undertaken to produce Durban’s Resilience Strategy, the CRO Team have also initiated a number of pilot projects throughout the 100RC journey, with the intention of generating early insights into what is required to effect the systemic shifts that are required by Durban’s Resilience Strategy. Short descriptions of the Phase 2 pilot projects can be found in Chapter 3 in order to highlight relevant learnings.
Both versions (short and long) of Durban’s Resilience Strategy and the PRA are available on request and contact details can be found on the back page of this document. 34 CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 35
Context for Durban’s Resilience Strategy
Background to Durban
Durban is an African city situated in the province of KwaZulu-Natal on South Africa’s east coast. It is managed and governed by the local government of eThekwini Municipality13. As of 2017, Durban is home to approximately 3.64 million people and has a land area of 2 556 square kilometres. Durban’s apartheid past has played a significant role in creating and shaping many of the challenges being experienced by the city and its residents. These are further exacerbated by Context for Durban’s global drivers of change such as rapid urbanisation, globalisation and climate change. Three distinctive characteristics are important in understanding Durban and its complex challenges. Firstly, approximately 38% of the municipal area is rural in nature and governed by Traditional Authorities. Secondly, Durban is unusual in that it is located in a global biodiversity14 hotspot (one of only thirty-six worldwide), making the protection and management of natural ecosystems a priority. Resilience Strategy Thirdly, due to apartheid Durban has a legacy of structural and social inequity which is apparent in all aspects of city life and functions. Durban has a Gini coefficient (measuring the level of inequality) of 0.63, which is amongst the highest in the world (Statistics South Africa 2011), with an estimated 41% of the population experiencing conditions of poverty (EThekwini Municipality 2016) and a current housing backlog of approximately 389 000 units. For additional information on Durban’s context please refer to Durban’s Preliminary Resilience Assessment or PRA (EThekwini Municipality, 2015), finalised in September 2015.
Figure 2: The location of eThekwini Municipality in South Africa.
13 EThekwini Municipality is the local government responsible for the management of Durban.
14 Biodiversity is the term used to describe the variety of life on Earth and all natural processes. This includes ecosystems, genetic and cultural diversity, and the connections between these and all species including humans. Ecosystem services are the benefits provided by health biodiversity to all living things. There is a growing recognition of the value of ecosystem services to human well-being in terms of health, social, cultural and economic needs. 36 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 37
Context for Durban’s Resilience Strategy
The sections below provide an overview of the critical ideas that emerged from Durban’s PRA which have helped to frame the approach taken in developing Durban’s Resilience Strategy. In addition, changes that have been experienced in the global and local context that have had a bearing on the development of the Resilience Strategy are also summarised.
Critical Ideas emerging from Durban’s Preliminary Resilience Assessment
An evolving understanding of ‘resilience’
In Phase 1, early discussions in Durban showed that there are multiple ways in which ‘resilience’ can be understood. Key ideas that have been highlighted during the course of Durban’s 100RC process are that urban resilience is about how cities prepare for current and future change, and that preparing for this change requires the integration of agendas such as climate change adaptation, climate change mitigation, disaster risk reduction, biodiversity, equity, sustainable development and poverty reduction. Issues of politics and governance are also central to the resilience narrative. Given the chronic developmental and governance challenges facing cities like Durban, this evolving understanding of resilience suggests that resilience needs to be seen not as an end point, but as a step in a broader journey towards transformation. Transformation may also require that resilience is increased in some systems, and reduced in others. Such a systemic approach will require that multiple connected resilience issues are addressed simultaneously if meaningful and effective outcomes are to be produced.
Focus areas for Durban’s Resilience Strategy
During the course of Phase 1, Durban’s citizens identified eighteen issues important to enhancing resilience in Durban. Given the interconnectedness of these resilience issues, it was decided that all eighteen should be taken forward into the next phase of the strategy development process and in order to facilitate this process they were consolidated into six Resilience Focus Areas: Bold and Participatory Governance, Knowledge-centred City, Innovative Place-making, Sustainable and Ecological City, Catalytic and Transformative Economy, and Equitable and Inclusive Society (Figure 3).
Figure 3: A summary of the Resilience Focus Areas and resilience issues emerging for Durban. 38 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 39
Context for Durban’s Resilience Strategy
The Resilience Focus Areas and issues identified during Phase 1 provided important insights into the context specific meaning of • Prioritising climate change action: The first ever universal and legally binding global climate agreement – known resilience in Durban: as the Paris Agreement - was adopted at the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (also known as the UNFCCC’s COP 21) held in 2015 in Paris, France (United Nations • Resilience is about multiple issues that are interconnected. 2015). The Paris Agreement entered into force on 4th November 2016, and requires all countries to submit their • In evolving socio-institutional contexts, chronic systemic challenges are likely to emerge more strongly as resilience issues climate response efforts (both mitigation and adaptation) in the form of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) than shocks or extreme events. Cities will play an important role in helping national governments meet these commitments and it is therefore critical • Developmental issues are a critical part of resilience. that climate change considerations inform the development and implementation of Durban’s Resilience Strategy, • Systemic challenges will require systemic solutions, and there is a need to understand the connections that exist between particularly given that climate change poses a significant risk to the city and its human and natural communities, resilience issues in order to understand where interventions will be most effective. both now and in the future (Roberts and O’Donoghue, 2013). • Considering the ‘entry point’ for resilience action will be important in maximising the catalytic impact of interventions. Investment needs to maximise the ability of the city to respond to the broadest range of resilience issues in locally appropriate • Building sustainable and resilient cities: The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted in September 2015 and innovative ways and in ways that generate the greatest good for the greatest number of people. and address a broad range of social, economic and environmental challenges. SDG 11 is focused on how to ‘Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable’. The inclusion of SDG 11 in the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda reflects the growing global realisation that Local and global shifts that have influenced cities lie at the heart of the resilience and the development of Durban’s Resilience sustainability debate, and as such Durban’s Resilience Strategy Strategy must be informed by sustainability principles. In addition to the adoption of the SDGs, Given the understanding of resilience emerging in Durban, that is the ability to respond appropriately to change, it has been the United Nations important to identify changes at the local and global level that might be relevant to the development of Durban’s Resilience Conference on Housing Strategy. A number of significant shifts have taken place locally and internationally since Durban’s PRA was completed, and these and Sustainable Urban have affected the manner in which Durban’s resilience work has evolved, and will affect the implementation of the Resilience Development (also known as Habitat III) was held in October 2016 in Quito, Ecuador (Citiscope, 2016). The resulting Strategy in subsequent phases of work. These include: ‘New Urban Agenda’ (NUA) aims to make cities sustainable, safer and resilient (including to climate change), as well as increasing the availability of amenities to all. Of particular relevance to Durban’s Resilience Strategy is the fact • Changes in political leadership and municipal boundaries: South African local government elections were held on that the NUA recognises that informality needs to be acknowledged and that an enabling environment should be 3 August 2016, and resulted in the election of a number of new councillors and a new Mayor. Given that strong political created in all informal settlements, and that ecological infrastructure is central to building sustainable cities. As such leadership is needed to guide and facilitate the implementation of Durban’s Resilience Strategy, alignment of the Resilience Durban’s Resilience Strategy must seek out new models of African urbanism that can better address the needs and Strategy with the electoral vision and mandate of the new leadership is critical. The central elements of Durban’s Resilience enhance the wellbeing of people and the natural systems that support them. Strategy align well with two of the Mayor’s stated priority areas, that is, human settlements and rural development. During 2016 the planned expansion of the municipal area to include four wards that were previously part of the neighbouring (and now dis-established) Vulamehlo Local Municipality was also completed. This has increased the size of Durban, its population and the demands for service provision.
• Change in administrative leadership: The changes in political leadership have been accompanied by changes in the administrative leadership of the city. The new City Manager took up his position at the beginning of May 2017, and will now take over from the previous incumbent as the administrative head of 100RC in Durban. As someone new to local government and new to 100RC, the Durban Team15 will need to prioritise the briefing of the new City Manager.
15 The Durban Team comprises the CRO Team and the Secretariat. The Secretariat function for 100RC in Durban is currently fulfilled by a local consultancy. 40 STEP 1 STEPSTEP 2 2 STEP 3 STEP 4 STEP 5 Ongoing Process 41
Systems analysis of Durban’s Resilience Focus Areas
As recorded in Durban’s PRA (EThekwini Municipality, 2015), Durban adopted a different model for its ‘Resilience Steering Committee’. This model used a number of different stakeholder interaction points to gather the information, support and critique required to direct the development of Durban’s Resilience Strategy. This more decentralised model of engagement provided a mechanism to address the challenge that a single ‘Resilience Steering Committee’ would not be able to represent the diverse and evolving views of all stakeholder groups in Durban. The stakeholder interaction points used during Phase 1 and 2 included a local government technical committee, a ‘Critical Thinkers16’ group and relevant local government planning and leadership structures. Engagements with members of the public, either through existing fora or focused workshops, were also part of this engagement process. These stakeholder engagement processes are highlighted in each of the Phase 2 work areas outlined below.
STEP 1: Systems analysis of Durban’s Resilience Focus Areas Work areas for Phase Intention and key outcomes: 2 of Durban’s 100RC During Phase 1, Durban’s PRA identified six Resilience Focus Areas that required deeper exploration in Phase 2: Bold and Participatory Governance; Knowledge-centred City; Innovative Place-making; Sustainable and Ecological City; Catalytic and Transformative Economy; and Equitable and Inclusive Society. Given the breadth and interconnectedness of these focus areas, Phase 2 of 100RC in Durban was therefore initiated with a ‘systems analysis’ in order to refine and prioritise Programme the findings of the PRA. The purpose of the systems analysis was to identify catalytic and systemic intervention points that would address the barriers to resilience that underpin the Resilience Focus Areas, and be transformative across multiple Resilience Focus Areas. The ‘systems analysis’ was undertaken by Dalberg (Durban’s global strategy partner) and the outcome was the identification of six cross-cutting ‘levers for change’.
What did we do?
Engaged Durban’s Global Strategy Partner (Dalberg) to undertake the Systems Analysis Given their experience in undertaking systems analysis processes, a request was submitted to 100RC for Durban to use Dalberg in this role within the Resilience Strategy development process. This was approved by 100RC.
Gathered data and identified systemic challenges The ‘systems analysis’ process undertaken by Dalberg was initiated in January 2016 with a data gathering exercise that included three components. Firstly, Dalberg hosted three workshops to introduce stakeholders to the ‘systems analysis’ process and to gather information and insights from them. The three workshops were hosted with: the City Planning Commission, local government technical sectors and the public. The second element of the data gathering exercise involved interviews with a range of stakeholders from various departments in eThekwini Municipality, non- governmental organisations (NGOs), community-based organisations (CBOs), and the private sector – these took place between January and March 2016. The third element of the data gathering exercise involved desktop research. This component was the most challenging as it soon became apparent that the required data were often non-existent, out of date or inaccessible. Using the data available, however, Dalberg completed an analysis of each of the six Resilience Focus Areas, highlighting the key outcomes for each focus area that would support a more resilient city and the key barriers to achieving these outcomes. This analysis was then used to identify a number of systemic challenges that were common across the focus areas.
16 The ‘Critical Thinkers’ is a group made up of individuals that have a reputation for not being afraid to speak truth to power, and includes representation from the business, local government, creative, environmental activist and inter-faith communities. 42 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy STEP 1 STEPSTEP 2 2 STEP 3 STEP 4 STEP 5 Ongoing Process 43
Identifying ‘Resilience Building Options’ for Durban
Identified priority ‘levers for change’ that would be critical to achieving resilience in Durban In March 2016, Dalberg re-visited Durban to present the results of its data gathering exercise and to discuss the systemic challenges that had been identified. Meetings were held with local government technical sectors, the public, the City Planning What did we learn? Commission and the Economic Development Unit of eThekwini Municipality. All four workshops were initiated with a presentation of Dalberg’s analysis of the six focus areas and the associated underlying systemic challenges, and participants • External perspectives help advance conversations: The external perspective provided by Dalberg generated were given an opportunity to suggest key interventions to address these challenges. Based on this feedback, Dalberg identified new insights for the Durban Team and other stakeholders in Durban. In addition, the innovative way in which six cross-cutting resilience ‘levers for change’ in Durban: Dalberg collated, packaged and presented city data helped to stimulate a variety of conversations and facilitated a more nuanced understanding of Durban’s resilience challenges amongst stakeholders. • Lever 1: Strengthen local communities and build social cohesion. • Lever 2: Improve the effectiveness of education and skills development. • Local knowledge is critical in informing process outcomes: Since Dalberg lacked local knowledge, their team • Lever 3: Promote economic growth in line with 21st century trends and opportunities. was not always able to fully understand the local context and this detracted from some elements of the ‘systems • Lever 4: Manage environmental assets more effectively. analysis’. The Durban Team was required to provide considerable support to Dalberg in accessing local knowledge • Lever 5: Create a more inclusive and integrated spatial plan. and helping increase their understanding of the local context. This latter information significantly influenced the • Lever 6: Improve municipal effectiveness. identification of the “levers for change”.
The details of each ‘lever for change’ are shown in Figure 4. S - • The availability of accurate and reliable urban data is critical: The systems analysis process revealed several large data gaps (both in terms of availability and accessibility) in Durban. Data gaps make it extremely difficult to 1 define the resilience challenges in a specific and targeted manner. Strengthen local communities and Support local communities through investments that reduce high levels of stress and strain building greater • Considerable resources are required to undertake city-wide processes: Undertaking a city-wide ‘systems social cohesion currently experienced, thereby contributing to building a stronger and more cohesive city. analysis’ requires considerable time and resources, both from a human and financial perspective. Limitations in
2 3 4 5 either of these reduces the usefulness of the outputs. Improve Promote economic Create a more effectiveness of growth in line with Manage inclusive and *In other steps, the learning text is distinguished in a coloured box. education and skills 21st century trends environmental assets integrated spatial development and opportunities more effectively plan
Complement plans and Orient Durban’s More effectively Create an inclusive and investments for economic strategy and manage eThekwini’s integrated spatial plan education by the growth model to take natural capital assets in designed to overcome Province to bridge the advantage of emerging order to preserve the the legacies of skills gap among youth opportunities and city’s rich biodiversity apartheid and provide STEP 2: Identifying ‘Resilience and graduates, and to create a better model and the valuable greater access to better match workers that leverages global services that these opportunities to all to the needs of the trends, while promoting ecosystems provide to citizens across the city. private and public equity and citizens. Building Options’ for Durban sector. sustainability.
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Improve municipal effectiveness Improve the overall effectiveness of the municipality, including planning and decision making, as well as execution and evaluation, to serve all of eThekwini’s citizens. Intention and key outcomes:
Given that the six ‘levers for change’ remained too broad to guide choices focused on practical implementation, further stakeholder engagement was undertaken in order to stimulate discussion around the identification of Figure 4: Six cross-cutting www.durban.gov.za/100RC‘levers for change” identified for Durban more specific ‘Resilience Building Options’ (RBOs) that could address multiple ‘levers for change’ simultaneously; be transformative in their impact and be practically implemented. Two RBOs emerged from these focused Although the outcomes from the ‘systems analysis’ were useful in providing an opportunity to reflect on the interconnectedness engagements i.e. the need for: ‘Collaborative informal settlement action’ (RBO 1); and, ‘Integrated and innovative of the resilience issues and focus areas, a key challenge was that they did not allow the Durban Team to significantly refine, planning at the interface between municipal and traditional governance systems’ (RBO 2). The rationale in prioritise and advance the findings of the PRA. An additional step was therefore required to identify Resilience Building Options focusing on only two RBOs was that by addressing the ‘levers for change’ within the context of these two high (RBOs) using the ‘levers for change’ as a starting point for the discussion. The identification of RBOs is described in Step 2. impact RBOs, the transformative change that would result would drive change across the broader city system. In addition, by addressing vulnerability and improving equity (which lies at the heart of both RBOs), there are potentially multiple benefits to all of society17
17 The idea that ‘more equal societies almost always do better’ was proposed by Kate Pickett and Richard Wilkinson in their book ‘The Spirit Level’ (2010). Richard Wilkinson was also a speaker at Durban’s Resilience Agenda Setting Workshop in September 2014. 44STEP 1 STEPSTEP 2 2 STEP 3STEP 3 STEP 4 STEP 4 STEP 5 STEP 5 Ongoing Process STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 STEP 4 STEP 5 Ongoing Process 45
Identifying ‘Resilience Building Options’ for Durban Exploring and understanding the Resilience Building Options for Durban
What did we do? STEP 3: Exploring and understanding the Facilitated stakeholder engagement to identify the RBOs The Durban Team undertook a stakeholder engagement process in late April 2016 that involved members of the local Resilience Building Options for Durban government technical sectors, the Critical Thinkers and representatives from the Environmental sector. The purpose of these engagements was to present the results of the ‘systems analysis’ process (the six ‘levers for change’) and to use these as the starting point for a conversation to identify more specific RBOs that could address multiple levers for change simultaneously, be transformative in their impact and be practically implemented. Through this engagement process, two RBOs were identified: Intention and key outcomes:
After receiving public endorsement for both RBOs, a series of conversations was convened with a cross-section of stakeholders, • Collaborative informal settlement action (RBO 1). to better understand the RBOs and the resilience challenges associated with them. Feedback was consolidated into an actor • Integrated and innovative planning at the interface between municipal and traditional governance systems (RBO 2). map and resilience narrative for each RBO and these were used as the basis for exploring possible intervention options to address the resilience challenges associated with each RBO. Additional stakeholder consultations were held to confirm and deepen this understanding, and to draft preliminary outcomes and interventions for each RBO. At the same time, changes in Undertook public consultation to secure support for the proposed RBOs the global policy context related to climate change and the early entry into force of the Paris Agreement were used to expand To determine the view of public stakeholders regarding the acceptability of the proposed RBOs, two public meetings the range of appropriate interventions identified. were held in June 2016. During these meetings, the results of the ‘systems analysis’ process were presented, as well as the two proposed RBOs. Stakeholders were provided with an opportunity to comment on the RBOs during the meeting and to complete a survey on the RBOs both at the meeting and via an online survey platform. Based on the positive feedback received at the meetings and through the survey, the two RBOs were adopted. What did we do?
Built an initial understanding of the RBOs and key stakeholders and issues associated with each After receiving public endorsement for both RBOs, a series of conversations was convened with a cross-section of stakeholders in order to better understand the RBOs and the resilience challenges associated with them. This was particularly important given that the CRO Team leading 100RC in Durban did not have any specialist expertise or experience in either area. Initial conversations were held in June 2016, to help the Durban Team better understand existing initiatives, policies, processes, challenges and people relevant to each RBO area and to determine whether these provided potential opportunities to build resilience in Durban. The outputs from these conversations were consolidated into an actor map and ‘resilience narrative’ for each RBO, with the latter outlining the critical challenges associated with each RBO. The actor maps and resilience narratives were also used to identify the What did we learn? need for additional interviews, research and meetings in order to build a more comprehensive understanding of the resilience- related issues associated with the two RBOs. The actor maps are shown in Figure 5 and Figure 6 and the critical ideas emerging • Local knowledge is required to determine final resilience priorities: Local stakeholders were able to take the in each of the resilience narratives are presented later in this document on page 47 and 48. results of the ‘systems analysis’ process and translate these into two practical RBO proposals that would allow the context-specific challenges associated with the six ‘levers for change’ to be addressed.
