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The City is forging ahead with massive plans to de-densify Rabie Ridge in Midrand in a bid to mitigate the sprouting of informal settlements and help poor people adhere to social distancing protocols.
Town Planners believe the densification of urban areas degrades the quality of existing space and places greater burdens on an already creaking infrastructure.
Highly dense areas make it impossible for people to observe public health regulations promulgated to combat the spread of the infectious Covid-19 pandemic.
The Executive Mayor, Geoff Makhubo says the plan is to build temporary housing in Rabie Ridge, which will accommodate 6 000 residents from informal settlements across the City in line with social distancing and other Covid-19 protocols.
“We need to start with temporary housing to de-densify informal settlements by moving qualifying beneficiaries. This is a step in the right direction,” says Makhubo.
The Mayor adds that life in dense informal settlements made it impossible for people to adhere to social distancing.
“The main reason for this project is to move people from informal settlements due to the difficulties of social distancing. We want to build such structures that will be in line with Covid-19 regulations and allow for social distancing,” he explains.
Makhubo says the de-densification of Rabie Ridge was just the beginning. Plans are afoot to deal with the housing backlog in the sprawling area.
“We are going to de-densify Ivory Park. We need to do away with informal settlements in the city and ensure that our residents live in conditions that are habitable.”
Joburg has a number of high-density areas with a significant population. “This warrants the implementation of drastic yet responsible interventions to prevent a potential rapid spread of Covid-19 that could affect millions of residents,” says the Mayor.
The City’s R68.1-Billion budget for the 2020/2021 fiscal year prioritises housing and the continuation of bulk infrastructure development.
