Cape Town, let me in: Time to build houses on golf courses and other open spaces

The barrier lines in Cape Town between rich and poor, black and white, privileged and underprivileged, that have been indelibly carved into our landscape seem entrenched and, sadly, here to stay for some time.

These are the highways and railway lines that separate Athlone from Rondebosch, Pinelands from Langa or Langa from Bridgetown, in an axis of evil. They cut a sad form, aiding the dissecting of communities in the grand design of Separate Development.

The segregated city seems stubbornly untransformed despite 25 years of democratic rule. If one scratches deeper, beyond the surface, more scars blister on the beautiful landscape of Cape Town that taints our wonderful city, ironically considered one of the most beautiful in the world. Evidence of forced removals, segregation along racial lines and land dispossession still colour the skyline.

A recent report by urban land justice NGO, Ndifuna Ukwazi, reveals just how ill-considered public land use continues to segregate the city. The report investigates selected public land that is underutilised, feeds privilege and protects minority interests while the same land could be put to better use by addressing the City of Cape Town’s severe housing shortage of about 650,000 homes.

However, large swathes of land in Sea Point, Green Point, central Cape Town, Mowbray and elsewhere continue to fuel spacial and social inequality. This spatial arrangement is so incredible that Ndifuna Ukwazi’s report made the front page of Time magazine.

Most of the golf courses, for instance, in prime areas appear to be underutilised. Some pay as little as R1,000 a year to the City due to the course, apparently, serving a “community value”, yet the course remains inaccessible to the majority of residents. Membership alone costs about R12,500 a year – and any golfer will attest that golf is an expensive pastime. One may ask which community is being served and what value is added to our public life.

How can these large tracts of land be more important than providing homes for people currently living under very poor conditions? The leases continue to be renewed while membership at golf clubs and bowling greens continues to decline.

The irony is that many golf courses in the city are close to members’ residences – who, one assumes, have cars. Yet, these golf courses push housing for middle-income and poorer families out to the periphery of the city. In contrast, many poorer residents are commuters using public transport and spend just less than half their monthly incomes on transport. Who would have thought that an innocent golf course in Mowbray, a car park in town or a pet hotel, for example, could have such dire consequences for many Capetonians?

One may ask if a city like Cape Town needs 24 golf courses and driving ranges, with 10 located on public land, or 35 bowling greens, 26 of which are on public property? The Rondebosch Golf Club, being equivalent in scale to 45 rugby fields, has ample space for a mix of market, social and gap housing with various social amenities and retail space and is in an excellent location on the main transport route. Ndifuna Ukwazi estimates this could bring about 2,500 residential units into the area.

The continued misallocation of public land effectively subsidises the wealthy while providing neither financial nor social benefit for the city. In contrast, housing generates income in the form of rates and taxes.

There are several other examples of misuse of public land such as @Frits, the largest pet hotel in the world, complete with a spa, salon, and wellness centre for pets. This land can accommodate about 2,200 housing units.