• High level concepts need to be translated into practical and implementable options: In contexts where multiple challenges exist and where urgent action is needed, it is critical to translate high level concepts (the ‘levers for change’) into practical action options (the RBOs) that can be understood and implemented.
• Opportunities for strategic level interventions with a high resilience dividend may also have a high risk of failure if the challenges are complex and intractable: The RBOs identified at the culmination of the ‘systems analysis’ and related stakeholder engagement process are complex, and addressing them effectively will require a broad range of technical knowledge and detailed local understandings. In addition, despite their significant potential resilience dividend, these RBOs also carry a high risk of failure because of their complexity and the fact that they have not been successfully addressed previously, despite several attempts to do so. 46 Resilience Building Option 1. 47 Exploring and understanding the Resilience BuildingC Options for Durban Exploring and understanding the Resilience Building Options for Durban
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Havelock Informal Settlement 1) Connected Cities Initiative: EThekwini Municipality and Havelock Informal Settlement Participatory Based Planning & will work together to determine the priorities for the informal settlement. The Internal Housing Project 2) The Architecture/eThekwini Water and Sanitation Departments secured Facilitation Support to Informal funding to pilot the Community ablution block pilot project i.e. creating a social Working Group includes the space above ablution blocks. Settlement Upgrading Projects The social space would be used as a meeting area and a learning centre. Computers and G following Municipal Wi-Fi access would also be provided for community members within this space. The area in eThekwini Municipality: would be maintained as part of the Municipality’s maintenance responsibility for the Departments: ablution blocks. The pilot project was also supported by the Community Organisation Piloting “Community Resouce Centre and Human Settlements Unit. The pilot project was not launched because - Environmental Planning the surrounding formal residents around the Havelock Road Informal Settlement objected EThekwini Municipality Full Housing Upgrade Internal eThekwini Municipality and Climate Protection Memorandums of to the project. Process approach Housing Projects Working Group - Strategic Spatial Planning Understanding" (MOU) - Landuse Management Community Mobilisation, Saving Schemes, G This approach is used either on existing This is a forum where Municipal line - Development Engineering The MOUs are between the Treasury Department or relevant greenfield sites. functions convene to assess the - Water and Sanitation Municipality and the informal Community Based Planning, Reblocking Initiatives feasibility of human settlement projects. settlement community. The MOU - Electricity in informal settlements: - Transport outlines services that the Municipality will provide and the responsibilities of Slum Dwellers International, Community Organisation Resource Centre, Federation of the - Durban Solid Waste Urban Poor and the Informal Settlement Network coordinate a number of on the ground - Public Sector Housing both parties. This agreement binds the initiatives within and across informal settlments in the Municipal Area. EThekwini Municipality Councillors & Ward Committees - Human Settlements two parties to a formal agreement. The National Upgrade Support Programme Community MOUs will be piloted in 42 Human Settlements Committee - Environmental Health The programme provides funding for operational activities. The Councillors and Committees support the incremental service provision into informal - Disaster Management informal settlements. Early Childhood Development (ECD) Programme: settlements. Councillors are consulted and are involved in the provision of incremental Councillors approve housing development plans. Project Preparation Trust is involved in the survey of ECD centres in underserviced rural services in informal settlements. They engage communities on the ground. and informal settlement communities, as well as assisting in planning for infrastructural improvements which are often necessary to address health and safety threats and/or ‘unblock’ ECD centre registration.
Kenville Urban Restructuring Pilot Project: Urban Settlement Development Grant Incremental Services Provision Human Settlements Unit The project is a good illustration of how systematic project preparation can enable better This grant funding is used to either support the Human Settlements Process approach and more innovative solutions such as integrated planning, alternative (eg. pedestrianised) projects for housing upgrades (specifically infrastructure development) planning layouts and alternative housing typologies eg. the form of low cost double story The Unit is responsible for developing new units arranged in spatially efficient yet people-friendly ‘superblocks’. The project will or for the provision of incremental services to informal settlements. housing stock utilising the National housing The services would include: the upgrade several informal settlements located within the Kenville precinct, which is home upgrading of existing pedestrian and EThekwini Municipality Development Engineering to a population of approximately 7,500 households of which over 2,500 residents in six subsidy, addressing informal settlements informal (shack) settlements. challenges through various housing interventions, vehicular access routes with related Development Engineering Unit Support Departments administering & maintaining Hostels / Community storm water controls; providing suitable / Residential Units, administering and maintaining sanitation solutions, which may include The Unit appoints consultants who - Roads Provision municipal rental stock and facilitating communal ablution blocks or ventilated coordinate Municipal line functions - Architecture Human Settlements Development Grant development of new social housing projects rental improved pits; electrification of within the Development Engineering - Coastal Storm-Water and households and streets; provision of Unit to assist with the rollout of Catchment Management - This grant provides bulk funding for services and as well as for the affordable market. The Human water services, such as community stand incremental services into the informal - EThekwini Water and Sanitation and development of top structures. Settlements Unit acts as an implementation agent on behalf of the Provincial Department of Human pipes and where required, fire fighting settlements. Electricity services are also included in Settlements to undertake human settlements connection points. this process. delivery throughout the Municipal Area. Research Institutions involved NGOs/CBOs operating & working in research on informal in informal settlement areas
human settlements Key organisations include Slum Dwellers University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban International, the Community National Department of Human Settlements (NDHS) University of Technology, Mangosuthu Organisation Resource Centre, The role of this Department is to facilitate the creation of sustainable University of Technology, Human Science Federation of the Urban Poor, Informal human settlements and improved quality of household life. The NDHS Environmental Planning and Climate Research Council, Council for Scientific Settlement Network, Project Preparation must develop national policy, including national norms and standards, in Protection Department and Industrial Research. Trust and Abahlali baseMjondolo. respect of housing and human settlements development, set broad national housing delivery goals, monitor performance of provinces and The Department is consulted by the Human municipalities against housing budgetary and delivery goals, build the Settlements Unit in terms of upfront screening of capacity of provinces and municipalities, and promote consultation with housing site projects, environmental due diligence all stakeholders in the housing delivery chain, including civil society and and environmental compliance. the private sector. EThekwini Water and Sanitation, Electricity Units & Durban Solid Waste Informal Settlement Neighbourhood and Formal Economic Development Unit Community and Emergency Services Community Participation These municipal departments run parallel Communities Community Forums Fire Department Facilitates access to communities in The Unit provides input on economic programs to provide water sanitation The level of organisation and leadership These are structures that represent Only responsive to disasters. informal settlements. development opportunities only on specific (eg. community ablution blocks) and structures varies from settlement formal communities that are adjacent to Provincial Human Settlements Unit human settlements projects. electricity into informal settlements. The to settlement. informal settlements. Human Settlements Unit is consulted The Provincial Human Settlements Unit’s core function is to promote the when these services are provided to provision of housing development, affordable housing and essential informal settlements. services, to administer and manage housing subsidies to targeted groups, to research, establish, monitor and implement policies within the National Housing Policy framework and to formulate a provincial Business housing development plan for the province. The Unit provides funding to local governments for human settlement delivery via the National Business, together with the eThekwini Department of Human Settlements funding allocation process. Municipality, have partnered to deliver sustainable integrated human settlements (eg. mega projects such as Cornubia). However the role of business is unclear within the informal settlements space. *There is no end date to funding but there is a chance that Additional actors funding from these sources may be reduced. Other government departments that play a role in creating liveable communities include: National and Provincial: Local: - Department of Health - Department of Health - Cooperative Governance & Traditional Affairs - Metro Police - Department of Social development - Community Participation Figure 5: Actor Map for Resilience Building Option 1: Collaborative informal settlement action - National Department of Education - Land Invasion Unit
Relationships that are working Human settlement responses to Local Government Research Institutions Provincial Government Business Current Initiatives Map Key but are weak informal settlements
Relationships that are working well Neighbourhood and Formal National Government NGOs/CBOs Processes Additional actors Relationships are not working well and are strong Informal Settlement Communities Communities
www.durban.gov.za/100RC Resilience48 Building Option 2. 49
EThekwini Municipality Full Council
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Governance and Human Amakhosi Support Department Amakhosi Forum Resources Committee This Department is responsible for facilitating This Forum is coordinated by the Amakhosi Economic Development Committee (ECOD) and coordinating support to the Traditional Support Department. The Amakhosi Forum This committee of councillors assists with the This committee of councillors assists with the approval of planning Leadership and strengthening the relationship consists of representatives from approximately approval of governance / community issues in and landuse management issues in the City. between the Municipality and Traditional 17/18 different Traditional Councils within the The Ingonyama Trust the Municipality. Leadership to enhance service delivery in rural / eThekwini Municipal Area. The Forum is used The Trust was founded by Ingonyama, His Majesty traditional authority areas. to facilitate interaction between the the King who is the sole Trustee of the Ingonyama The Intergovernmental Relations Department Municipality and Traditional Leadership around Trust land and recognised as the custodian of Zulu provides support to the Amakhosi planning and development issues. traditions and customs. Support Department.
C M S House of Traditional Council Leaders
Section 81 of the Structures Act provides for the Land Use Management Department Ingonyama Trust Board (ITB) participation of Traditional Leadership in Municipal Council proceedings without voting powers. This This Department is responsible for commenting on ITB land leases The Board is the administration arm of the resulted in the establishment of National, Provincial E and rolling out land use planning schemes. Trust and its primary function is administering and Local Traditional Leadership Houses which leases of Ingonyama Trust Land. were established as per National and Provincial legislation. The Local Traditional House includes all traditional authorities in the Municipal Area. Environmental Planning & Climate Protection Department This Department is responsible for the implementation of biodiversity stewardship and restoration ecology programmes in the ITB areas. The Department also plays an enforcement role particularly around illegal Memorandum of Understanding between sandmining in the ITB areas. Traditional Leadership Local Government, ITB and COGTA: The Traditional Leadership structure includes the Inkosi and Izinduna who are representatives of the As a way to improve the coordination between the eThekwini Strategic Spatial Planning Department Community. The Inkosi is appointed by the Royal Municipality, ITB and COGTA, all three parties have agreed to This Department is responsible for spatial planning and Family. The Izinduna are appointed by the Inkosi in enter into a MOU to address planning issues within the implementation of the rural development strategy. consultation with the Traditional Ward Community. Municipal Area. The purpose of the MOU is to clarify the roles The Izinduna are each delegated by the Inkosi to look and responsibilities of each of the parties in this space. This after the affairs of a particular Traditional Ward. initiative will be coordinated in the 2016/2017 financial year. (Isigodi) The Isigodi are designated by the Inkosi.
Infrastructure Units These units (Development Engineering, Electricity, Water & Sanitation, etc.) are responsible for infrastructure delivery in rural areas. Rural Landuse Management Scheme Pilot Traditional Councils and Project for Umnini: Cooperative Governance & Traditional Communities A pilot rural landuse management scheme is being Traditional Affairs (COGTA) The Council is made of an Inkosi, Izinduna and developed for Umnini. This process is in progress. Regulators Their role is to assist and help Traditional community members. The Council is a governance structure of the Traditional Community. The Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, Department of Mineral Councils to engage with Local Government Traditional Council is constituted by 18 members Resources, KZN Department of Economic around land-use planning issues. COGTA acts as Municipal Ward Committees and Councillors appointed by the Inkosi and 12 members elected by Development,Tourism and Environmental Affairs. a connector between eThekwini Municipality and the Traditional Communities. The Councils administer These are elected committees that support the Ward Councillor. Communities Traditional Leadership, and provides guidance the affairs of the Community in accordance with its can raise service delivery issues at a Ward level. Ward Councillors are responsible They are responsible for regulating development and protocols for engagement. COGTA is also eThekwini Municipality Rural tradition and customs. The Council is considered to for ensuring that issues are addressed within their respective Wards. applications within the ITB areas. responsible for remunerating Traditional Leadership for their services worked. be the landlord of Traditional Authority Land and has Development Strategy: the power to terminate leases should the Lessee deviate from initial agreements of land use. The Rural Development Strategy has been developed in line with the National and Provincial Growth strategies. The strategy aims to identify defined “rural” boundaries within the eThekwini Municipality (taking into account the relationship between rural, peri urban and urban areas), provide key Civil Society considerations for appropriate development and services for the Eg. Local community, Private Investors and Developers. rural areas, and identify areas for detailed planning Civil Society and interventions. Eg. Local community, Private Investors and Developers.
Figure 6: Actor Map for Resilience Building Option 2: Integrated and innovative planning at the interface between municipal and traditional governance systems.
Relationships that are working Decision making processes for local community, private investors and Local Government Ingonyama Trust and Trust Board Civil Society COGTA Map Key but are weak developer issues that go through the traditional council & not the ITB
Relationships that are working well Decision making involving land Traditional leadership structures Current Initiatives Relationships are not working well and are strong Development regulators leases through the ITB
www.durban.gov.za/100RC 50STEP 1 STEPSTEP 2 2 STEP 3STEP 3 STEP 4 STEP 4 STEP 5 STEP 5 Ongoing Process STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 STEP 4 STEP 5 Ongoing Process 51
Exploring and understanding the Resilience Building Options for Durban Exploring and understanding the Resilience Building Options for Durban
Deepened understanding of the RBOs through focused engagements Evaluated and responded to developments in the global climate change policy context relevant to the RBOs Using the initial information collected, the Durban Team embarked on a series of meetings with key stakeholders in A critical development during this period was the early entry into force of the Paris Agreement on 4th November 2016. To order to deepen their understanding of each RBO. Meetings were held with a range of local government officials, as well ensure that 100RC in Durban adequately responded to this significant development, discussions were convened with municipal as non-governmental stakeholders with an interest or involvement in one of the RBOs. The input received during these officials in the climate adaptation and climate mitigation fields, to seek advice on how to proactively incorporate climate change meetings was used to update and develop the resilience narrative and the actor map for each RBO. Multi-stakeholder considerations into the two RBOs. Minor amendments to accommodate this new emphasis were made to the preliminary workshops, comprising individuals actively involved in issues relating to informal settlements and traditional/municipal outcomes and interventions for the two RBOs and were presented to stakeholders in January 2017 for approval. governance systems, were then convened for each RBO in September 2016 in order to confirm this new information with a broader group of actors. Subsequently, engagement with the local government technical sectors in November Reflected on the potential resilience dividend for each RBO 2016 was used to identify preliminary ‘outcomes’ for each RBO, and more specific ‘interventions’ that would help A critical component in finalising the two RBOs was to reflect on the potential ‘resilience dividend’ associated with each. This to translate each outcome into effective and implementable action. These outcomes and interventions were further reflection focused on the extent to which building resilience using the two RBOs could facilitate positive progress in addressing developed during a multi-stakeholder working group workshop held in January 2017. each of the six ‘levers for change’ identified during the systems analysis process and benefit the city as a whole.
Convened public engagements to seek input into and endorsement of the preliminary resilience outcomes and interventions for each RBO At the end of January 2017 two public engagements were hosted by the Durban Team in order to update the public on the progress of 100RC in Durban and to gather their thoughts and feedback regarding the preliminary outcomes and interventions proposed for the two RBOs. There was broad support for the preliminary outcomes and interventions, as well as for the formation of a ‘reference group’ for RBO 1 that could work closely with the Durban Team to refine this What did we learn? RBO further. An equivalent reference group was not established for RBO 2 as that RBO required a different approach. The outcomes that were agreed to for RBO 1 following these engagements (and the engagements with the reference • Use experts and external thinkers where detailed subject knowledge is not available in the project team: The group, as outlined in Step 5) were as follows: Durban Team does not have specific subject knowledge in the two RBOs identified. Given the complexity of the resilience challenges presented by the RBOs it was therefore necessary to bring in additional expert support. This helped to strengthen • EThekwini Municipality has a committed team of champions that are supported by co-ordinating institutional and increase the credibility of the outcomes and interventions that were ultimately proposed. structures to ensure collaborative informal settlement action. • Working collaboratively is important in areas of work that cut across sectoral and departmental mandates: The • Consolidated quantitative and qualitative community and municipal-collected data, information and knowledge on RBOs selected, cover areas of work that are the responsibility of many local government departments. It was therefore all informal settlements in Durban are accessible to all and updated regularly. important to engage these departments throughout the process in order to develop an accurate understanding of the issues • EThekwini Municipality facilitates the establishment of proactive, innovative and city-wide partnerships to develop involved and to ensure that Durban’s Resilience Strategy aligns with and adds value to their work. and execute collaborative, climate-smart18 and sustainable informal settlement upgrading19. • Build knowledge and networks to facilitate greater support for new areas of work: For the Durban Team to work • EThekwini Municipality secures the human and financial resources required to undertake collaborative, city-wide successfully on the two RBOs it was necessary to build an appropriate body of knowledge and to establish appropriate informal settlement upgrading. stakeholder networks that could inform the process. This investment takes a substantial amount of time, but is critical in • EThekwini Municipality has enabling and integrated administrative systems and simplified regulatory procedures that building support for new work a broad range of technical knowledge and detailed local understandings. In addition, despite facilitate the accelerated implementation of city-wide, collaborative informal settlement upgrading and partnerships. their significant potential resilience dividend, these RBOs also carry a high risk of failure because of their complexity and the • Collaborative monitoring and evaluation of informal settlement upgrading interventions is institutionalised in fact that they have not been successfully addressed previously, despite several attempts to do so. eThekwini Municipality. • Transparent and regular communication with stakeholders is important in managing expectations: Stakeholders • The use of land for informal settlements is proactively managed in Durban. have participated actively in the process of developing Durban’s Resilience Strategy. This has been important in developing • All informal settlements in Durban exhibit improved social, economic and environmental well-being, which in turn an implementation plan that will be supported by, and serve the interests of a diversity of stakeholder groups. The active enhances Durban’s resilience. participation of stakeholders, however, increases their levels of expectation regarding funding availability and likely levels of success. This in turn increases levels of risk to the project if these expectations cannot be adequately met in the eyes of all The single outcome that was agreed for RBO 2 was: or some of the stakeholders. Open and honest communication about the potential opportunities and challenges associated with implementation is important in helping to manage these expectations. • Secure institutional support for the process of integrating planning between municipal and traditional governance • Actor maps are a useful tool in facilitating discussions around issues in specific work areas: Actor maps were a systems. useful communication tool that helped the Durban Team understand the main actors relevant to each RBO; the nature These outcomes and the interventions associated with them, are further discussed in Chapter 5 and form the basis of of these actor relationships, and some of the critical challenges being faced by these actors. This provided an important Durban’s first Resilience Strategy. starting point for further discussions regarding possible strategy outcomes and interventions for each RBO. • Resilience priorities in cities like Durban are likely to be strongly associated with prevailing developmental, governance and political challenges: Both RBOs are characterised by governance challenges, for example in relation to 18 Informal settlements will be particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change (e.g. increased variability of rainfall which could result the need for new forms of engagement and partnerships between government and civil society (in the case of RBO 1) and in dry conditions and increased flooding; higher temperatures and increased levels of disease). It is therefore important to consider these the need to integrate two forms of governance (in the case of RBO 2). Both are also heavily politicised issues given their factors in the design and upgrading of informal settlements so that the adaptive capacity of communities is increased and the development origins in issues of spatial and socio-economic inequality, and the power relations associated with issues of land tenure and deficit decreased. Measures also need to be taken to mitigate climate change, for example through promoting the use of renewable energy for heating, electricity etc. service delivery in a city that is still addressing a historical legacy of spatial and racial discrimination.
