Isandla Institute | 2018-02-14 | 3186 views
Last year global leaders adopted the New Urban Agenda at the Habitat III convention. This convention is held every 20 years where policy directions are discussed and enacted. News websites were abuzz at the news that the New Urban Agenda will set a new global standard and policy direction for sustainable urban development, and blogs featured in-depth discussions on the detailed recommendations for planning, managing, financing, conserving and living in cities of the present and future. Through Resolution 109 of the New Urban Agenda, global leaders promise that, “We will consider increased allocations of financial and human resources, as appropriate, for the upgrading and, to the extent possible, prevention of slums and informal settlement...
On 31 January 2025, the long awaited White Paper for Human Settlements was [gazetted](https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/202501/52013gon5801.pdf). As far back as [2015](https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201610/towards-policy-foundation-thehuman-sett...
Alternative building technologies (ABTs) are not new. We have often seen the use of alternative building technologies in what is termed as ‘green’ buildings, highlighting environmental compatibility. For example, the City of Cape Town is now the official host to the [world’s tallest buil...
In November 2020, the national Department of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation announced with great fanfare that the government will no longer prioritise building houses for qualifying applicants, but instead focus its interventions on providing serviced land which people can use t...
Budget allocations offer insight into the priority areas that government has identified. As resources are constrained, municipalities are faced with a balancing act between different needs and demands. Beyond the challenge of limited funds to see through all desired outcomes, often there...