The University of Cape Town plays an active role in municipal and metropolitan planning processes in Cape Town through institutional negotiation, policy-facing research, practitioner training and participation in city planning fora. In 2024 UCT continued negotiations with the City of Cape Town on land-use and campus development matters, contributed expert research and teaching on spatial development and affordable housing, and participated in multi-stakeholder planning events where UCT academics worked alongside City officials and civil-society partners to co-produce planning knowledge and options for inclusive urban development.
1. Institutional planning & formal engagement with the City of Cape Town (2022–2024)
UCT engages in formal planning negotiations and land-use processes with the City of Cape Town as part of its campus development programme.
UCT has a Development Framework which identifies overall policy, broad goals, and principles for development, while conceptual Precinct Plans for the five campuses/precincts of Main Campus indicate opportunities for infill development.
The following land use management components of this Integrated Development Framework are being processed by the City of Cape Town in terms of the Municipal Planning By-Law:
- approval of ‘Package of Plans’ comprising a Development Framework and Precinct Plans;
- designation of UCT’s Rondebosch Upper, Middle and Lower Campus, Rosebank Residence Precinct, Mowbray Residence Precinct and the Health Sciences Campus in Observatory as a ‘Special Planning Area (SPA)’ and
- rezoning, subdivision and consolidation of a number of erven, in order to rectify historic cadastral and zoning anomalies.
The following heritage components, which cover the Rondebosch-Observatory Main Campus as well as Hiddingh Campus were approved by Heritage Western Cape in terms of the National Heritage Resources Act in May 2024:
- Conservation Framework for the built environment of UCT;
- Heritage Inventory (grading of buildings and sites) and Heritage Inventory Report and
- Heritage Agreement, to be concluded between the University of Cape Town and Heritage Western Cape.
In the Chief Operating Officer’s report (27 September 2024) UCT records that it had lodged a Land Use Application (August 2022) and that “negotiations are ongoing between UCT and the City of Cape Town to finalise the Land Use Application”, alongside heritage agreement discussions with Heritage Western Cape. This demonstrates an institutional, formal liaison with municipal planning authorities over land use and development on campus.
The Land Use Application and ongoing negotiation are direct, legal/administrative interactions between UCT and the City’s planning authority — a clear example of UCT working with local government on planning and development matters that shape how campus and surrounding land are used.
2. Policy-facing research on affordable housing and spatial frameworks (evidence of expert input)
UCT academics and post-graduate researchers produce policy-relevant research on affordable inner-city housing, spatial frameworks and planning approaches that local authorities can use to design inclusive developments:
- Master’s dissertation: “The right to the City (Centre): a spatial development framework for affordable inner-city housing in Cape Town’s Foreshore” (M. Weber) — presents a spatial development framework that prioritises affordable inner-city housing, explicitly responding to City planning challenges for inclusionary housing in central areas. This thesis is an example of UCT knowledge products directly addressing municipal land-use options and affordable housing location.
- Research output: “Inner-city housing: an exploration of alternative approaches” (UCT Open Research, recent thesis) and other UCT theses examine affordability, location and implementation mechanisms for affordable housing in Cape Town — material that local planning authorities and NGOs frequently draw on when designing interventions.
UCT’s detailed, locality-specific research provides evidence-based frameworks and recommendations for municipal planners concerned with locating affordable housing close to jobs and services.
3. Academic participation in city planning fora and practitioner exchanges (2024)
UCT academics were active presenters and panellists in City of Cape Town planning fora and related events — a mechanism for direct knowledge exchange with municipal planning officials:
- The City’s Planning Indaba programmes and documents (2025 materials list UCT academics among speakers; the 2024–25 Indaba series is an ongoing City event where municipal planners, academics and civil society meet). UCT academics (including Prof François Viruly, Prof Nancy Odendaal) have been listed as contributors to Planning Indaba sessions and similar municipal engagements, indicating direct participation in City planning dialogues.
- UCT’s African Centre for Cities (ACC) acts as an interdisciplinary hub that engages with city governments on urban policy and planning research; ACC’s mandate includes working with municipal authorities to shape urban research agendas and policy practice that inform planning decisions. While ACC activities span many years, their practitioner engagement creates direct pathways for UCT input to local government planning.
Participation by UCT academics in City-run Indabas and public planning events shows active, institutionalised exchange of research and practice with local authorities — a key route by which universities shape municipal planning and development practice.
4. Capacity building for planners and applied training (education → practice)
UCT trains many of South Africa’s urban planners and planning professionals through its planning programmes (City & Regional Planning / MCRP and related degrees). The South African Planning Institute and related professional forums recognise UCT as a principal educator of practitioners who go on to work in municipal planning departments. This educational relationship is a long-term contribution to municipal planning capacity and to the operational ability of local authorities to design inclusive development and affordable-housing responses.
By educating planners and producing practice-oriented graduates, UCT supplies the City and region with trained professionals who implement planning and development programs on the ground — an indirect but sustained mode of university–government collaboration.
5. Research projects and peer-to-peer municipal learning that include municipal partners (2024)
UCT research centres (CSAG, ACDI and ACC) have run projects explicitly designed to work with municipal and provincial partners on resilience, land-use and development issues:
- The peer-to-peer learning project on floods and droughts (CSAG/ACDI) included the Presidential Climate Commission and municipal partners such as eThekwini and Nelson Mandela Bay — illustrating UCT’s ability to convene government actors for joint learning around development and resilience that has implications for planning of settlements and housing. (Project pages and descriptions in 2024 identify municipal partners.)
These projects are co-produced with government partners and are explicitly targeted at improving municipal resilience and planning practices that affect settlement layouts, infrastructure siting and, indirectly, housing outcomes.
6. How UCT’s work helps improve access to affordable housing
UCT contributes to affordable-housing outcomes through three principal pathways:
- Knowledge and policy advice: UCT research outputs (theses, working papers and policy briefs) offer spatial frameworks and practical recommendations for locating affordable housing close to employment and services — evidence that municipal planners can use to prioritise inclusive inner-city development.
- Direct negotiation and land-use engagement: UCT’s own land-use application process (lodged Aug 2022; negotiations noted in the 2024 COO report) demonstrates institutional engagement with municipal planning systems that can influence outcomes in surrounding precincts (e.g., through mixed-use and inclusionary development obligations linked to land-use approvals).
- Capacity and practitioner training: UCT’s planning graduates, short courses and ACC/CSAG practitioner-oriented workshops provide local authorities with the skills and evidence needed to design and implement affordable-housing programmes.