19 Informal settlement upgrading refers to step-by-step improvements to the housing, infrastructure, services and livelihoods of informal settlements in their existing locations – also referred to as ‘in situ’ upgrading. 52STEP 1 STEPSTEP 2 2 STEP 3STEP 3 STEP 4 STEP 4 STEP 5 STEP 5 Ongoing Process WORK AREAS FOR PHASE 2 OF DURBAN’S 100RC PROGRAMME | 53
Human Benefit Analysis
Tested the HBA Tool with stakeholders STEP 4: Human Benefit Analysis The HBA Tool was tested with stakeholders for RBO 1 at a workshop in February 2017. Participants were split into two groups. Each group was asked to score each of the outcomes of RBO 1 against the sub-criteria associated with each lever for change using a 5-point scale from weak (1) to very strong (5). Although it had already been acknowledged that it would not be appropriate to use the HBA Tool to prioritise RBO outcomes (given that they were all linked and important), the process of Intention and key outcomes: scoring the outcomes using the tool provided an opportunity to interrogate the potential benefits of each of the outcomes in a more focused way. The final results of the workshop pointed to the fact that governance focused outcomes (for example Early in Phase 2, the Durban Team contracted a service provider to further develop an existing methodology (developed relating to building partnerships and facilitating more flexible systems and regulatory procedures) ranked the highest in terms for a previous piece of climate change adaptation work) to evaluate the outcomes of the two RBOs in terms of of their potential human benefits in relation to costs. RBO 2 was not included in the testing process given that there was only their potential human benefit relative to implementation cost. The human benefit emphasis of the methodology is one proposed outcome linked to this RBO. particularly important in cities like Durban, where levels of poverty, unemployment and vulnerability are all high, and where investments that prioritise human wellbeing are critical to enhance resilience. It was originally intended that the Human Benefit Analysis (HBA) would be used to help prioritise the outcomes within each RBO in order to inform implementation choices. However, as the Durban Team’s understanding of the RBOs and their outcomes improved, it was clear that the outcomes associated with each RBO were linked and that all were important to achieving improved resilience, so prioritisation was no longer appropriate. The HBA Tool was nevertheless tested with stakeholders at a What did we learn? workshop focused on the outcomes of RBO 1 in February 2017, with the intention of generating indicative results that could provide direction on the possible future use of the HBA in Durban’s 100RC process. • Evaluation tools provide a framework to facilitate deeper and more focused resilience conversations: The workshop to test the HBA Tool provided an opportunity for stakeholders to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the proposed outcomes associated with RBO 1 and the resilience issues associated with these. What did we do? • The HBA Tool may be helpful in prioritising interventions within each outcome during the implementation Further developed an existing Human Benefit Analysis Tool phase: Already a number of interventions have been proposed for each RBO outcome. At this level (of the ‘interventions’ During 2016 an appointed service provider - who had worked previously with the CRO on the design and application rather than ‘outcomes’), the application of the HBA Tool may be more relevant in helping to prioritise one intervention over of a benefit-cost model for prioritising climate change adaptation options - worked with the Durban Team to develop another in terms of the potential level of human benefit achieved. criteria to evaluate each of the RBO outcomes from a human benefit perspective. Twenty-two criteria were developed in order to evaluate the extent to which the RBO 1 outcomes addressed each of the ‘levers for change’, from a human benefit perspective. Examples of the questions used to assess the contribution of each outcome are included below for illustrative purposes:
• Lever ‘Create a more inclusive and integrated spatial plan’: ‘Does the outcome reduce the historic spatial distribution of risk in favour of inclusion?’ • Lever ‘Improve municipal effectiveness’: ‘Does the outcome reduce the fiscal or administrative burden on the state?’ • Lever ‘Strengthen communities and build social cohesion’: ‘Does the outcome contribute to closing the income and resource inequality gap?’ • Lever ‘Improve the effectiveness of education and skills development’: ‘Does the outcome contribute to skills development and employability?’ • Lever ‘Promote economic growth in line with 21st century trends and opportunities’: ‘Does the outcome create employment or work opportunities?’ • Lever ‘Manage environmental assets more effectively’: ‘ Does the outcome reduce critical ecological degradation or known environmental risks?’
In addition to the ‘levers for change’, an additional criterion was added that focused on ‘Implementation probability’. This had two sub-criteria relating to the likelihood of the outcome receiving political support, and whether the outcome was practically implementable in the short-term. The service provider then developed an Excel-based HBA Tool for the rating of each outcome against the levers for change criteria and sub-criteria as a relative human benefit score. 54STEP 1 STEPSTEP 2 2 STEP 3STEP 3 STEP 4 STEP 4 STEP 5 STEP 5 Ongoing Process STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 STEP 4 STEP 5 Ongoing Process 55
Refining areas for implementation and finalising Durban’s Resilience Strategy Establishing the Sustainability and Resilience Functions
STEP 5: Refining areas for implementation ONGOING | Establishing the Sustainability and finalising Durban’s Resilience Strategy and Resilience Function
Intention and key outcomes: The proposal for the creation of a dedicated sustainability function was first proposed by the (then) City Manager in 2012 and resulted in the creation of a new strategic post (Head: Sustainable City Initiatives) with a view to improving the coordination and Once a deepened understanding of the RBOs had been developed, the process of drafting Durban’s Resilience Strategy began. communication amongst the environmental and sustainability related sectors in eThekwini Municipality and to act in an advisory To assist with this process, a reference group of key stakeholders was convened for RBO 1. Given that RBO 2 required a role to administrative and political leadership on these issues. However, this position was not filled immediately and remained different approach to RBO 1, the establishment of a similar reference group for RBO 2 was not appropriate. The reference vacant for four years. Over time, Durban’s application to participate in 100RC, the appointment of an internal CRO, and the group’s deliberations informed the development of an implementation plan for RBO 1 which was then used to create a first growing influence of the evolving global resilience debate, all contributed to the mandate of this post being expanded to include draft of Durban’s Resilience Strategy. Relevant stakeholder engagement with local government technical sectors, administrative a resilience component (i.e. Head: Sustainable and Resilient City Initiatives). In June 2016, Durban’s CRO was seconded to act leadership and members of the public was then initiated to canvas opinion regarding the suitability of the draft Resilience in this position in the Office of Strategic Management which is located in the Office of the City Manager. The role of the new Strategy. Finally, the draft Resilience Strategy was presented to eThekwini Municipality’s various political Portfolio Committees, sustainability and resilience function is to plan, manage and coordinate the implementation of all strategic sustainability and Executive Committee and full Council for final approval. resilience initiatives for eThekwini Municipality, and the secondment of the CRO to this position provides an important opportunity to strategically integrate the Resilience Strategy into local government planning processes. An expanded organogram has been developed to ensure that this new sustainability and resilience function is appropriately resourced going forward. One of the What did we do? key roles of the Sustainable and Resilient City Initiatives Unit will be to oversee the implementation and further development of Durban’s Resilience Strategy. Developed a draft Resilience Strategy The Durban Team began the process of developing the draft strategy by establishing a reference group (mandated through previous multi-stakeholder and public engagement meetings) in January 2017 to assist with refining the implementation plan for RBO 1. The reference group consisted of key stakeholders from the local government, NGO, CBO and research sector that had been involved in the identification and development of RBO 1. The reference group met three times between February and March 2017 in order to refine the outcomes and interventions suggested for RBO 1 and to provide input on possible responsibilities for implementation and the likely timeframes associated with each outcome. A reference group was not convened for RBO 2, as further work on this RBO was only possible once guidance was received from the Mayor on the best way forward. A first draft of the Resilience Strategy was produced following the input received from the reference group on RBO 1 and the Mayor on RBO 2.
Facilitated stakeholder engagement in reviewing Durban’s draft Resilience Strategy In March 2017 the Durban team convened a local government technical sector meeting, a meeting with the city’s Strategic Executive Management Team (comprising the Deputy City Managers and City Manager) and two public meetings to provide an opportunity for stakeholders to comment on the draft Resilience Strategy. In addition to these meetings, an on-line survey was emailed to all stakeholders on the 100RC consultation database. The comments received at the meetings and via the online survey were collated and a number of changes were made to the draft strategy based on the input received.
Consulted with political leadership in order to secure final approval and sign off for Durban’s Resilience Strategy Durban’s Draft Resilience Strategy was presented to the political Portfolio Committees, Executive Committee and full Council during June - September 2017 for approval. Durban’s Resilience Strategy was approved by full Council in August 2017.
What did we learn?
• Active engagement of stakeholders with sector-specific knowledge strengthens strategy content: Members of the reference group for RBO 1 were all actively involved in the informal settlement sector and as a result were able to strengthen Durban’s Resilience Strategy through their input. • Establishing a focused reference group creates an opportunity to build relationships and strengthen support for future implementation during strategy development: Members of the reference group were drawn from the local government, non-governmental and research sectors. Working collaboratively as part of a reference group helped build cross-sectoral relationships and is likely to create greater support for strategy implementation in Phase 3. 56 CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 57
An Overview of Durban’s 100RC Pilot Projects
An introduction to the pilot projects
It is important to note that all the pilot projects in Phase 2 of 100RC for Durban have a strong biodiversity focus. Biodiversity is central to achieving resilience in African cities, given the critical role it plays in delivering free ecosystem services (e.g. flood attenuation, water purification, climate regulation etc.) which would otherwise need to be provided for through costly hard engineering solutions in a context of resource scarcity. In many African cities, there is also still a high level of direct dependency on these ecosystem services for survival. In Durban for example, this is true in many of the rural areas of the city. Biodiversity is not currently given a sufficiently high profile in the 100RC City Resilience Framework.
An overview of Durban’s Resilience Framework pilot project 100RC Pilot Projects Why did we implement the project? In 2015, in response to an on-going environment-development conflict in the north of Durban where wetlands in particular have been significantly compromised, a working relationship was formalised between two significant land-owners and developers (Tongaat Hulett Developments - THD; and Dube TradePort Corporation - DTPC) and eThekwini Municipality (ETM) in order to develop a Resilience Framework for specific landholdings. In the early phases of the work, the Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA) was also involved, but withdrew because of administrative challenges associated with funding the work required to develop the Framework. The intention was for the Resilience Framework to drop one level below strategy development and to provide practical guidance on how urban design and planning could adequately consider the role of both natural ecosystems and the built environment in reducing risk and enhancing resilience. A central concern was that further unsustainable transformation of wetland systems would undermine national conservation objectives and the ability of these ecosystems to deliver critical ecosystem services such as improved water quality, flood attenuation and sediment trapping – all of which are critical to enhancing long-term resilience.
What did we do?
Initially the work focused on exploring ‘Biomimicry20’ principles and ideas around how the built and natural environments should interact in a more positively reinforcing way. This initial work was focused on using these new ideas to leverage and broker a new partnership between the three key stakeholders (ETM, THD and DTPC). Although some progress was made in this regard, it became apparent as the work evolved, that the application of these higher-order design principles needed to be based on a sound scientific understanding of the state and dynamics of the local wetland systems. The development of this scientific understanding resulted in the development of two key outputs: (a) a strategic wetland management framework; and (b) a proposed composite offset solution to address residual wetland loss as a result of development. The strategic wetland management framework is significant as it is based on the premise that, in areas where degradation of the wetland systems has already exceeded sustainability thresholds, the policy should be to aim for a ‘net gain’ in terms of wetland establishment, rehabilitation and protection. This advances existing national and provincial level policy, which advocates merely for a ‘no net loss’ approach.
The strategic wetland management framework seeks to build on these existing provincial and national offset policies and wetland management guidelines by: (a) acknowledging that, in systems where ecological thresholds have already been exceeded, management efforts need to aim for a net gain, rather than a no net loss approach; and (b) adopting a landscape level perspective to prioritise wetlands for functional use (e.g. to assist with development-related storm water management) and biodiversity protection. The strategic wetland management framework aims to provide guidance to developers and to regulatory authorities regarding appropriate development design and mitigation of impacts in relation to wetlands.
20 ‘Biomimicry’ is the design and production of materials, structures, and systems that are modelled on biological entities and processes. 58 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy AN OVERVIEW OF DURBAN’S 100RC PILOT PROJECTS | 59
The proposed composite offset approach suggests that, in instances where there is a residual impact from development, What did we do? identifying ‘composite offset sites’ may be the most appropriate approach in terms of achieving environmental and resilience objectives and helping to facilitate development. A ‘composite offset’ aims to consolidate the required offsets together in large To date, the Umkhumbane Schools Programme (a local NGO) has been appointed by eThekwini Municipality to lead this pilot land parcels, rather than securing these in an ad hoc and fragmented fashion across the landscape. It is anticipated that these initiative in Cato Manor, a disadvantaged and low income area in Durban. larger composite offset areas will deliver a range of resilience benefits including landscape level environmental protection and greater economies of scale in terms of financing the rehabilitation, management and monitoring of the area. Learnings for Durban’s resilience work
Multiple meetings with local government officials, regulatory authorities and conservation advisory bodies have been required Although the project is still in its very early stages, it is hoped that this project will help eThekwini Municipality better understand in order to secure provisional support for these ideas to be tested and applied to existing development applications. Efforts are how to partner with relevant organisations and research institutions to be able to address critical skills gaps in the city. now being focused on finalising biodiversity offset agreements (with the relevant authorities) that will describe wetland offset commitments in terms of: location and area; long term protection for offset areas; and long-term financing and management Take Back our Rivers mechanisms to ensure the ongoing sustainability of the offset areas. Further work is underway to continue exploring the long- term financing, ecological protection and management mechanisms that will be needed to secure, protect and manage these Why did we implement the project? important environmental assets for the city in perpetuity. These issues remain contentious amongst the different stakeholder groups because of differing perspectives on who is responsible for financing and managing these areas over various time The ‘Take Back Our Rivers’ initiative is a flagship project of the Kloof Conservancy21 (representing eThekwini Conservancies periods. Despite these challenges, some of the first development approvals have been received from the authorities using this Forum) that seeks to restore the river health of selected rivers in Durban. Securing river health is seen to be an important new framework. contribution to long-term urban resilience by enhancing the quality and quantity of water supplies and improving human health and well-being. The pilot of the ‘Take Back Our Rivers’ project has been implemented on a 5.8km stretch of the Aller Learnings for Durban’s resilience work River which passes through four area types: natural/park, industrial, middle class residential, and low-income areas. Some of the problems in the Aller River include alien invasive plant species infestation, sewerage contamination and littering. The ‘Take This pilot project was initiated in response to a long-standing and contentious development challenge, with the three partners Back Our Rivers’ initiative aims to address these challenges through river assessments, rehabilitation and various restoration entering the early discussions with different perspectives on priority objectives and implementation responsibilities. The work strategies and resource mobilisation for implementation. has raised important questions regarding: how to navigate complex partnerships of this nature in pursuit of resilience; the role of science in lending credibility and a ‘neutral’ voice to a contested process; and the long-term investment that is needed The approach that this initiative takes is partnership-based, practical and action-orientated, with a focus on engaging on the part of private and government entities to ensure the sustainability of new resilience approaches and initiatives. In communities of various economic backgrounds in order to build a volunteer base for implementation. Where possible, this regard, it is hoped that the outcomes from the pilot project will provide important insights into how best to respond to employment opportunities are provided for members of local communities. The pilot project provides an opportunity to assess the increasingly complex socio-economic and environmental challenges being faced by cities like Durban undergoing rapid how river ecosystems can be managed and monitored through the active engagement of citizens who have been appropriately development, particularly in a context where there are very few ‘win-win’ options remaining. capacitated, thereby contributing towards building a resilient and sustainable city.
What did we do? Biodiversity Skills Schools Project • Formalised a partnership with the Kloof Conservancy, to allow a transfer of funds from the eThekwini Municipality to this Why did we implement the project? NGO. • Secured local government funds to help facilitate work to: rehabilitate the river through alien clearing and litter clean Previous 100RC pilot project initiatives (e.g. the microeconomics study undertaken in 2015 and described in Durban’s PRA) up events; employ seven eco-champs from communities to monitor the river; and conduct river health assessments for identified the skills gap and mismatch that exists in Durban. In many instances the skills that are available in the city’s population contaminants, sewerage discharges etc. do not match the requirements of the local economy. An additional challenge is that many critical skills are being lost from • Facilitated linkages between Kloof Conservancy and relevant local government departments (e.g. eThekwini Water and Durban as citizens move to others parts of the country, as well as internationally. This challenge was again highlighted in Sanitation; Durban Solid Waste), to provide support to the pilot project. the systems analysis process at the beginning of Phase 2, where ‘Lever 2: Improve the effectiveness of education and skills • Ensured appropriate monitoring and evaluation of the project so that lessons could be integrated into the 100RC work. development’ was identified as one of 6 critical ‘levers for change’ in the context of building resilience in Durban. Practical experience in eThekwini Municipality has demonstrated that the skills gap is particularly acute in the Biodiversity field (which Learnings for Durban’s resilience work also has relevance to Lever 4: Manage environmental assets more effectively), and in previously disadvantaged communities, often with university graduates not even having the appropriate level of skills to be employed by eThekwini Municipality. The The key learning from this pilot project has been that the establishment of a multi-layered team that straddles boundaries Biodiversity Skills Pilot Project was initiated in response to these challenges, as a way of building the capacity of learners from between: government and civil society; remunerated and volunteer contributions; and race and age groups, plays a critical previously disadvantaged backgrounds from a school going age as existing post-graduate skills development partnerships role in catalysing ‘on the ground’ change and the growth of enabling networks. Such an approach can also help catalyse local with the local university are still only producing a limited number of skilled individuals. The project aims to provide mentorship government action, particularly when community action is able to highlight and identify problem areas that local government and skills development that will facilitate tertiary level studies in the Life Sciences generally (and Biodiversity specifically). This departments can then address. In addition, it is important to use local community human resources in implementing pilots like approach will be tested by working initially with a group of learners from previously disadvantaged schools and providing them this as they have local knowledge that is unavailable to other stakeholders, but critical to ensuring successful implementation. with support, mentorship and skills development for the Life Sciences as well as exposure to the Biodiversity field in order to promote further undergraduate and postgraduate study in this field.
21 A ‘conservancy’ is a body concerned with the preservation of natural resources. It is a vehicle and platform for community-based conservation action. 60 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy 61
Using external thinkers and facilitators to catalyse new ideas
Why did we implement this approach?
In complex processes where new ideas are being explored and tested, incorporating multiple perspectives and employing different assessment methodologies can be a useful way to check that the outcomes are as accurate and relevant as possible. Engaging external thinkers in the process also helps to bring in substantive information in cases where those managing a project have knowledge gaps, and helps to challenge ideas in ways that help to build a more innovative and resilient approach and product.
What did we do?
