In 2011, South Africa’s Lesedi Local Municipality contracted I2UD and engineering firm Worley Parsons RSA to provide technical assistance to the municipality, sponsored by South Africa’s Neighborhood Development Partnership Grant (NDPG).
The technical assistance proposal also developed strategic, sustainable plans and an urban design framework for four economically distressed townships within Lesedi Municipality. I2UD formulated development and urban design strategies to revitalize, upgrade, and take advantage of the strategic locations of communities in South Africa’s Gauteng Province.
Documents include an overview presentation, inception report, field report, and stakeholder meeting notes, and a Turn-Around template for Pre-2011 Priority Areas.
See related I2UD projects below
Project Year:
2011
Project Type:
Comprehensive Plan
Geographic Regions:
Lesedi Local Municipality, Gauteng, South Africa (Ratanda, Impumelelo, Kwazenzele, and Jameson Park)
In 2012, UN-Habitat launched the first State of Arab Cities report and conference to address urbanization trends and challenges in the four major Arab and Middle Eastern regions: Mashreq, Maghreb, Gulf Cooperation Council, and the Southern Tier Countries (defined below). With Mona Serageldin as team leader, I2UD contributed a significant body of research for the conference, “Challenges of Urban Transition: Municipal Management and Urban Development Conference for Sustainability in Arab States.” The conference was hosted by the UN-Habitat Regional Office for Arab States (ROAS) and the Kuwait Knowledge Development Regional Centre.
The I2UD team compiled urban housing and demographic data for nations in Maghreb and Mashreq. The I2UD team reviewed 180 documents for each region, covering topics such as the following:
“Population and Urbanization;”
“Growing Role of Economic Cities;”
“Urban Development and Housing Conditions;”
“Transportation and Mobility;”
“Urban Environmental Challenges;”
“Urban Governance Systems;”
“Transnational Migration;” and
“Emerging Urban Issues and Innovations.”
Documents include I2UD’s inception report, progress report, a I2UD board meeting presentation on the project, and a conference presentation (from the “Municipal Management and Urban Development Conference for Sustainability in Arab States,” from Kuwait, May 2012). The final report for the 2012 UN-Habitat State of Arab Cities lays out urban development and migration issues in the Middle East and North Africa, including I2UD’s contributions. Additional materials include data on regional food and water security, energy security, and air pollution.
Maghreb includes Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia; Mashreq includes Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria; the Gulf Cooperation Council includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates; the Southern Tier includes Comoros, Djibouti, Mauritania, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
Excerpt
Excerpts, Final Report, “State of Arab Cities,” December 2012
In 2010, I2UD developed a regeneration plan for Ezakheni, an economically distressed township in Ladysmith–Emnambithi Local Municipality located southeast of Johannesburg, South Africa. The Institute partnered with KV3 Engineers, with funding from the South African Government’s Neighborhood Development Partnership Grant (NDPG). I2UD’s urban development framework focused on renewal, connectivity, and socio-economic integration in the region. Note: In 2016, the Emnambithi Local Municipality and Indaka Local Municipality were regrouped into the new Alfred Duma Local Municipality.
The development strategies presented by I2UD included:
Developing an East-West corridor and a North-South spine;
Creating a hierarchy of road networks;
Improving the two main entrances;
Developing unused space in the urbanized areas for parks, housing, commercial and institutional uses;
Identifying existing and future nodes where new infrastructure will attract and support private investment; and
Providing appropriate setting for the generation of local job opportunities.
See related I2UD projects below
Project Year:
2010
Project Type:
Technical Assistance
Geographic Regions:
Ezakheni, Ladysmith/Emnambithi Municipality (now Alfred Duma Local Municipality), KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
In 2009, I2UD submitted a development strategy, “Comprehensive Plan for Makkah, Madinah and Mashaer,” to promote the preservation and integrated urban development in Saudi Arabia for the Holy Cities of Mecca (Makkah Al-Mukarama) and Medina (Al-Madinah Al-Munawara), and the holy sites area of Mashaer (Mina, Muzdalifah, and Arafat) in Mecca. The project included a series of 6 workshops, led by François Vigier and supported by Moriyama & Teshima Architects & Planning, the Development Commission of Makkah Al-Mukarama, Al-Madinah Al-Munawara and Al-Mashaer Al-Muqaddasa (DCOMMM), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The development plan involved seven main steps:
To buy land and compensate for lost development rights;
To build world class developments;
To facilitate informal area improvements;
To improve mobility around Mecca;
To beautify and improve the quality of space within the city and create peaceful places;
To integrate Mashaer as a critical part of the city; and
To support strategic infrastructure management.
Documents various component reports of the plan, documents from six workshops, including outlines and reports, and notes and reviews authored by François Vigier.
See related I2UD projects below
Project Year:
2009-2010
Project Type:
Development Strategy
Geographic Regions:
Makkah, Madinah, and the Mashaer district, Saudi Arabia
In 2009, I2UD prepared a township development strategy for the Emfuleni Local Municipality in Sedibeng, South Africa, in partnership with Kwezi V3 Engineers, sponsored by South Africa’s Neighborhood Development Partnership Grant (NDPG).
The development strategy focused on reconnecting the four townships, originally isolated by apartheid spatial planning. The proposed plan linked them to the primary economic centers of Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging. The strategy emphasized three local development corridors linking townships to larger regional routes, and identified five key economic nodes for concentrated investment. It also delineated a tourism route featuring points of interest and historic sites within the four townships.
See related I2UD projects below
Project Year:
2009
Project Type:
Local Development Strategy
Geographic Regions:
Emfuleni Local Municipality, Gauteng, South Africa
In 1998, the Unit for Housing and Urbanization reviewed the effectiveness of the South African Government’s grant-funded Municipal Infrastructure Program. The project involved field visits and detailed reports on economic conditions and progress on “Nine Noteworthy Projects” in South Africa’s provinces:
Klapmuts, Western Cape
Middledrift, Eastern Cape
Atteridgeville, Gauteng
Mhluzi, Mpumalanga
Itsoseng, North West
Ndaleni, KwaZulu-Natal
Cornelia, Free State
Naboomspruit/Mookgophong, Limpopo
Ritchie, Northern Cape
Documents include a letter of interest, draft contract, an inception report, multiple intermediate reports, and various supporting reports, data and maps, and presentation notes. The Unit also developed a workshop in 1999 based on this study.
