CENTRAL CAPE TOWN
City developers in Cape Town urged to go smaller and taller for affordable housing
Realistic economic factors and policy changes are key to the viability of affordable housing in Cape Town, says report
Increasing the height of buildings and dividing developments into smaller units could help address the lack of affordable housing in Cape Town’s central business district (CBD). This is according to a paper by the department of construction economics and management at the University of Cape Town, which identifies the challenges presented by the lack of affordable housing in the CBD and proposes some solutions. One of these is to increase the height of buildings and divide developments into smaller units to improve the ratio between costs and profitability for property developers, while keeping housing affordable. "There is a perception that South Africans are unwilling to consider smaller living spaces, but I think the phenomenon of backyard dwellings, in which people are willing to pay for cramped accommodation because it is well located, shows that is not the case," researcher and land economist Robert McGaffin said. "In places like inner-city Johannesburg, the private sector is r...
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