Some examples of where the Durban Team has adopted this approach in the 100RC journey are outlined below: • The Durban Team secured assistance from Dalberg to undertake a ‘systems analysis’ of the Resilience Focus Areas identified in Phase 1. This was in response to the fact that the Durban Team could not determine the most appropriate ‘entry point’ for resilience action given the breadth of resilience issues and focus areas identified during Phase 1. The Dalberg systems analysis was used to help more clearly define and identify the priority ‘levers for change’ required to build resilience in Durban. • The Durban Team secured external thinkers who could provide critical and substantive input into the evolving discussions around Durban’s two RBOs and who could assist in helping to restructure the outcomes. One of these experts, for example, suggested using an ‘actor map’ tool to understand connections between actors in each of the RBOs, as a means of identifying where relationships were having either positive or negative outcomes. Others provided subject-matter input, for example in the informal settlements field, and have been active participants during the stakeholder engagement processes where this information could be used to stimulate debate and discussion. • Independent workshop facilitation was used in some instances to enhance the objectivity of the outcomes, and increase the potential to gain new insights into complex dynamics.
Learnings for Durban’s resilience work
• There is seldom a ‘silver bullet’ answer to complex system questions. More often than not, the outcomes from a particular methodological approach have to be tempered and interpreted using additional insights from local actors. The final product is thus a combination of a particular methodology and related qualitative insights. • Structuring elements (e.g. a systems analysis process or an analytical tool for developing actor maps) can be useful in creating opportunities for discussion and interaction that facilitate new and differently framed conversations. However, local input and insights are still critical in shaping these outcomes to ensure they are accurate, relevant and meaningful within the local context. • Given the importance of local actors in understanding the drivers of complex systemic challenges, and the potential usefulness of tools and critical thinkers in sparking new conversations, it is critical to ensure the right mix of local actors, provocative thinkers and methodological approaches in resilience focused conversations. 62 CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 63
Durban’s Resilience Strategy
Durban’s Resilience Strategy is divided into four sections. The first two focus on the Resilience Building Options (RBOs) that emerged from Phase 2 of the stakeholder engagement process; the context within which these RBOs has emerged, and the supporting outcomes and interventions that will inform action in these areas. The third touches briefly on possible further expansion of the resilience work, while the fourth provides an update on the work currently being undertaken by the Durban Team to ensure that the resilience function is appropriately institutionalised within eThekwini Municipality. A consolidated strategy overview is presented at the end of this section in the form of a provisional workplan.
Durban’s Resilience Strategy
Critical principles that inform the RBOs and Resilience Strategy
As previously indicated, the selection of the two RBOs was informed by the six ’levers for change’ that were prioritised through the systems analysis process at the beginning of Phase 2. The systems analysis built off the eighteen resilience issues and six resilience focus areas that emerged as part of Durban’s Preliminary Resilience Assessment at the end of Phase 1. Its purpose was to identify systemic and catalytic intervention points that would address the barriers to resilience identified in Phase 1, in a comprehensive way. The following resilience ‘levers for change’ emerged from the systems analysis process: 64 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 65
Durban’s Resilience Strategy
Principles that are shared across these ‘levers for change’ include: increased inclusivity; informed decision-making; working in integrated ways and facilitating new forms of partnership. These principles have informed the development of Durban’s Resilience Strategy. However, given that the ‘levers for change’ did not sufficiently refine or prioritise the resilience challenges facing Durban, additional focused engagements were undertaken with a variety of stakeholder groups in order to identify specific areas or issues where the ‘levers’ could be addressed simultaneously in order to reduce risk and enhance resilience in the city. 6 LEVERS FOR CHANGE Through these engagements, two resilience building options (RBOs) were identified: RBO 1 ‘Collaborative Informal Settlement Action’ and RBO 2 ‘Integrated and innovative planning at the interface between municipal and traditional governance systems’. Durban’s intention in selecting two specific RBOs as the foundations for the Resilience Strategy, is to use these as focused spaces in which to address all six levers for change, and to use the outcomes and learning from the RBOs to help inform and catalyse broader resilience action in Durban. The conceptual links between the original resilience issues and focus areas (identified in Durban’s Preliminary Resilience Assessment), the ‘levers for change’ that emerged from the systems analysis at the beginning of Phase 2, and the RBOs that form the pillars of Durban’s Resilience Strategy, are shown in Figure 7. Strengthen local communities This lever underscores the need to empower individuals to make relevant changes, and to promote participatory and build social cohesion processes that facilitate social cohesion.
This lever prioritises increasing access to knowledge (for Improve the effectiveness of example through education and data collection), promoting skills development opportunities that help to align existing education and skills development skills with the needs of the economy, and engaging all citizens in the process of decision-making.
Promote economic growth in This lever highlights the need to orient the city’s economy line with 21st century trends and to facilitate inclusivity, sustainability and access to a range of economic opportunities. opportunities
This lever addresses the need to more effectively manage Durban’s natural capital assets in order to preserve the Manage environmental assets22 city’s rich biodiversity and the valuable services that these ecosystems provide to citizens. This involves working and more effectively developing within ecological thresholds in order to reduce human risk, as well as being responsive to the challenges posed by climate change.
This lever focusses on building urban resilience through the creation of an inclusive and integrated spatial plan aimed Create a more inclusive and at overcoming the legacies of apartheid and providing greater access to opportunities for all citizens across the city integrated spatial plan (especially the marginalized and previously disadvantaged). This includes the need to be responsive to increasing levels of informality in the city and to plan accordingly.
This lever identifies the need to improve overall effectiveness of the eThekwini Municipality, including co-ordinating planning, making decisions that are informed by appropriate Improve municipal effectiveness data and knowledge, and ensuring that partnerships for implementation are strengthened across scales.
22 ‘Environmental asset’ refers to a natural asset (e.g. air, water, land). This term includes biodiversity and the ecosystem services and value (‘natural capital’) derived from these natural assets which are essential for human wellbeing. 66 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 67
Durban’s Resilience Strategy
Figure 7: Conceptually linking Durban’s resilience issues and focus areas, with ‘levers for change’ and RBOs - The barriers to resilience. The six ‘levers for change’ that emerged from the systems analysis were then used as the systems analysis at the beginning of Phase 2 used the resilience issues and focus areas from Durban’s Preliminary framework for prioritising two critical issues (RBO 1 and RBO 2) where all six levers for change need to be addressed Resilience Assessment as the starting point to identify systemic and catalytic intervention points that could address simultaneously in order reduce risk and enhance resilience in the city.
The selection of two very specific RBOs suggests an alternative approach to building resilience; one of drilling deep into core more integrated governance across the municipal and traditional systems. Direct benefits would likely accrue to those living barriers to resilience that, if overcome, could have far reaching resilience enhancing consequences for all citizens in Durban. This in traditional authority areas (given that integrated planning could facilitate more effective service delivery), while indirect contrasts with a broader range of resilience issues, and potentially a shallower level of engagement in addressing those issues. benefits would be felt through, for example, increased water security (given that the traditional authority areas are located The following points are important to consider in this regard: in critical biodiversity areas) and improved municipal effectiveness. It is therefore argued that addressing these two RBOs through a specific focus on the six ‘levers for change’ will help in building broader city resilience beyond just the immediate • The two RBOs are entry points for building resilience in Durban: RBO beneficiaries. All six levers for change need to be addressed to achieve resilience in Durban. However, this is a complex and significant task. The two selected RBOs - ‘Collaborative informal settlement action’ and ‘Integrated and innovative planning at the interface • The importance of ‘resilience towards transformation’ between municipal and traditional governance systems’ – therefore represent strategic entry points into this complexity, in Durban has consistently argued that, in contexts where factors such as high levels of poverty and inequity, ecological order to test what is required in these two specific contexts to address the six levers for change in a systemic way. The two degradation and inappropriate economic development models prevail, resilience needs to be seen as a step in the journey RBOs are significant starting points from which to understand what is required to enhance resilience in Durban at a structural towards transforming the systems, people, institutions and regimes that perpetuate these challenges. A critical question in and strategic level. this context is ‘resilience for whom’ and ‘resilience for what’? If the end goal is transformation, then the resilience journey should focus on areas where inequity and injustice prevail, and should focus on these as priorities. Durban’s selection of the • Advancing work in the two RBOs will have significant direct and indirect benefits for all Durban’s citizens: two RBOs as a starting point is important as they are both elements of the city where extreme socio-economic and ecological Approximately 22.4% of Durban’s population live in informal settlements and would benefit directly from more efficient and vulnerability are concentrated. These ideas are summarised in Figure 8 which shows the potential contribution of Durban’s collaborative action to address their needs. In addition, given the impacts of informal settlements on the natural environment focused RBOs in driving broader systemic transformation. It is the intention of the CRO team to explore additional resilience and on land values, actions that improve the location and quality of these living environments would have far-reaching priorities in the city in due course that continue to build towards a transformed urban state. consequences for all of Durban’s residents. The same can be said of RBO 2, given the significant benefits that would flow from 68 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy - July 2017 CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 69
Durban’s Resilience Strategy
Figure 8: Resilience is not an end goal but it a progression towards a new transformed state. 70 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy Durban’s Resillience Strategy | 71
Resilience Building Option 1: Collaborative informal settlement action
Background to the informal settlement challenge
Informal settlements in Durban As is the case in all major cities in South Africa, informal settlements have become an increasing part of the urban fabric in Durban, despite an aggressive housing programme. This is due to the continued legacy of apartheid planning, continued endogenous growth of the city’s population, the ongoing migration of people to urban areas and the lack of suitable stocks of affordable housing in Durban. Although it is acknowledged that there are a number of definitions used for ‘informal settlements’ in South Africa, in the context of Durban’s Resilience Strategy, informal settlements are referred to as: a collection of structures, that are made out of basic materials, without local government approval (illegal), lacking basic services, often built on marginal land, and without tenure agreements or complying with (planning or building) regulations (Housing Development Agency 2013).
Informal settlements face service delivery challenges, poor living conditions and high levels of vulnerability. They also contribute to, and are impacted by a range of environmental and health challenges, usually related to: their location in environmentally sensitive areas; their lack of services; and the impacts of wastewater and pollution runoff into adjacent rivers. As of March 2017, there were 569 informal settlements in Durban made up of an estimated 238,000 households, representing almost a quarter of the city’s population. Figure 9 indicates the current location of informal settlements. As is the case in many other major cities, eThekwini Municipality does not have the resources to provide all people with formal housing and moving people to alternative areas is not regarded as best practice. Therefore, eThekwini Municipality, like many other local governments around the world, has shifted its focus to upgrading existing informal settlements (‘in situ’ upgrades) in order to improve the living conditions of people living in these spaces. This approach is also aligned with shifts in informal settlement policy and legislation in South Africa.
Shifts in informal settlement policy and legislation in South Africa
The Housing Act, No 107 of 1997 (Republic of South Africa 1997) recognises the constitutional rights of South African citizens to access to adequate housing, and aims to facilitate the development of sustainable housing. The ‘Breaking New Ground’ Policy (Department of Housing 2004) was introduced in response to the shortcomings of the 1994 Housing White Paper, which focused its attention on state-subsidised provision of low-cost housing. The Breaking New Ground Policy supported the upgrading of informal settlements as one of the ways of housing the urban poor. In 2009, informal settlements were officially included in South Africa’s housing policy when the Upgrading of Informal Settlements Programme (UISP) was incorporated into the National Housing Code (Bolnick 2010). The Housing Code represented a major shift in policy as it advocates for the facilitation of in situ upgrading of informal settlements in a holistic manner rather than focusing on the removal of people (Department of Human Settlements 2009). The Housing Code also details the implementation of an Urban Settlements Development Grant (USDG) which municipalities can apply for in order to provide basic services and amenities in informal settlements (Department of Human Settlements 2009).
The National Department of Human Settlements designed the National Upgrading Support Programme (National Upgrading Support Programme 2016a) to facilitate the implementation of the Upgrading of Informal Settlements Programme. The National Upgrading Support Programme (NUSP) has developed a resource kit that provides guidance on the upgrading of informal settlements and includes resources on accessing finances, planning the upgrade, involving communities in the process, and securing land (National Upgrade Support Programme 2016a, 2016b). It also advocates for the creation of healthy environments and social and economic integration. Subsequent to this, the Pretoria Declaration on Informal Settlements was developed Figure 9: The location of informal settlements in Durban (Source: Human Settlements Unit, eThekwini and includes, amongst others, an emphasis on the upgrading of informal settlements using an integrated approach that takes Municipality, March 2017) into account national and local policy, strategy and planning, and includes multiple stakeholders (UN Habitat 2016). Despite this progressive policy and legislative environment, however, translating these principles into practical action remains a critical challenge. 72 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 73
Durban’s Resilience Strategy
Current issues and challenges in addressing the informal settlement challenge in Durban
Durban stakeholders recognised the difficulties associated with translating progressive human settlements policies into practical resilience focused action and identified a number of key challenges (outlined below). These issues and challenges provided the basis for identifying appropriate resilience building interventions that could address these.
Alternative models for human settlements delivery need to be explored: provision of housing or provision of liveable communities?
Post-1994 the predominant method of assisting informal communities in South Africa has been to relocate them (where possible) to state-subsidised, formal housing projects. Many informal communities therefore have an expectation that they will receive ‘Reconstruction and Development Programme23’ (RDP) housing over the longer term. Unfortunately, the provision of formal housing has not resulted in a significant reduction in the housing backlog and many residents of informal communities are unlikely to be provided with a formal house within their lifetime. In addition, the provision of a house does not necessarily address the broader set of challenges experienced by residents in informal communities, which are primarily related to low income levels. An alternative and more resilient approach to the delivery of housing would shift the focus away from the provision of formal housing to facilitating a better living experience for informal communities, through concerted investment in the public realm (such as improved services, formal roads, formal pedestrian paths, street lighting, waste management facilities and storm water infrastructure) and social facilities (such as schools and clinics). This spreads expenditure across a broader number of people, and provides flexibility in terms of informal settlement residents self-investing in their own housing (as and when possible) within a context of secure tenure.
New perspectives on informality are required
This new approach is driven by evolving views on the role of informality in the cities of the 21st Century. In South Africa, as in many places around the world, a common past response to informality (informed by a modernist, pro-growth state ideology) has been to consider informality as a sign of a lack of development and hence to try and eradicate it. In Durban, however, a large portion of the city’s residents rely on informal systems for income, housing and other services. As a result, informality is a critical contributor to the economic and social welfare of residents in a situation where government does not have the resources to provide formal alternatives. The approach of trying to remove informality (in terms of housing, the economy etc.), and replacing it with formal systems, thus limits creativity in addressing the resilience and sustainability challenges faced in Durban. New perspectives are required that acknowledge the importance of informality within urban systems (especially in African cities), and consider ways of actively integrating it to ensure its continued and increased contribution to resilience in Durban. This applies both to individual mindset changes and the need for the existing legislative and policy environment (which is based predominantly on formal systems) to become more flexible and responsive to informality.
There is a lack of understanding regarding the dynamics of informal settlements
Several drivers of informal settlements (e.g. poverty and the need to access employment in urban areas) are generally No two communities are the same recognised as being important in determining how and where informal settlements are established. However, detailed data and knowledge around the role of informal settlements within the urbanisation process and the specific needs of people living No two informal settlement communities are the same and there is a need to assess each on a case- by-case basis in in these spaces are limited, and data are often inconsistent. As a result, there is a risk of making assumptions about the most relation to: potential partnerships; capacity for engagement; forms of appropriate upgrading or resettlement etc. In appropriate responses to addressing challenges associated with informal settlements. More detailed knowledge of informal some settlements, control of the settlement has been captured by ‘elites’, whereas in others decision-making is highly settlement communities (such as the number of residents, the profile of the residents, the local economy of the community the organised and democratic. The relationship between owners and tenants in informal settlements also varies from environmental context and the leadership structures) is often either not available or resides within specific local government one informal settlement to the next. Understanding this diversity will be key in determining how best to improve the departments. Improved knowledge of these communities is required, as well as improved methods of making this knowledge resilience of these communities. available to the range of people and organisations working with informal settlement communities, if local level resilience is to be enhanced.
23 The Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) is a South African socio-economic policy framework implemented by the African National Congress (ANC) government of Nelson Mandela in 1994. The ANC’s primary aim in developing and implementing the RDP, was to address the immense socioeconomic problems brought about by the previous Apartheid regime. Specifically, the RDP set its sights on alleviating poverty and addressing the massive shortfalls in social services across the country, including housing. 74 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 75
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The involvement of communities in the planning process is generally poor Progressive and integrated human settlement policies can be undermined by a focus on housing targets
Stakeholder engagement during the planning process for informal settlement upgrading is generally weak and there Many of the national human settlement policies relating to housing provision are progressive, for example, promoting the are few real partnerships between informal settlement communities and eThekwini Municipality in improving the way engagement of communities in the development of settlements. Delivery is still, however, linked primarily to targets (e.g. the in which settlements are located and upgraded. Linked to this, there are few opportunities for informal settlement number of housing units built) and this limits the opportunities to consider alternative, and potentially more innovative and communities to be involved in developing their own responses to the housing challenge, or to inform the way in which resilient approaches for making informal settlements more liveable. This ‘numbers-driven’ approach can also limit opportunities settlement upgrades take place. This lack of involvement will undermine long-term resilience in the city. to consider human settlements in a holistic way, for example, through the inclusion of supporting infrastructure and services, such as those focused on social and economic needs (e.g. Early Childhood Development and Sustainable Livelihoods Programmes). There is a need for higher-level conversations, at the level of administrative and political leadership, in order to agree on more appropriate human settlement objectives and the way in which these can be addressed in the most sustainable and resilient manner.
Long-term funding is a challenge
Funding (in most cases inadequate) is often limited to housing and infrastructure provision (and in most cases it is inadequate) rather than being allocated to the processes of coordination, community engagement and capacity building that should accompany this. There are many instances where funding has been accessed for pilot projects focused on upgrading and service provision, but maintaining coordinated efforts beyond the scope and time horizon of the funding is extremely challenging and likely to undermine long-term resilience.
New professional skills and partnerships are required for implementation
Local government staff working with informal settlers require a new set of professional skills in order to be able to deliver services and infrastructure to these communities in a way that meets their needs. The skills that are required include the ability to: actively listen to, and facilitate conversations with informal settlement communities; understand their priority needs, and identify the contributions informal settlement communities themselves can make to the process of upgrading. Additionally, professionals need to have the skills to integrate the efforts of multiple departments, as well as the ability to design bespoke intervention, for the needs of specific informal settlement communities.
High levels of mistrust exist between many informal settlement communities and eThekwini Municipality Framing Resilience Building Option 1: Collaborative informal
Service delivery challenges and difficulties associated with stakeholder engagement and partnership development settlement action between eThekwini Municipality and informal settlers have resulted in mistrust between these groups. In some cases, this undermines the ability to foster new relationships in some projects, and as a result third parties (such as research Durban’s decision to concentrate on informal settlements and the issues associated with them as a central part of its Resilience institutions) have been more effective in engaging with informal settlement communities. Improving the trust between Strategy reflects emerging international and national consensus that these settlements – where over a billion people globally key stakeholders will be central to enhancing the resilience opportunities available to informal settlement communities now reside (a number that is expected to at least double by 2050)-will be where global struggles for poverty reduction, climate and eThekwini Municipality. change adaptation, sustainability and resilience will be anchored.
Interventions to address service delivery and socio-economic challenges are not being effectively coordinated As indicated previously, since at least 2009, when South Africa’s national Upgrading of Informal Settlements Programme was established, there has been an acceptance that conventional approaches to upgrading premised on RDP-type housing There is a lack of coordination within eThekwini Municipality between local government departments regarding delivery and formalisation are inadequate in addressing the informal settlement challenge in South Africa. The messages that informal settlement upgrades and the provision of incremental services and social services. Part of this challenge relates emerged from stakeholders during the 100RC engagement process echo this fact and begin to suggest alternative approaches to the fact that the delivery of housing is often perceived to be the responsibility of the eThekwini Municipality’s that focus more on incremental, holistic and sustained improvements to informal settlements that prioritise partnerships and Human Settlements Unit, when in reality this falls to several local government departments. In addition, the focus of community participation. However, such alternative approaches require a radical rethink of the present top-down, technocratic local government efforts on housing provision overshadows the broader delivery of a functional living environment implementation processes, as well as a recognition by local government that informal settlement dwellers are partners in the within informal settlement communities (many of which are expected to persist for decades). There is also a lack of planning and implementation of resilience-building and city development more broadly. This can only be achieved through the coordination between eThekwini Municipality and the various NGOs, CBOs and research organisations that work in the fostering of a different and more functional relationship between the state and the urban poor which focuses not only on state informal settlements arena, further undermine attempts to improve resilience and sustainability. service delivery, but which also leverages the partnerships necessary for more effective social capital formation, collaboration 76 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy DURBAN’S RESILIENCE STRATEGY | 77
Collaborative Informal Settlement Action: An overview of RBO 1 outcomes and ‘self-help’. It will also require upgrading to be more holistic in terms of facilitating access not only to basic services and incremental housing, but also to key social services (e.g. Early Childhood Development, schools and clinics), public transport and economic opportunities if the resilience dividend of this approach is to be realised. STAGE 1 OUTCOME 1 EThekwini Municipality has a committed team of champions that are supported by coordinating institutional structures to ensure collaborative informal settlement action. Adopting such an approach will be a challenge for local government in cities such as Durban and will require new forms of governance that engage informal settlement communities and facilitate partnerships and collaboration. A critical challenge lies OUTCOME 2 Consolidated quantitative and qualitative community and municipal-collected data, in local government’s primary regulatory and management role, which requires it to balance the need to be facilitatory and information and knowledge on all informal settlements in Durban are accessible to all collaborative on one hand, with the need to implement legislation on the other (for example, if informal settlements are illegally and updated regularly. located on privately owned land). The cross-sectoral nature of what is required to upgrade informal settlements effectively also suggests that new institutional structures might be required to coordinate the city-wide rollout of such an approach. As part STAGE 2 OUTCOME 3 EThekwini Municipality facilitates the establishment of proactive, innovative and city- of this more holistic approach to upgrading, it is also necessary to consider emerging global trends around climate change and wide partnerships to develop and execute collaborative, climate-smart and sustainable sustainability to ensure that informal settlement communities are assisted to become climate-smart and that they are designed, informal settlement upgrading. serviced and located in a way that minimises their overall environmental impact. Durban is well placed to explore how these new opportunities can be created to bridge the persistent implementation gaps between South Africa’s progressive informal OUTCOME 4 EThekwini Municipality secures the human and financial resources required to undertake settlement upgrading policy and the on the ground practice, in order to mainstream sustainable and climate-smart approaches collaborative, city-wide informal settlement upgrading. within informal settlement upgrading, and to help shape the resilience agenda in African cities. OUTCOME 5 EThekwini Municipality has enabling and integrated administrative systems and simplified regulatory procedures that facilitate the accelerated implementation of city- wide, collaborative informal settlement upgrading and partnerships.
STAGE 3 OUTCOME 6 Collaborative monitoring and evaluation of informal settlement upgrading interventions is institutionalized in eThekwini Municipality.
OUTCOME 7 The use of land for informal settlements is proactively managed in Durban.
OUTCOME 8 All informal settlements in Durban exhibit improved social, economic and environmental well-being, which in turn enhances Durban’s resilience.
Collaborative Informal Settlement Action: A summary of outcomes and interventions
EThekwini Municipality has a committed team of champions that are supported by coordinating institutional OUTCOME 1 structures to ensure collaborative informal settlement action.
Strategy outcomes and interventions for RBO 1: Collaborative informal settlement action Throughout the stakeholder engagement process, there was consensus that in order to drive the transformative change that is required, eThekwini Municipality needs to have appropriate political and administrative champions for RBO 1. It was also acknowledged that champions are needed amongst NGOs, CBOs, research organisations and the private sector, in order to RBO 1 has been organized around a vision for Collaborative Informal Settlement Action and Durban’s Resilience Strategy help formulate and implement the alternative policy position for informal settlement upgrading that is reflected in RBO 1. incorporates eight mutually reinforcing outcomes that support implementation of this vision through three proposed stages. Existing national legislative obligations for in situ informal settlement upgrading, social, spatial and environmental justice as Interventions that could support delivery of these outcomes are also detailed, with explanatory notes that provide the rationale well as global commitments relating to climate change adaptation, mitigation and environmental sustainability24 should inform for each intervention and current thoughts on existing initiatives that could support these. It is, however, acknowledged that the thinking and interventions by these champions. A transversal local government working group that is able to work across these outcomes and interventions are not necessarily discrete. A workplan that summarises outcomes, interventions, timeframes a range of departmental functions was suggested as necessary to coordinate the implementation of the champions’ vision. and responsibilities is also included. It is important to note that a range of work areas and initiatives are already underway, and the role of eThekwini Municipality’s Human Settlements Unit, Engineering Unit, Architecture Department and Economic Development and Investment Promotions Unit is acknowledged in this regard, as is the role of a number of NGOs, CBOs and research institutions. These initiatives are not always specifically listed, but Durban’s Resilience Strategy has been designed in a way that aims to build on and enhance existing efforts. It is also acknowledged that, although Durban’s context is unique in many respects, there will be great similarity with the resilience challenges being experienced in other African cities. It is therefore 24 In the context of the two RBOs, the term ‘sustainability’ is used to refer to development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the the intention of Durban’s CRO team to use the experience of other African cities in the 100RC network and beyond to advance ability of future generations to meet their own needs. These needs include social, economic and environmental sustainability needs. this work. 78 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 79
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STAGE 1 - OUTCOME 1 STAGE 1 - OUTCOME 1
Interventions Explanatory notes Interventions Explanatory notes
Identify and secure a political A champion is needed to ensure clear political leadership of RBO Establish a clear policy statement There are difficulties with, and different interpretations of, the champion and relevant administrative 1. It is likely that the Mayor will need to play this role. Relevant regarding collaborative informal terminology associated with informal settlements. Clear policy and champions within eThekwini administrative champions are also required to ensure strong settlement action. position statements with explanations of terminology could assist in Municipality. administrative leadership. It is likely that the Deputy City Managers, developing a common vision and understanding. In addition, policy Chief Strategy Officer and specific Unit Heads (e.g. Human positions need to align with provincial and national policy and there Settlements and Engineering Units) will need to play a central role. should be engagement with provincial and national government regarding this.
Undertake a review of existing A number of local government structures exist, or are being eThekwini Municipality coordinating planned, in relation to the coordination of informal settlement Develop an appropriate brand for the Given the various perspectives on informal settlements, there is a structures and establish new structures action. However, gaps do exist in coordinating work across local ‘Collaborative Informal Settlement need to develop an appropriate brand that can help communicate or expand existing structures as government departments and these need to be appropriately Action’ work and a range of around the intentions of eThekwini Municipality’s work in promoting required. addressed. An important consideration in this process, is the appropriate communication materials ‘Collaborative Informal Settlement Action’. All communication fact that coordinating structures (and the line departments that explaining policy positions and materials should be available in isiZulu and English and informal contribute to these) need to be appropriately resourced to ensure statements. settlement communities should be engaged as part of this process. their sustainability. An example of an existing coordination structure is the Incremental Services Technical Forum (ISTF). This, however, focuses predominantly on infrastructure delivery and as a result a more comprehensive structure is needed that includes the Treasury Cluster, Architecture Department, Economic Development and Investment Promotions Unit, Disaster Management and Emergency Control Unit and other relevant line functions. This might be an expanded version of the existing forum (for example through additional workstreams that are coordinated by the ISTF), or something new. In addition, relevant structures are required at a smaller geographic scale to co-ordinate the action of departments in specific areas. The existing Area Based Management structures could be used, however, currently Area Based Management structures do not cover all areas where informal settlements are located. In addition, these structures do not have a specific focus on informal settlements. Finally, area structures where these departments and relevant non-government stakeholders for an area can meet and undertake collaborative planning are required. Further discussion is needed regarding appropriate institutional coordination across all these levels.
Establish a multi-sectoral advisory This forum will advise on informal settlements upgrading but will forum that can lead the debate not play a role in resource allocation. The following sectors should regarding informal settlement be represented in the forum: NGO and CBO Sector, Research Sector, upgrading. Private Sector, Local Government, Provincial Government and National Government. There is no such forum currently in existence, but initial ideas around a Community Stakeholder Forum are being explored by eThekwini Municipality’s Human Settlements Unit. 80 DURBAN’S RESILIENCE STRATEGY | 81
STAGE 1 - OUTCOME 2
Interventions Explanatory notes
Review and understand existing The National Housing Needs Register is a national database to information sources and other register households and informal settlements and completion initiatives to collect information. of this register will become a national requirement for all local governments. However, the current survey questions that need to be completed for the National Housing Needs Register would need to be modified to include questions about access to, and the need for, social amenities, as well as other needs that may not already be covered by the survey. Community-collected data could feed into this process. Other processes exist in eThekwini Municipality that may be useful in assisting with the data collection process (e.g. the Municipal Services and Living Conditions Survey).
Collaboratively prioritise the type of To secure buy-in from communities, it is important to gather the data and knowledge required from information that matters to them. It will also be important to informal settlements. ensure that the data collected are relevant in informing the work of eThekwini Municipality officials and other processes such as the Housing Needs Register described above.
Support the development of a city- Apart from generating new and comprehensive data for informal wide informal settlement profile and settlements, the intention would be for the process to begin mapping exercise in which residents driving transformation e.g. by establishing new partnerships for Consolidated quantitative and qualitative community and municipal-collected data, information and OUTCOME 2 knowledge on all informal settlements in Durban are accessible to all and updated regularly of each informal settlement develop data gathering. There are precedents of successful programmes their own profile and undertake digital having been undertaken at scale in Ghana, Uganda and Liberia. mapping of boundaries and services, Appropriate mechanisms for data collection (e.g. focus groups/ with appropriate support. community surveys) need to be agreed on in order to maximise data Once political and administrative champions have been identified it will be essential that widespread local action follows in order accuracy. to consolidate and build trust in the vision of collaboration. Throughout the 100RC process in Durban, the issue of creating a knowledge-centred city has been prioritised by stakeholders and this has emerged as a particularly important need in relation to RBO 1. Opportunities exist for eThekwini Municipality to facilitate data collection by local informal settlement communities Undertake community and local It is essential that interventions in informal settlements are linked to and data are also available through eThekwini Municipality itself and through NGOs, CBOs and research organisations working government dialogues to jointly jointly identified priorities that are co-developed between eThekwini in the city. These data alone won’t catalyse immediate change, but the process of collection and use could provide an important co-produce knowledge to identify Municipality and informal settlement communities through a starting point for more collaborative action. The data could also provide the basis for an informed dialogue between informal development priorities for each participatory planning process. This creates demand and ownership settlement communities, relevant organisations and eThekwini Municipality that moves beyond a cataloguing of needs by the settlement. among local communities and also ensures that implementation community, to a joint exercise in priority-setting and action planning. A city-wide informal settlement profile developed through plans are informed by what is possible for eThekwini Municipality. the integration of the self-assessments undertaken by the residents of each informal settlement in Durban will address multiple levers for change simultaneously: strengthening the local community and building cohesion; building skills in informal settlement communities; promoting economic livelihoods for the poor; and laying the foundation for inclusive city planning. This approach Establish a relevant platform to There is currently very limited information on informal settlement will facilitate the identification of targeted resilience-building interventions and is in line with global and national precedents, consolidate and share information communities and the information that exists is often not accessible which suggest that this sort of collaborative knowledge development has the potential to shift the way communities and regarding informal settlements. to all stakeholders. The challenge of lack of accessible information governments engage. Given the scale of the work required, however, careful consideration needs to be given to the manner has been consistently raised by stakeholders as an obstacle to in which such a city-wide approach is implemented and what mechanisms need to be put in place to ensure that information collaborative informal settlement action. is updated regularly. It will also be important to align the updating of data with other data collection processes. This might include, for example, the Municipal Services and Living Conditions Survey or the National Population Census. Develop, in collaboration with One example would be to create livelihood opportunities for youth communities, a range of accessible in informal settlements to produce video and multimedia content communication products in both on life in informal settlements to assist with the communication of English and IsiZulu to share the results the results. of the data collection process. 82 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 83
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EThekwini Municipality facilitates the establishment of proactive, innovative and city-wide partnerships to OUTCOME 3 STAGE 2 - OUTCOME 3 develop and execute collaborative, climate-smart and sustainable informal settlement upgrading.
Interventions Explanatory notes It will also be critical to establish partnerships to support the implementation of the priorities jointly identified by the local informal settlement communities and other relevant stakeholders. Importantly, a mindset change is required that sees Research relevant best practice in Project Preparation Trust (PPT) and the University of KwaZulu- Natal communities identified as partners – not just beneficiaries – in order to support and promote community ownership of projects, Durban and internationally, promote (UKZN) are already involved in several research initiatives, and the economic development of the most vulnerable and broad-based skill building. This idea is already embedded in the UISP, the management and dissemination Slum Dwellers International (SDI) Secretariat can provide guidance which requires municipalities to work in partnership with informal settlement residents during the upgrading process. Technical of knowledge, and use this to inform regarding international research sources. However, it is important to and financial support is available to municipalities through the National Upgrading Support Programme (NUSP), the Urban implementation. be clear on what the focus of research needs to be, and how this is Settlement Development Grant (USDG) and the City Support Programme (CSP). During the consultations around RBO 1, used as a tool to build new knowledge about informal settlements. stakeholders in Durban identified the transformative power of peer-to-peer experiential exchange for city officials, communities and partners with their counterparts in other cities. These exchanges – to other relevant national and international sites – can serve to build trust between the local collaborating partners and can enhance practical, results-based capacity building. Tools Explore innovative climate-smart Informal settlements in Durban are at high risk from extreme such as Memoranda of Agreement (MOAs), Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) and Social Compacts were also suggested approaches to informal settlement weather. Climate changes that have been projected for Durban by stakeholders to be effective for guiding these partnerships. The challenge of sustaining such partnerships, for example upgrading. include increased temperatures and more variability in rainfall, with through ongoing engagement and funding, was also highlighted during the discussions. associated implications for human health, safety and wellbeing. Innovative, climate-smart, approaches to upgrading informal settlements are required.
Identify where city-wide partnerships This would require that informal settlement communities identify are needed and the potential for the role they can play in the upgrading process, and the capacities various partners to contribute to and resources they can contribute to partnerships with eThekwini implementation priorities. Possible Municipality. This process helps to shift the narrative from “delivery” partners include NGOs, CBOs, to “partnerships” and from “demands” to “suggestions”. Similarly, communities, researchers, private eThekwini Municipality will need to identify the resources and sector and neighbouring formal capacity it can bring to these partnerships. In addition, other communities. potential partners should be drawn into the process from civil society, non-governmental organisations, research institutions and the private sector.
Establish partnerships, using relevant Several mechanisms exist (e.g. social compacts, MOU’s, Section 67 mechanisms, to co-produce and of the Municipal Finance Management Act etc.) to facilitate the execute interventions that respond development of partnerships and to structure the collaboration to the priorities identified by informal required. These need to be assessed for their suitability and used settlement communities. in appropriate ways. It should also be noted that eThekwini Municipality’s Human Settlements Unit has City-Community Partnership Arrangements (CCPA’s) for 42 informal settlements.
Establish systems and funding Once partnerships have been established, there will be a need to to support and finance relevant proactively invest in and maintain these. Although funding is an partnerships. important element in sustaining partnerships, stakeholders also acknowledged that a level of volunteerism is still critical. 84 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy 85
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Interventions Explanatory notes
Create public spaces that allow for Many informal settlement communities do not have appropriate the convening of community and local spaces for residents of the informal settlement to convene government meetings discussions regarding the upgrading of their informal settlement. It is important to ensure these spaces are kept available for this purpose.
Explore relevant mechanisms to In order to facilitate productive partnerships, there is a need for facilitate mutual learning and improved informal settlement communities to understand how eThekwini relationships between eThekwini Municipality functions and for the Municipality to better understand Municipality and informal settlement the informal settlement communities in which they work. This is communities. important in helping to find common ground regarding the appropriate approach to service delivery in informal settlements. Possible mechanisms that were suggested by stakeholders to facilitate this learning, included peer-to-peer experiential exchanges between teams of local government, community and other partners from Durban and a range of partners in other cities/institutions to encourage joint learning.
EThekwini Municipality secures the human and financial resources required to undertake collaborative, city- OUTCOME 4 wide informal settlement upgrading
It is anticipated that the collaborative approach described above could open up opportunities to secure funding from both national and international sources. As a result Stage 1 should be well documented in order to create a strong evidence base that can be used to make a compelling case for international financial support. Durban stakeholders indicated that although eThekwini Municipality has a critical role to play in coordinating the resourcing of this RBO, the partnership approach also needs to be used to leverage the financial contribution of multiple partners – including informal settlement communities themselves. Community finance facilities are innovative mechanisms that offer affordable finance and/or grants to organized informal settlement communities for the purpose of community managed interventions for upgrading informal settlements. Community finance facilities can be supported by local partners such as National Treasury’s City Support Programme (CSP) and Slum Dwellers International, for example through providing support to community groups around project preparation and loan management where appropriate, or through providing technical support for fund design and management. 86 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 87
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STAGE 2 - OUTCOME 4
Interventions Explanatory notes
Identify the specific skills and human A key challenge that has been identified is the lack of human resources needed to implement and resources with appropriate skills to facilitate collaborative informal sustain priority interventions. settlement action. The first step in securing sufficient human resources is understanding what is required in this regard.
Develop programmes to build the skills of This would complement and support the peer-to-peer experiential local government and other stakeholders exchanges proposed in Outcome 3 by promoting the development of to execute collaborative, climate-smart key skills for successful partnerships. Examples include capacitating and sustainable informal settlement residents of informal settlements to engage with local government and upgrading. empower local government officials in participatory planning.
Estimate the financial costs associated A key challenge to the implementation of collaborative informal with the implementation of priority settlement action is the inadequacy of financial resources to implement interventions a comprehensive programme across all informal settlements in Durban. The first step in securing sufficient financial resources is understanding the costs associated with implementation.
Review the existing resources of This would involve reviewing existing resources (such as approved eThekwini Municipality, informal budgets), how these could be more effectively utilised and the settlement communities, civil society, potential to redirect budgets if required. Understanding the potential non-governmental organisations, the ‘in kind’ contributions from informal settlement communities (for private sector and research institutions example “sweat equity” potential) is also important. A comparison and how these could be more effectively between what is needed, and what is available from eThekwini utilised, and then identify critical resource Municipality and partners, can be used to highlight critical resource gaps. gaps. EThekwini Municipality has enabling and integrated administrative systems and simplified regulatory OUTCOME 5 procedures that facilitate the accelerated implementation of city-wide, collaborative informal settlement Identify opportunities for funding and Opportunities to secure additional funding could include approaching upgrading and partnerships work to secure these funds. donors, or considering specific taxes or levies. Part of this work should include exploring the potential within existing grants (e.g. Urban Settlements Development Grant) to facilitate implementation that is in line with the principles of RBO1 and to leverage innovative As implementation of RBO 1 progresses, it is anticipated that the transversal local government working group will need partnerships for funding from a diverse cross-section of national to make specific recommendations regarding the simplification of regulatory procedures and policy that can accelerate the and international development partners. Existing proposals and informal settlement upgrading process in responsible and sustainable ways. This would need to include a review of associated partnerships should be assessed as part of this intervention, in order to institutional systems, such as eThekwini Municipality’s Performance Management System, which is currently perceived to avoid duplication. constrain integrative and exploratory action because of its punitive focus on quantifiable targets. This assessment of the full ‘value chain’ of action is critical if alternative approaches to informal settlement upgrading are to be delivered at the scale and pace that is required. From a regulatory perspective, it will be important to consider that provincial and national legislation will Facilitate the introduction of a range of Community finance facilities offer affordable finance and/or grants also be applicable in the context of RBO 1, but that eThekwini Municipality may have a more direct impact in relation to local community finance facilities to leverage to organized informal settlement communities for the purpose of government by-laws and policies. resources from informal settlement community managed interventions for upgrading informal settlements. communities and development partners National Treasury is spearheading an initiative to pilot such funds in South Africa’s metropolitan areas. Financial facilities should not be limited to loan financing but could also include initiatives such as community saving schemes. 88 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 89
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Collaborative monitoring and evaluation of informal settlement upgrading interventions is institutionalized OUTCOME 6 in eThekwini Municipality
Joint monitoring and evaluation of progress toward the eight outcomes by eThekwini Municipality, NGOs, CBOs, research organizations, the private sector and informal settlement communities will be required to build trust and ensure mutual accountability. The process and approach to monitoring and evaluation will need to be designed at the outset to ensure maximum learning throughout implementation and should be kept simple enough to promote genuine dialogue and reflection amongst the stakeholders. The city-wide profile developed as part of Outcome 2 could serve as a baseline against which the effectiveness of interventions could be measured. In addition to specific settlement-related data collection and monitoring, it will also be important to develop relevant mechanisms to monitor the implementation of RBO 1 in relation to the 6 six resilience ‘levers for change’ that were the filters used to identify collaborative informal settlement action as a critical opportunity to enhance broader city resilience in Durban. This monitoring and evaluation is important not only in order to advance collaborative informal settlement action, but also to influence and shape wider strategy, policy, investment and implementation of the city resilience agenda in Africa.
STAGE 2 - OUTCOME 5 STAGE 3 - OUTCOME 6
Interventions Explanatory notes Interventions Explanatory notes
Create a transversal local government This may be undertaken by the transversal local government working Establish a collaborative monitoring and The evaluation system should incorporate the original ‘levers for working group that promotes appropriate mentioned in Outcome 1, or it may be a sub-group within that larger evaluation system for the ‘Collaborative change’ that were identified as critical in building resilience in Durban, statutory and regulatory flexibility and body. informal settlement action’ resilience in order to assess the extent to which RBO1 is contributing towards revision. building option. achieving these goals and building broader resilience. Communities should be involved in the feedback of information and how the information they provide is used. Identify current or potential bottlenecks Collaboratively identify whether blockages are related to policy created by the existing statutory and intention (for example is the policy intention to prevent development regulatory context and undertake steps in unsafe areas such as floodplains?) or application (for example Develop and implement a collaborative Oversight and implementation of the collaborative monitoring system to address these. understanding the process that needs to be followed to apply the monitoring and evaluation system would be through relevant institutional structures (to be developed as policy) and address accordingly. that involves eThekwini Municipality, part of Outcome 1 following the institutional review). communities, civil society, private sector, non-governmental organisations and Identify innovative procedures to Further work will be needed to understand the available options in this research organisations. upgrading and service delivery for regard. informal settlements within the existing legislative and policy context.
Identify local government systems that For example, changes to the Performance Management System, which may need to change in order to facilitate is perceived as a system that does not incentivise exploratory and alternative and innovative approaches to integrative work, may need to be considered. collaborative informal settlement action. 90 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 91
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OUTCOME 7 The use of land for informal settlements is proactively managed in Durban
EThekwini Municipality has a critical management and regulatory role to play in guiding a sustainable and resilient development path for the city. There is therefore a need to ensure that the emergence and location of new informal settlements is appropriately and proactively managed within legislative frameworks, in order to minimise human risk and to maximise the potential impact of the inclusive and partnership-based approach that is articulated in RBO 1.
STAGE 3 - OUTCOME 7
Interventions Explanatory notes STAGE 3 - OUTCOME 8 Explore and develop appropriate There is a need to proactively manage the emergence of new informal governance approaches to proactively settlements so that they do not put existing informal settlement manage the emergence and location of residents at risk, undermine existing development plans for areas Interventions Explanatory notes new informal settlements in Durban. that appear to be open, or undermine important natural environment assets. This intervention may require engaging with existing legislation and associated processes, related for example to land invasion. Co-production by eThekwini Municipality, This will build on the area-level dialogue on local government informal settlement communities, civil and community collected data (Outcome 2) and should facilitate society, non-governmental organisations, more detailed co-production of community level upgrading plans. Develop and support appropriate There is a need for communities to assist in the proactive management private sector and research institutions of Appropriate institutional structures where these plans can be co- community approaches to proactively of the expansion of informal settlements. Examples of the types of climate-smart and sustainable settlement produced will be identified and created/expanded on following the manage the expansion of informal proactive management steps already taking place are: surveying upgrading plans at an area level. institutional review proposed in Outcome 1. settlements in Durban. of informal settlement communities (often by the communities themselves) to understand current residential status of residents; formal re-blocking of communities (which can facilitate easier Strengthen partnerships with other Most of the current investment focus in informal settlement upgrading monitoring of existing and new dwellings); and the establishment of spheres of government to facilitate processes is on the delivery of services such as water, sanitation and representative community structures that can engage more readily improved access to services that support electricity. However, attention also needs to be given to a broader with eThekwini Municipality. more holistic human wellbeing e.g. range of services that are critical in enabling the ability of informal health care and education. settlement communities to access improved economic and livelihood opportunities. Services such as education and health care are not always within the mandate of local government, and therefore partnerships with other spheres of government will be needed.
All informal settlements in Durban exhibit improved social, economic and environmental well-being, which OUTCOME 8 Implement collaborative, climate- This refers to the implementation of pilot upgrading of selected in turn enhances Durban’s resilience smart and sustainable pilot upgrading informal settlements throughout Durban. This upgrading should approaches to address priorities raised in be climate-smart to ensure informal settlements are resilient and community-led profiling. responsive to climate change impacts. It is anticipated that the well-being of informal settlement communities will be improved through the implementation of climate-smart, sustainable and resilient informal settlement upgrading policies and pilot projects. The upgrading pilot projects Upscale the implementation of pilot Although pilot projects have a role to play in testing new approaches, should respond to the needs identified and prioritised jointly by communities, relevant organisations and eThekwini Municipality. projects to ensure city-wide coverage. interventions ultimately need to be introduced in all informal Interventions are likely to be diverse, spanning the provision of housing, infrastructural improvements, basic services and settlements in Durban. sustainable livelihoods. Consideration also needs to be given to the provision of social amenities such as schools and clinics, and how eThekwini Municipality can facilitate improved engagement with the other spheres of government responsible for their provision. It is intended that the impact of the pilot projects will be greater than the sum of the parts, catalysing new Create employment opportunities Wherever possible, the processes associated with upgrading should ways of engaging with communities, building new partnerships, and generating renewed vigour around issues of urban and skills development in informal create employment and skills development opportunities for informal transformation, in ways that translate the resilience ‘levers for change’ into practical actions that generate new learning and settlements linked to upgrading. settlement communities. This could include facilitating access to Wi-Fi facilitate replication throughout the city. Importantly, stakeholders emphasized that pilot initiatives are not sufficient and that in informal settlements and the creation of job link centres. they must be accompanied over the longer-term by a city-wide rollout of appropriate informal settlement upgrading. 92 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 93
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RBO 1 workplan
Outcome 2 CONSOLIDATED QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE COMMUNITY AND MUNICIPAL- A summary workplan for the implementation of RBO 1 is provided below. Given the range of organisations that may be COLLECTED DATA, INFORMATION AND KNOWLEDGE ON ALL INFORMAL involved in implementation, and the fact that these may vary from one informal settlement community to the next, no names of SETTLEMENTS IN DURBAN ARE ACCESSIBLE TO ALL AND UPDATED REGULARLY organisations (other than eThekwini Municipality) have been specified. Similarly, the timeframes given are a high level indication only: ‘Short-term’ indicates 0-3 years; ‘Medium-term’ indicates 4-7 years and ‘Long-term’ indicates a likely implementation period of more than 8 years. Overview Appropriate data are critical in facilitating improved understanding of informal settlements and the process of data collection could act as a starting point for collaborative informal settlement action. Opportunities exist for eThekwini Municipality to facilitate data collection by local informal settlement communities. Data are also available through the Municipality itself and through NGOs, CBOs and research organisations. The data could also provide the basis for an informed dialogue between communities, relevant organisations and eThekwini Municipality to inform appropriate Outcome 1 ETHEKWINI MUNICIPALITY HAS A COMMITTED TEAM OF CHAMPIONS THAT ARE SUPPORTED BY COORDINATING INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURES TO ENSURE implementation actions. COLLABORATIVE INFORMAL SETTLEMENT ACTION
Responsibility Local Government, NGO/CBO Sector, Research Sector Overview Throughout the stakeholder engagement process, there was consensus that in order to drive the transformative change that is required, eThekwini Municipality needs to have appropriate political and administrative champions for RBO 1, and that champions Timeframe Short Term (0 to 3 Years) are also needed amongst NGOs, CBOs, research organisations and the private sector. Appropriate institutional coordination mechanisms also need to be put in place to oversee implementation. Interventions • Review and understand existing information sources and other initiatives to collect information. • Collaboratively prioritise the type of data and knowledge required from Local Government informal settlements. Responsibility • Support the development of a city-wide informal settlement profile and mapping exercise in which residents of each informal settlement develop their own profile Short Term (0 to 3 Years) and undertake digital mapping of boundaries and services, with appropriate Timeframe support. • Undertake community and local government dialogues to jointly co-produce knowledge to identify development priorities for each settlement. Interventions • Identify and secure a political champion and relevant administrative champions within eThekwini Municipality. • Establish a relevant platform to consolidate and share information regarding • Undertake a review of existing eThekwini Municipality coordinating structures and informal settlements. establish new structures or expand existing structures as required. • Develop, in collaboration with communities, a range of accessible communication • Establish a multi-sectoral advisory forum that can lead the debate regarding products in both English and isiZulu to share the results of the data informal settlement upgrading. collection process. • Establish a clear policy statement regarding collaborative informal settlement action. • Develop an appropriate brand for the ‘Collaborative Informal Settlement Action’ work and a range of appropriate communication materials explaining policy positions and statements. 94 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 95
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Outcome 3 ETHEKWINI MUNICIPALITY FACILITATES THE ESTABLISHMENT OF PROACTIVE, Outcome 4 ETHEKWINI MUNICIPALITY SECURES THE HUMAN AND FINANCIAL RESOURCES INNOVATIVE AND CITY-WIDE PARTNERSHIPS TO DEVELOP AND EXECUTE REQUIRED TO UNDERTAKE COLLABORATIVE, CITY-WIDE INFORMAL SETTLEMENT COLLABORATIVE, CLIMATE-SMART AND SUSTAINABLE INFORMAL SETTLEMENT UPGRADING UPGRADING.
Overview Partnerships will need to be established to support the implementation of the priorities Overview Appropriate human and financial resources will be needed to support the jointly identified by the local informal settlement communities and other stakeholders. implementation of RBO 1. EThekwini Municipality has a critical role to play in Importantly, a mindset change is required that sees communities identified as partners coordinating the resourcing of this RBO, but financial contributions from multiple – not just beneficiaries – in order to support community ownership of projects, partners – including communities themselves – must also be considered. economic development of the most vulnerable and broad-based skill building. Appropriate mechanisms and resources need to be found to support and sustain critical partnerships.
Responsibility Local Government, NGO/CBO Sector, and Research Sector. Provincial and National Responsibility Local, Provincial and National government, NGO/CBO Sector, Research Sector. government departments may also have a role to play.
Timeframe Medium Term (3 to 7 Years) Timeframe Medium Term (3 to 7 Years)
Interventions • Research relevant best practice in Durban and internationally, promote Interventions • Identify the specific skills and human resources needed to implement and sustain the management and dissemination of knowledge, and use this to inform priority interventions. implementation. • Develop programmes to build the skills of local government and other • Explore innovative climate-smart approaches to informal settlement upgrading. stakeholders to execute collaborative, climate-smart and sustainable informal • Identify where city-wide partnerships are needed and the potential for various settlement upgrading. partners to contribute to implementation priorities. Possible partners include • Estimate the financial costs associated with the implementation of priority NGOs, CBOs, communities, researchers, private sector and neighbouring formal interventions. communities. • Review the existing resources of eThekwini Municipality, informal settlement • Establish partnerships, using relevant mechanisms, to co-produce and execute communities, civil society, non-governmental organisations, the private sector interventions that respond to the priorities identified by informal settlement and research institutions and how these could be more effectively utilised, and communities. then identify critical resource gaps. • Establish systems and funding to support and finance relevant partnerships. • Identify opportunities for funding and work to secure these funds. • Create public spaces that allow for the convening of community and local • Facilitate the introduction of a range of community finance facilities to leverage government meetings. resources from informal settlement communities and development partners. • Explore relevant mechanisms to facilitate mutual learning and improved relationships between eThekwini Municipality and informal settlement communities. 96 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 97
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Outcome 5 ETHEKWINI MUNICIPALITY HAS ENABLING AND INTEGRATED ADMINISTRATIVE Outcome 6 COLLABORATIVE MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF INFORMAL SETTLEMENT SYSTEMS AND SIMPLIFIED REGULATORY PROCEDURES THAT FACILITATE THE UPGRADING INTERVENTIONS IS INSTITUTIONALIZED IN ETHEKWINI MUNICIPALITY ACCELERATED IMPLEMENTATION OF CITY-WIDE, COLLABORATIVE INFORMAL SETTLEMENT UPGRADING AND PARTNERSHIPS
Overview As implementation of RBO 1 progresses, it is anticipated that specific recommendations Overview Joint monitoring and evaluation of progress toward the eight outcomes by eThekwini regarding the simplification of regulatory procedures and policy may be needed, Municipality, NGOs, CBOs, research organizations, the private sector and informal that can accelerate the informal settlement upgrading process in responsible and settlement communities will be required to build trust and ensure mutual accountability. sustainable ways. This monitoring should include a focus on the extent to which implementation of RBO 1 contributes towards addressing the 6 ‘levers for change’ that are needed for resilience in Durban. This monitoring and evaluation is important not only in order to Responsibility Local, Provincial and National government, NGO/CBO Sector, Research Sector advance collaborative informal settlement action but also to influence and shape wider strategy, policy, investment and implementation of the city resilience agenda in Africa.
Timeframe Short Term - 0 to 3 Years (it should be noted that, although this work will be initiated in the short term, the outcome is likely to only be achieved in the medium term) Local Government, NGO/CBO Sector, Research Sector. Provincial and National Responsibility government departments may also have a role to play.
Interventions • Create a transversal local government working group that promotes appropriate statutory and regulatory flexibility and revision. Ongoing (to be initiated in the short-term) • Identify current or potential bottlenecks created by the existing statutory and Timeframe regulatory context and undertake steps to address these. • Identify innovative procedures to upgrading and service delivery for informal settlements within the existing legislative and policy context. • Identify local government systems that may need to change in order to facilitate Interventions • Establish a collaborative monitoring and evaluation system for the ‘Collaborative alternative and innovative approaches to collaborative informal settlement action. informal settlement action’ resilience building option. • Develop and implement a collaborative monitoring and evaluation system that involves eThekwini Municipality, communities, civil society, private sector, non- governmental organisations and research organisations. 98 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 99
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Outcome 7 THE USE OF LAND FOR INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS IS PROACTIVELY MANAGED Outcome 8 ALL INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS IN DURBAN EXHIBIT IMPROVED SOCIAL, ECONOMIC IN DURBAN AND ENVIRONMENTAL WELL-BEING, WHICH IN TURN ENHANCES DURBAN’S RESILIENCE
Overview Ethekwini Municipality has a critical management and regulatory role to play in guiding Overview It is anticipated that the well-being of informal settlement communities will be a sustainable and resilient development path for the city. There is therefore a need to improved through the implementation of climate-smart, sustainable and resilient ensure that the emergence and location of new informal settlements is appropriately informal settlement upgrading policies and pilot projects, and that these pilot projects and proactively managed within legislative frameworks, in order to minimise human are ultimately expanded to ensure city-wide coverage. risk and to maximise the potential impact of the inclusive and partnership-based approach that is articulated in RBO1. Responsibility Local Government, NGO/CBO Sector, Research Sector
Responsibility Local Government, NGO/CBO Sector, Research Sector. Provincial and National government departments may also have a role to play. Timeframe Long Term - More than 7 Years
Timeframe Short Team (0 to 3 Years) Interventions • Co-production by eThekwini Municipality, informal settlement communities, civil society, non-governmental organisations, private sector and research institutions of climate-smart and sustainable settlement upgrading plans at an area level. • Strengthen partnerships with other spheres of government to facilitate improved Interventions • Explore and develop appropriate governance approaches to proactively manage access to services that support more holistic human wellbeing e.g. health care and the emergence and location of new informal settlements in Durban. education. • Develop and support appropriate community approaches to proactively manage • Implement collaborative, climate-smart and sustainable pilot upgrading the expansion of informal settlements in Durban. approaches to address priorities raised in community-led profiling. • Upscale the implementation of pilot projects to ensure city-wide coverage. • Create employment opportunities and skills development in informal settlements linked to upgrading.
Addressing the resilience ‘levers for change’ through ‘Collaborative informal settlement action’
Although collaborative informal settlement action does not address all of the resilience challenges facing Durban, it does provide a critical opportunity to test the ability of eThekwini Municipality and partners to use new approaches in order to address the ‘levers for change’ that are seen to be central to building broad scale urban resilience in the city. The scale of the informal settlement challenge also means that if progress can be made in this area, this will be a significant step forward in enhancing the resilience of Durban as a whole. Stakeholder consultations around the collaborative approach that is articulated in RBO 1 have highlighted for example, the potential for action in informal settlements to: enhance the effectiveness of skills development (e.g. through artisanal training and the involvement of communities in work areas such as data collection); manage environmental assets more effectively (through the improved location of settlements and the exploration of innovative approaches to enhance ecological infrastructure and address storm water and wastewater management issues); improve municipal effectiveness (e.g. through improved facilitation of partnerships, improved communication between eThekwini Municipality, communities and NGO’s involved in housing development, and improved coordination of upgrading interventions in Durban); build social cohesion; and explore new forms of economy within these spaces. Facilitating improved social and economic wellbeing and access to services in the spaces where informal settlements already exist also maintains and enhances the ability of communities to access job opportunities more easily, However, this will require new thinking, theory and tools to assist in ‘planning for and managing informal settlements in the context of a new African urban spatial form which embraces and works with informality to create equity, sustainability and a good quality of life for all of the city’s residents. Working effectively across these issues, under clear and coordinated leadership, has the potential to have broader transformative impacts in Durban, beyond simply the issue of collaborative informal settlement action. 100 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy DURBAN’S RESILIENCE STRATEGY | 101
Insiders Perspective Project 16th - 29th March 2017
An Insider Perspectives Project was undertaken. The goal of the project was to give local informal settlement residents a face within the informal settlement through a series of photographs taken on their smart phone devices. The second was to platform to voice their concerns about life. At the heart of the project lay the desire to see informal settlements through the take a team on a guided tour of each of the informal settlements and to capture photographs from an outsider’s perspective. eyes of their residents, without an imposed filter, and by giving them a chance to share their own view of reality. Three informal The photos collected through both approaches were used throughout this document. Consent to use the photographs and settlements were engaged: Havelock, Boxwood and Emalandeni. Two approaches were used to achieve the desired outcome. accompanying narratives, was provided by the informal settlement residents. The first was to involve people within each of the informal settlement communities in capturing their lives and the issues they
Thobile Nokwethemba “Glass bottle recycling project helps Mkhize to keep our community clean as well as educate our children about MALANDENI littering”
“Children playing after school. They Emmanuel are the most happiest kids even Mabandla Malinga though they have nothing” HAVELOCK
“One of the local ladies runs Nothando Nene a daycare center. The first BOXWOOD child arrives at 5:00 am and the last one leaves at 19:00”
“One of the community Nosisa Madinga mothers fetching drinking water to HAVELOCK keep in her house ”
Richard Vusumuzi “This was a blessing in our Buthelezi community. We can do our washing and we are able to BOXWOOD shower”
“This is where we do our shopping. The best thing about this Yanga Somdizela shop is the owner gives credit and MALANDENI allows you to pay month end” 102 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 103
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Resilience Building Option 2: Integrated and innovative planning at the interface between municipal and traditional governance systems
Background to the challenge of the dual governance system in Durban
Approximately 38% of Durban is rural or semi-rural in nature and communally owned by 21 traditional authorities (Figure 10), through the administration of the Ingonyama Trust Board (ITB). The ITB oversees the affairs of the Ingonyama Trust - established in 1994 by the KwaZulu Ingonyama Trust Act, No. 3 of 1994 (KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government 1994) - to hold all the land that was owned by the former KwaZulu Government. His Majesty, King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu is the Trustee of the land. The primary role of the ITB is to administer the leases on Ingonyama Trust land. The establishment of institutional structures for traditional leadership was provided for through the Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Amendment Act, No. 41 of 2003 (Republic of South Africa 2003). This Act established the National, Provincial and local houses of traditional leaders, and also recognised traditional communities and the need to establish a traditional council for each community (Republic of South Africa 2003).
Figure 10: The location of the 21 Traditional Authority areas in Durban 104 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 105
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The Amakhosi are the traditional leaders and cultural custodians within areas under traditional authority. They are supported There are a number of similarities between RBO 1 and RBO 2. For example, both touch on: access to land outside of the by Izinduna (their technical advisors). The Inkosi, Izinduna and selected community members form a Traditional Council. The formal property market; access to free basic services; issues relating to self-determination and self-development; environmental Amakhosi and Izinduna, with the consent of Traditional Councils and the ITB, have the authority to issue tenure rights and and social risk; their location in the city in relation to the city’s history; and the way in which both disrupt the clear lines that lease Trust land, and hence play a major role in land allocation in Durban. Although eThekwini Municipality provides some distinguish formality and informality. Both are also politically complex spaces where questions are being raised around new support to traditional authorities and people living in traditional areas (mainly through the Amakhosi Support Department forms of governance and urbanism. Key points of intersection include the fact that (a) some of Durban’s informal settlements and the Amakhosi Forum), there is currently very little coordination between eThekwini Municipality, the ITB and traditional are located in traditional authority areas and (b) migration from rural to urban areas for work opportunities can be a contributor authorities around land use planning and management, which has resulted in a dual governance system operating in Durban. to the informal settlements challenge. However, it is important to note that, despite these similarities and points of intersection, This complex governance landscape is represented in Figure 11. these RBOs have been framed as very distinct issues by stakeholders, and will require different resilience building responses.
Current issues and challenges relating to the lack of integration of planning across municipal and traditional governance systems in Durban
During consultation, stakeholders highlighted the absence of integrated planning across the municipal and traditional governance systems in Durban as a major risk, given the rapid and unplanned development taking place in the rural areas of the city. This has implications for the protection and management of critical environmental assets and also for the way in which services are delivered to peri-urban and rural areas. The specific issues raised are outlined below.
There is a lack of understanding between traditional and municipal governance systems
There is a mutual lack of understanding between traditional governance systems and municipal governance systems. Neither system fully understands the role and functioning of the other, and thus no clear process guidelines exist to guide the manner in which the two systems engage one another. This mutual lack of understanding has resulted in significant confusion and a tendency for the two systems to engage with each other either in an inappropriate way or simply too late to provide meaningful input. Some structures have been established to attempt to address this lack of coordination and understanding, such as the Amakhosi Forum (a local government function that was set up specifically to facilitate interactions between eThekwini Municipality and traditional leaders). At the local scale the Amakhosi, Izinduna and Councillors of each traditional authority area and ward25 interact with each other, but these interactions do not always influence the debates occurring within the broader municipal system. Additional efforts to enhance mutual understanding are therefore required if a more resilient city is to be achieved.
Figure 11: The municipal and traditional governance landscape in Durban (Sutherland and Sim, 2017)
An estimated 50% of the critical environmental assets in Durban fall within these communal rural areas and are under the management of the ITB and Traditional Authorities. These areas are of high biodiversity value and deliver key ecosystem services (e.g. water supply, flood attenuation and water purification) that support human wellbeing and provide basic services, particularly to poor rural communities. The relative absence of integrated governance relationships between the two systems (municipal and traditional) in Durban therefore has the potential to undermine planning processes, environmental protection and effective service delivery in rural areas and has implications city wide for the achievement of sustainable development and resilience at the city level. An opportunity exists through the Resilience Strategy to explore whether there are mechanisms available that could improve decision-making across these governance systems, in order to ensure integrated planning and the 25 A ‘ward’ is a spatial division within the city, for administrative and political purposes. In eThekwini Municipality, a ward councilor is elected for each ward. Thus, in protection of key environmental assets in Durban. traditional authority areas, both traditional authorities and ward councilors play a role in governing these areas. 106 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy 107
No two traditional authority areas are the same
A further challenge in improving the level of understanding between the two governance systems is that no two traditional authority areas are the same. These areas vary in terms of size, number of residents, profile of residents and development needs. In addition, although there are similar governance structures within each traditional authority area, the governance approach in each varies. A nuanced understanding of each traditional authority area and its leadership is therefore required in order to facilitate effective engagement. A mechanism is also needed to make this knowledge available to the range of people working on issues related to these traditional areas in order to enhance resilience promoting opportunities.
Indigenous knowledge needs to be incorporated into governance processes
Traditional authorities are custodians of indigenous knowledge. This knowledge is critical in supporting good decision-making in traditional authority areas, but is not currently accessible or understood by the municipal systems and structures. Methods of incorporating indigenous knowledge into municipal decision-making needs to be investigated and implemented wherever possible as parts of efforts to enhance resilience.
EThekwini Municipality lacks understanding regarding its legislated planning powers in traditional authority areas
There are significant challenges in implementing the rollout of town planning schemes in traditional authority There is a lack of understanding about eThekwini Municipality’s legislated planning powers and how to use these effectively areas within the context of traditional authorities. This has resulted in eThekwini Municipality only playing the role of a commenting authority, for example, in the case of lease approval in ITB areas, instead of exercising its full legal mandate in relation to In order for eThekwini Municipality to be able to exercise its legal planning mandate, town planning schemes will need to be planning, land-use management and enforcement. As a result, eThekwini Municipality receives no feedback on the comments developed for all traditional authority areas. This has currently only been possible in a few instances where there has been no it provides to the ITB on lease applications and is therefore unable to monitor the impacts of development. An additional contestation around land-use. The situation is further exacerbated by the fact that the Rural Development Strategy (which consideration is that the ITB only reviews large scale lease applications, with most land-use decisions being made at the level of should inform the scheme rollout process) was approved by Council in June 2016 but is not fully supported by traditional the Traditional Councils. There is no clear direction as to how eThekwini Municipality might engage with the decision making leaders. Past attempts at scheme rollout have faced significant challenges including: the need for eThekwini Municipality to be at the level of the Traditional Councils in a structured way. An additional challenge is that, if eThekwini Municipality’s planning delegated authority in terms of the KwaZulu Land Affairs Act, No 11 of 1992 (KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government 1992) to powers are not understood and implemented, this creates difficulties in enforcing legislation in these areas and will undermine undertake this, and delays in this process; delays related to the required approvals in terms of the Subdivision of Agricultural attempts at increasing resilience. Land Act, No. 70 of 1970 (Republic of South Africa 1970) and the National Environmental Management Act, No. 107 of 1998 (Republic of South Africa 1998), given that land that is not regulated is regarded as ‘agricultural’ and thus development requires approvals under these acts; the lack of cadastral information in traditional areas; political tensions between municipal and traditional governance systems; a lack of support for the changes that are needed to regularise planning in traditional areas; and the unresolved rates payment issue, which results in traditional leaders being reluctant to engage in formal planning processes as this might result in the need to pay rates26 for the services provided. Additional challenges include the lack of understanding and consensus around what a ‘rural scheme’ should look like (given that a conventional town planning scheme is not relevant in a rural context) and a policy environment where there is still little guidance regarding the development of rural schemes, despite indications that national guidelines will eventually be developed for this purpose. The current contestation of the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act, No. 16 of 2013 (Republic of South Africa 2013) by traditional authorities (because of its requirement for a ‘wall to wall’ scheme rollout across Durban), is also a challenge in facilitating improved and integrated governance between the municipal and traditional systems. An additional confounding factor is the fact that the spatial planning and land use management functions at national and provincial government levels are separated, which makes it difficult to tackle issues such as scheme rollout in a comprehensive and integrated manner. Current initiatives being undertaken by eThekwini Municipality in relation to scheme rollout, include the: rationalisation of schemes (from 32 to 5 regional schemes); standardisation of schemes across previously separate local government council areas (which have been amalgamated to form the Durban municipal area); and the implementation of pilot projects (e.g. in the preparation of a rural scheme for the Umnini area) in order to better understand the process of developing and implementing a rural scheme.
26 In this context ‘rates’ refers to property taxes 108 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 109
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The quality of engagement between eThekwini Municipality and traditional authorities will be key in facilitating integrated planning and governance
The current engagement processes with traditional authorities are not sufficiently consultative and often do not happen at appropriate times during the project planning phase. As a result, the engagement of local government officials with the Amakhosi tends to be reactive rather than proactive. A significant challenge in engaging more effectively is the lack of capacity on both sides. On the side of eThekwini Municipality there are very few officials who understand the role of the traditional authorities and the way in which they function, and this limits the extent to which new conversations can be brokered. On the side of the Amakhosi, many traditional leaders are not sufficiently capacitated to engage with the formal planning processes required by eThekwini Municipality. In some instances COGTA has played a role in trying to facilitate improved engagement between the traditional leaders and legislated planning processes, but the additional time and financial resources required to undertake such engagement processes are generally not catered for in project planning and funding.
This will not be the first time that attempts have been made to integrate municipal and traditional governance systems
There have been previous attempts to facilitate integrated planning, scheme rollout and engagement with traditional authority leaders, and the tools and experience that resulted still exist to help guide current efforts. Various challenges were, however, encountered which prevented these processes from moving further forward and some of these were discussed under the section dealing with ‘scheme rollout’. In addition to the efforts of Provincial Government, the Rural Area Based Management (ABM) team in eThekwini Municipality was established to facilitate improved planning across municipal and traditional governance systems, and in some cases spatial plans were developed jointly with the Amakhosi in pilot areas. These projects were not sustainable given the lack of capacity on the part of the Amakhosi to utilise the spatial plans in their decision making, and on the part of the Rural ABM team to sustain the programme, given that the international funding supporting the programme Lack of clarity around a number of ‘boundary issues’ came to an end.
A common theme emerging at the heart of discussions focused on integrated governance relates to ‘boundaries’ of different forms, and the way in which these hamper attempts to improve interactions between municipal and traditional governance Identification and prioritisation of ‘hotspots’ are required systems. Some of these ‘boundary issues’ include: Many areas under the management of the ITB are of high biodiversity value. These areas deliver critical ecosystem services • Institutional boundaries: There is a lack of clarity regarding the distinct roles and responsibilities of the ITB, the Provincial (e.g. water supply, flood attenuation and water purification) that support human wellbeing and help manage a variety of Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) and traditional authorities in relation to decision- potential risks in Durban. There is therefore a need to prioritise ‘hotspots’ within ITB areas, which are particularly vulnerable to making and influence. uncontrolled development pressure and yet are critical providers of these essential ecosystem services. To ensure the protection of these ‘hotspots’, mechanisms are needed that place an appropriate value on these areas and incentivise their protection and • Geographic boundaries: There is a lack of clarity regarding what constitutes ITB land. Over time, many areas have management while at the same time ensuring societal upliftment. become vested with eThekwini Municipality and there is no clear indication of where the boundaries of ITB land lie. This contributes to the unresolved rates issue.
• Ownership boundaries: In ITB areas where there is a communal land tenure system which connects the traditional authority with communities around land it is difficult to determine who is responsible for non-compliance, for example, in relation to building regulations, and who bears the responsibility and costs of poor land allocation decisions.
There is a lack of coordination within eThekwini Municipality regarding delivery of infrastructure and services to traditional authority areas
Within eThekwini Municipality there is a need for better coordination regarding the planning and delivery of infrastructure and services. Traditional authorities currently receive municipal proposals in a relatively ad hoc manner, on a project-by-project basis. Closely linked to this is the unresolved rates issue, as the provision of services is accompanied by the expectation on the part of eThekwini Municipality that the rates received will cover these costs. Traditional authorities do not believe that they should have to pay rates on the land that they own. 110 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 111
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Framing RBO 2: Integrated and innovative planning at the interface Secure institutional support for the process of integrating planning between municipal and traditional OUTCOME 1 between municipal and traditional governance systems governance systems.
The issues raised by stakeholders relating to RBO 2 are extremely complex and have deep roots within the political history of the country, province and Durban. As a result, it is critical to ensure that there is appropriate and high level political support for RBO 2 before proceeding. Appropriate resourcing will also be required as this will require a dedicated coordination and facilitation effort focused on RBO 2, over and above the existing local government line functions. For these reasons only one outcome has been identified by stakeholders and clear and continuous political guidance will be required in order to advance further work on RBO 2. It is also important to note that the challenges associated with the lack of integration of the two governance systems in STAGE 1 - OUTCOME 1 Durban are relatively new compared to the challenges associated with informal settlements. Informal settlements have formed part of the urban fabric of Durban since the early 1950s and hence the city has a long history of addressing the challenges Interventions Explanatory notes associated with inadequate housing. RBO 1 therefore focuses on a resilience challenge in Durban that is well established and which has long been part of the city’s history and geography. RBO 2 is a more recent resilience challenge and opportunity in Secure a political champion. Given the political tensions around the dual governance system, the city. The dual (i.e. municipal and traditional) governance system has only been in place since 2000 as a result of the national high level political support from local government leaders is needed municipal demarcation process which increased the land area that was planned and managed by eThekwini Municipality by in order to engage with the appropriate traditional leaders. It is 68%. This included the incorporation of large areas of traditional authority land into the newly formed eThekwini Municipality. likely that such leadership would need to come from the Mayor. The challenges associated with this dual governance system in relation to the resilience and sustainability of the city have only begun to emerge in a form which has demanded significant attention since 2008, when officials from different departments within eThekwini Municipality began to reflect on the challenges associated with the rapid densification of the traditional Convene the political committee The Mayor proposed the establishment of a committee comprising authority areas, particularly in certain ‘hotspot’ areas. Experience, knowledge and understanding around RBO 2 have therefore proposed by the Mayor, to provide two Amakhosi, two Izinduna and two proportional representation only recently begun to be advanced, and this has impacted on the extent to which RBO 2 can be developed in the resilience advice on the way forward in this RBO. councillors, to work with the CRO Team to determine the way strategy. It is also important to note that the very particular nature and context of Durban’s municipal-traditional governance forward for RBO 2. challenge, means that there is little similar experience to draw from in other cities and Durban will therefore need to craft its own way forward in this component of the city’s Resilience Strategy.
Secure support from eThekwini Given the range of strategy development, service delivery and Municipality Departments working infrastructure investment that is currently underway in traditional in the area of integrated planning authority areas, improved coordination across local government between municipal and traditional line departments is needed in order to ensure that interventions are systems. aligned and that appropriate processes are followed.
Strategy outcomes and interventions for RBO 2: Integrated and Secure support from traditional High level support for, and endorsement of, a more integrated innovative planning at the interface between municipal and traditional authorities in Durban. approach to governance is needed from traditional leadership. This governance systems may involve the Ingonyama himself.
Secure dedicated human resources for Better integration of municipal and traditional governance systems Integrated and innovative planning at the interface between municipal and traditional governance implementation. will require additional resources to ensure more proactive and systems: An overview of RBO 2 outcomes consultative engagement with traditional leaders in planning processes. Existing resources do not allow for the time required to make advances in this regard. STAGE 1 OUTCOME 1 Secure institutional support for the process of integrating planning between municipal and traditional governance systems. 112 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy DURBAN’S RESILIENCE STRATEGY | 113
9.3.5 RBO 2 workplan Exploring potential ‘bridging links’ RBO 2: “Integrated and innovative planning at the interface between formal and traditional governance systems”
As previously indicated, Durban’s decision to focus on only two RBOs in its first Resilience Strategy was a deliberate one – the Outcome 1 SECURE INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT FOR THE PROCESS OF INTEGRATING PLANNING intention being to bring the resilience thinking to bear in areas and on issues that are urgent priorities for people, and where BETWEEN MUNICIPAL AND TRADITIONAL GOVERNANCE SYSTEMS addressing the six resilience ‘levers for change’ could have broader and more catalytic impact. It has always been clear, however, that this initial focus is in no way exhaustive and that there are additional resilience challenges that will need to be addressed through time. The most immediate of these is likely to be the informal economy which has strong links to both RBO 1 and 2. The intention is therefore to begin by exploring these additional issues in the context of the existing RBOs and then to expand Given the political and governance complexities related to integrated planning across Overview the strategy as appropriate over time. the municipal and traditional governance systems, strong institutional and political support, on both the part of eThekwini Municipality and the traditional authorities, will be needed in order to advance the work that is needed in this RBO.
Responsibility Local Government
Timeframe Short Term (0 to 3 Years)
Interventions • Secure a political champion. • Convene the political committee proposed by the Mayor, to provide advice on the way forward in this RBO. • Secure support from eThekwini Municipality Departments working in the area of integrated planning between municipal and traditional systems. • Secure support from traditional authorities in Durban. • Secure dedicated human resources for implementation.
Addressing the resilience ‘levers for change’ through ‘Integrated and innovative planning at the interface between municipal and traditional governance systems’
Although RBO 2 poses a different type and scale of governance challenge than RBO 1, there is significant potential for this RBO to address multiple of the levers for change that are critical for building resilience in Durban. Stakeholders highlighted for example, the opportunities that more integrated and innovative planning at the interface between municipal and traditional governance systems would create in terms of improving municipal effectiveness, spatial planning and service delivery, and in providing opportunities to explore initiatives to incentivise environmental protection and open up alternative financial flows and new forms of economy for those living in rural areas. 114 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 115
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Institutionalising resilience in eThekwini Municipality
Although Durban’s Resilience Strategy will provide an important starting point for encouraging resilience focused action, appropriate institutionalisation of the resilience function is also required if implementation is to be coordinated and mainstreamed. This has been pursued in two ways: firstly through the establishment of a dedicated ‘Sustainable and Resilient City Initiatives Unit’ in the Office of the City Manager, and secondly by aligning the development of the Resilience Strategy with the work being done by the City Planning Commission27 in producing the city’s new Development Plan
In June 2016, Durban’s CRO was seconded to act in this position in the Strategic Management Office which is located in the Office of the City Manager. The role of the new sustainability and resilience function is to plan, manage and coordinate the implementation of all strategic sustainability and resilience initiatives for eThekwini Municipality, and the secondment of the CRO to this position provides an important opportunity to strategically integrate the Resilience Strategy into local government planning processes. An expanded organogram has been developed to ensure that this new sustainability and resilience function is appropriately resourced going forward. One of the key roles of the Sustainable and Resilient City Initiatives Unit will be to oversee the implementation and further development of Durban’s Resilience Strategy.
The proposal for the creation of a dedicated sustainability function was first proposed by the (then) City Manager in 2012 and resulted in the creation of a new strategic post (Head: Sustainable City Initiatives) with a view to improving the coordination and communication amongst the environmental and sustainability related sectors in eThekwini Municipality and to advise city leadership on these issues. However, this position was not filled immediately and remained vacant for 4 years. Over time Durban’s application to participate in 100RC, the appointment of an internal CRO, and the growing influence of the evolving global resilience debate, all contributed to the mandate of this post being expanded to include a resilience component (i.e. Head: Sustainable and Resilient City Initiatives).
27 The City Planning Commission (CPC) is an external body endorsed by the City leadership and has been established to provide strategic guidance in planning Durban’s future. 116 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 117
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Summary of Durban’s Resilience Strategy
Focus of the Estimated Outcome Roles/ Responsibilities Interventions Resilience Strategy timeframe
Resilience Outcome 1: Local Government Short Term (0 to 3 Years) • Identify and secure a political champion and relevant administrative champions within eThekwini Municipality. Building Option • Undertake a review of existing eThekwini Municipality co-ordinating structures and establish new structures or expand existing 1: Collaborative EThekwini Municipality structures as required. informal has a committed team • Establish a multi-sectoral advisory forum that can lead the debate regarding informal settlement upgrading. settlement action. of champions that are • Establish a clear policy statement regarding collaborative informal settlement action. supported by coordinating • Develop an appropriate brand for the ‘Collaborative Informal Settlements Action’ work and a range of appropriate communication institutional structures materials explaining policy positions and statements. to ensure collaborative informal settlement action
Outcome 2: Local Government, NGO/ Short Term (0 to 3 Years) • Review and understand existing information sources and other initiatives to collect information. CBO Sector, Research Sector • Collaboratively prioritise the type of data and knowledge required from informal settlements. Consolidated quantitative • Support the development of a city-wide informal settlement profile and mapping exercise in which residents of each informal and qualitative community settlement develop their own profile and undertake digital mapping of boundaries and services, with appropriate support. and municipal-collected • Undertake community and local government dialogues to jointly co-produce knowledge to identify development priorities for each data, information and settlement. knowledge on all informal • Establish a relevant platform to consolidate and share information regarding informal settlements. settlements in Durban • Develop, in collaboration with communities, a range of accessible communication products in both English and IsiZulu to share the are accessible to all and results of the data collection process. updated regularly 118 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 119
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Focus of the Estimated Outcome Roles/ Responsibilities Interventions Resilience Strategy timeframe
Resilience Outcome 3: Local Government, NGO/ Medium Term (3 to 7 • Research relevant best practice in Durban and internationally, promote the management and dissemination of knowledge and use Building Option CBO Sector, and Research Years) this to inform implementation. 1: Collaborative EThekwini Municipality Sector. Provincial and • Explore innovative climate-smart approaches to informal settlement upgrading. informal facilitates the establishment of National government • Identify where city-wide partnerships are needed and the potential for various partners to contribute to implementation priorities. settlement action. proactive, innovative and city- departments may also have a Possible partners include NGOs, CBOs, communities, researchers, private sector and neighbouring formal communities. (cont.) wide partnerships to develop role to play • Establish partnerships, using relevant mechanisms, to co-produce and execute interventions that respond to the priorities and execute collaborative, identified by informal settlement communities. climate-smart and sustainable • Establish systems and funding to support and finance relevant partnerships. informal settlement • Create public spaces that allow for the convening of community and local government meetings. upgrading. • Explore relevant mechanisms to facilitate mutual learning and improved relationships between eThekwini Municipality and informal settlement communities.
Outcome 4: Local, Provincial and National Medium Term (3 to 7 • Identify the specific skills and human resources needed to implement and sustain priority interventions. Government, NGO/CBO Years) • Develop programmes to build the skills of local government and other stakeholders to execute collaborative, climate-smart and EThekwini Municipality Sector, Research Sector sustainable informal settlement upgrading. secures the human and • Estimate the financial costs associated with the implementation of priority interventions. financial resources required • Review the existing resources of eThekwini Municipality, informal settlement communities, civil society, non-governmental to undertake collaborative, organisations, the private sector and research institutions and how these could be more effectively utilised, and then identify city-wide informal settlement critical resource gaps. upgrading • Identify opportunities for funding and work to secure these funds. • Facilitate the introduction of a range of community finance facilities to leverage resources from communities and development partners.
Outcome 5: Local, Provincial and National Short Term (0 to 3 Years) • Create a transversal local government working group that promotes appropriate statutory and regulatory flexibility and revision. Government, NGO/CBO • Identify current or potential bottlenecks created by the existing statutory and regulatory context and undertake steps to address EThekwini Municipality has Sector, Research Sector these. enabling and integrated • Identify innovative procedures to upgrading and service delivery for informal settlements within the existing legislative and policy administrative systems context. and simplified regulatory • Identify local government systems that may need to change in order to facilitate alternative and innovative approaches to procedures that facilitate the collaborative informal settlement action. accelerated implementation of city-wide, collaborative informal settlement upgrading and partnerships 120 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 121
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Focus of the Estimated Outcome Roles/ Responsibilities Interventions Resilience Strategy timeframe
Resilience Outcome 6: Local Government, NGO/ Ongoing (to be initiated in • Establish a collaborative monitoring and evaluation system for the ‘Collaborative informal settlement action’ resilience building Building Option CBO Sector, Research Sector. the short term) option. 1: Collaborative Collaborative monitoring Provincial and National • Develop and implement a collaborative monitoring and evaluation system that involves eThekwini Municipality, communities, civil informal and evaluation of government departments society, private sector, non-governmental organisations and research organisations. settlement action. informal settlement may also have a role to play (cont.) upgrading interventions is institutionalized in eThekwini Municipality
Outcome 7: Local Government, NGO/ Short Team (0 to 3 Years) • Explore and develop appropriate governance approaches to proactively manage the emergence and location of new informal CBO Sector, Research Sector. settlements in Durban. The use of land for informal Provincial and National • Develop and support appropriate community approaches to proactively manage the expansion of informal settlements in Durban. settlements is proactively government departments managed in Durban may also have a role to play
Outcome 8: Local Government, NGO/ Long Term (More than 7 • Co-production by eThekwini Municipality, communities, civil society, non-governmental organisations, private sector and research CBO Sector, Research Sector Years) institutions of climate-smart and sustainable settlement upgrading plans at an area level. All informal settlements in • Strengthen partnerships with other spheres of government to facilitate improved access to services that support more holistic Durban exhibit improved human wellbeing e.g. health care and education. social, economic and • Implement collaborative, climate-smart and sustainable pilot upgrading approaches to address priorities raised in community-led environmental well-being, profiling. which in turn enhances • Upscale the implementation of pilot projects to ensure city-wide coverage. Durban’s resilience • Create employment opportunities and skills development in informal settlements linked to upgrading. 122 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 123
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Focus of the Estimated Outcome Roles/ Responsibilities Interventions Resilience Strategy timeframe
Resilience Building Option Outcome 1: Local Government Short Term (0 to 3 Years) • Secure a political champion. 2: Integrated and • Convene the political committee proposed by the Mayor to provide advice on the way forward in this RBO. Innovative Planning Secure institutional support • Secure support from eThekwini Municipality departments working in the area of integrated planning between municipal and at the interface for the process of integrating traditional systems. between municipal planning between municipal • Secure support from traditional authorities in Durban. and traditional and traditional governance • Secure dedicated human resources for implementation. governance systems systems.
Exploring bridging Outcome 1: Local government and Short term (0-3 years) • Explore additional resilience issues in the context of the existing RBOs. links relevant NGOs, CBOs, for exploratory work and • Explore relevant ways to expand Durban’s Resilience Strategy in future iterations. Additional resilience research organisations and medium term (4-7 years) challenges (e.g. the informal the private sector to revise and update economy) are explored Durban’s Resilience Strategy
Institutionalising Outcome 1: Local government (100RC Short term • Institutionalisation of the resilience function in eThekwini Municipality. resilience in team) eThekwini Appropriate institutionalisation Municipality of the resilience function in eThekwini Municipality in order to coordinate and mainstream this work 124 CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 125
Monitoring and evaluating the implementation of Durban’s Resilience Strategy
The implementation of Durban’s Resilience Strategy will need to be monitored and evaluated at two levels: firstly at a strategic level, in terms of whether the implementation of actions within each of the RBOs contributes to broader city progress in relation to the six ‘levers for change’ that provide the framework for resilience action in Durban; and secondly at an RBO level, in terms of whether there has been successful implementation of the interventions identified for each RBO and the realisation of the related outcomes.
Work that was undertaken as part of the ‘Human Benefit Analysis’ provides early pointers to the sorts of indicators that may be appropriate for monitoring RBO implementation at the strategic level. For example: to assess the contribution of the RBOs towards addressing the ‘lever for change’: ‘Create a more inclusive and integrated spatial plan’, monitoring would need to assess the extent to which the RBO outcomes reduce the historic spatial distribution of risk, in favour of inclusion. Alternatively, the ‘lever for change’ focused on ‘Strengthening communities and building social cohesion’, would require an assessment of the extent to which the RBO outcomes contribute to closing the income and resource inequality gap; while the ‘Manage environmental assets more effectively’ ‘lever for change’ highlights the need to assess the extent to which the RBO outcomes Monitoring and evaluating contribute to reducing ecological degradation and known environmental risks. These early ideas will be developed further as the more detailed implementation plan for the Strategy is created. the implementation of Durban’s Resilience Strategy 126 CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 127
Reflections on the 100RC Programme
Durban’s 100RC process has been characterised by a desire to build the Resilience Strategy through extensive stakeholder engagement and co-production of knowledge, in the belief that changing governance systems (by creating new forms of interaction between the state and civil society and other stakeholders around resilience focused issues) has the potential to transform systems in ways that will have positive sustainability, social justice and equity outcomes, thereby creating a significant meaningful resilience dividend. As a result Durban’s 100RC journey has been both challenging and provocative. An additional challenge has been that, although Durban’s initial proposal to 100RC focused on exploring resilience at the climate-biodiversity-water nexus, the ‘bottom-up’ participatory stakeholder engagement process that has been undertaken has expanded this to highlight additional resilience priorities for Durban. This has required the CRO Team to learn and adapt quickly and to find ways to draw on the skills of others to navigate these new fields. The platform provided by the 100RC opportunity has thus helped to elevate these critical resilience issues that may otherwise not have received the necessary attention in the city. It has also provided access to a network of global cities with which to interact and learn. However Durban, with its still-evolving governance structures: its large scale development challenges, and its complex stakeholder dynamics and politics, has at times struggled to work within the frameworks and strategy development timelines required by 100RC.
Experience in Durban suggests that there is no easy recipe for achieving resilience and that a spectrum of resilience responses, with different starting points and points of emphasis, are possible depending on the local context and how it changes through time. In Durban for example, a significant change in local government leadership meant that the Durban Team had to ‘pause’ their mainstream work in order to allow sufficient time to socialise the concept of resilience and the 100RC programme with new political leaders. In general, Durban has also found that it has taken far more time than indicated in the prescribed 100RC timelines, to develop the strategy and undertake the processes of stakeholder engagement that are critical in ensuring support for the final product. Given the broad ranging implications of the work that is being done in cities as part of 100RC, and the urgent need to ensure institutionalisation of and support for resilience, the Durban experience suggests that 100RC needs to be sufficiently flexible to allow cities to establish context specific strategy development processes in order to maximise the opportunities for embedding resilience priorities into city planning and decision-making. The input from Durban stakeholders also suggests that there is value in going deeper Reflections on the rather than broader in understanding the city’s resilience priorities, which may mean that the scope of city resilience strategies will be different. Facilitating such flexibility within an international programme on the scale of 100RC is admittedly a significant challenge, but will provide more accurate, interesting and nuanced lessons for building global 100RC Programme urban resilience across a diversity of contexts. 128 CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 129
Concluding Comments
Durban’s resilience journey has demonstrated that building urban resilience will require a new mindset and a willingness to rethink the identity of the African city. It also suggests, that as we increase resilience in some systems, we may need to reduce the resilience of old systems that limit change and innovation. The resilience conversation in Durban has pointed to the fact that the city’s primary resilience challenges are developmental in nature, and that these are deeply rooted in complex and often still evolving governance and political systems. Such fluid and fragile contexts demand that a number of important factors be considered when developing resilience interventions. In this regard, it is important to:
• Ensure that processes are consultative in order to develop a full understanding of the local context and to build the support that will be needed for implementation. This takes a significant amount of time. In Durban’s case, it has taken almost four years from the time the eThekwini Municipality considered participating in the 100RC process to production of the first Resilience Strategy.
• Acknowledge that increasing resilience requires systemic interventions that focus on areas of greatest vulnerability and risk in the human and natural systems that make up our cities. In an African urban context, where even the most basic services are often not available, all issues of multidimensional need and degradation are important and interconnected, and therefore creative ways need to be found to achieve systemic change with limited resources. This underscores the importance of building partnerships for resilience. Again this takes time.
• Focus on meaningful implementation that begins to visibly change lives in order to ensure success. For Durban this has meant developing a Resilience Strategy that is focused on a limited and specific set of priority resilience outcomes and interventions. This means that issues have to be prioritised and that a level of trust has to be built with stakeholders to ensure that such prioritisation is not contested, and that additional resilience issues that are not immediately addressed will be addressed over time.
As a result of adopting this approach Durban’s Resilience Strategy is different to many of the others produced under the 100RC umbrella, having gone deeper into a more limited number of issues, rather than broader and covering a Concluding comments greater range of resilience issues. But this is simply a reflection of the fact that the challenges of ensuring resilient and sustainable urbanisation on the African continent will pose different challenges to those encountered elsewhere in the world. Durban’s 100RC experience has framed some of the most urgent and critical questions that need to be answered in understanding how Africans might ‘do resilience’ differently and in a way that speaks to the post-colonial urban discourse emerging on the continent. The critical challenge that lies ahead is in determining where and how to start translating the answers to these questions into large scale and replicable action. 130 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS | 131
Acknowledgements Glossary of terms
Durban’s 100RC team would like to acknowledge all those who have participated in the 100RC journey and whose contributions have added significant value to Durban’s first Resilience Strategy. Chief Each 100RC member city receives funding for a CRO who is responsible for leading the development and Resilience implementation of the city’s Resilience Strategy. In Durban, this position is fulfilled by Dr Debra Roberts, the Acting Officer Head: Sustainable and Resilient City Initiatives Unit (SRCI). Given that this is an internal appointment, the CRO funds (CRO) have been re-directed to facilitate the strategy development process.
Climate-smart activities minimise exposure to climate risk and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This includes, Climate Smart but is not limited to, the promotion of clean energy, low-carbon building materials, compact spatial form, water conservation, waste management, improved basic service provision and ecosystem protection.
Durban is an African city located on the east coast of South Africa in the province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). For the purposes of this document, which will also be read by international audiences, ‘Durban’ is used to represent Durban the entire local government area, and not just the urban core. Durban is managed by the local government of eThekwini Municipality.
This term refers to the CRO and two local government officials from eThekwini Municipality who assist Durban’s CRO Team CRO with the development and implementation of the resilience strategy in Durban. These local government officials are currently employed in the Environmental Planning and Climate Protection Department.
The Durban The Durban Team comprises the CRO Team and the Secretariat. The Secretariat function for 100RC in Durban is Team currently fulfilled by a local consultancy.
EThekwini Municipality The local government responsible for the management of Durban.
For the purposes of Durban’s Resilience Strategy, an informal settlement is regarded as: a collection of structures, Informal that are made out of basic materials, without local government approval (illegal), lacking basic services, often built Settlements on marginal land, and without tenure agreements or complying with (planning or building) regulations (Housing Development Agency 2013).
Informal Step-by-step improvements to the housing, infrastructure, services, and livelihoods of informal settlements in their Settlement Upgrading existing locations – also referred to as ‘in situ upgrading’.
In the Durban context ‘resilience’ refers to the capacity of the city to respond to current and future change, Resilience regardless of whether this is social, political, economic or environmental, by strengthening areas of work that enhance the ability to respond to change, as well as fundamentally transforming systems that exacerbate risk.
In the context of the two RBOs the term ‘sustainability’ is used to refer to development that meets the needs of the Sustainability present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. These needs include social, economic and environmental sustainability needs. 132 | Durban’s Resilience Strategy REFERENCE LIST | 133
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Swyngedouw, E. (2009) Post-democratic cities for whom and for what? Paper Presented in Concluding Session, Regional Studies Association Additional documents: Annual Conference, Pecs, Budapest, 26 May 2010. Durban’s ‘Resilience Narrative’ Local and global research reports to inform the infographics 136 Contact details of the CRO Team
Dr Debra Roberts Chief Resilience Officer [email protected]
Mrs Jo Douwes Deputy Chief Resilience Officer [email protected]
Mrs Manisha Hassan Second Deputy Chief Resilience Officer [email protected]