Catalyst Projects in Cape Town

Co-creating skills and coalitions for equitable urban change

When: 2015 – 2018

Where: Cape Town, South Africa

Who was involved: from 1to1 Agency of Engagement, University College London and University of Sheffield.

Helen is a Programme Director at the Development Action Group (DAG), a key non-governmental organisation in Cape Town, a city still facing significant inequalities from its apartheid past. DAG is committed to creating equal, inclusive, and sustainable neighbourhoods through collective action. This involves building the capacity of marginalised communities, forming coalitions across the city, and advocating for change with local government. Achieving these goals is particularly challenging in Cape Town’s divided political and social landscape.

In 2015, Helen aimed to strengthen DAG’s efforts by partnering with ASF-UK to use community-led design and planning as tools for building capacity and creating partnerships. Over three years, this vision came to life through a series of two-week workshops, each focused on a specific area of DAG’s work.

These workshops brought together a diverse group of participants, including staff from DAG and ASF-UK, national and international practitioners and students, as well as residents and community leaders from various neighbourhoods in Cape Town. The ASF-UK team shared their expertise in community-led planning and design, developing methods that enabled participants to collaboratively address issues such as land reform and access to dignified housing.

The workshops had several important outcomes. They helped Helen and the DAG team advance their initiatives while improving their skills in participatory research, planning, and design. They also contributed to DAG’s ongoing education and training for community activists. Finally, they created new partnerships around specific urban development challenges, fostering dialogue among grassroots organisations, support networks, and local government.

One notable collaboration in 2015 was centred on Woodstock, a diverse inner-city neighbourhood that had maintained its community through the apartheid era but was now facing new urban pressures. In support of local anti-eviction campaigns, the workshop addressed critical issues like urban regeneration, gentrification, and displacement, using community-led planning and design to envision a process of change where lower-income residents were prioritised. Participants worked together to create a charter for inclusive neighbourhood regeneration, and a follow-up report highlighted the capacity of Woodstock residents to engage in planning processes.

This experience inspired Helen to launch “Reimagining Neighbourhoods,” a DAG programme focused on community-based planning. Building on the workshop outcomes, this initiative initiated collaborative planning efforts in Woodstock and Salt River with the City of Cape Town and local civil society organisations. By 2019, these efforts secured new land and funding for affordable housing in Woodstock.

Another significant workshop, led by Helen’s colleague Zama, helped establish the Contractor and Developer Academy (CDA)—a programme by DAG aimed at supporting low-income landowners, microdevelopers, and emerging contractors in providing affordable rental housing across Cape Town’s townships. This workshop utilised ASF-UK’s expertise in community-led planning and design to engage with developers and contractors, identifying their needs and aspirations.

This initiative was crucial for Zama and his team, allowing them to develop participatory methods that resonated with the CDA’s audience. Workshop sessions focused on how developers and contractors could create social value by offering dignified rental housing to lower-income households. Group discussions brought together contractors, developers, technical support organisations, and city officials to identify necessary policy changes. As a result, DAG opened new lines of communication with the City of Cape Town, enabling the CDA to support hundreds of individuals in delivering effective housing solutions.

In numbers

Each workshop not only built new skills at DAG but also created lasting communities of practice. DAG broadened its approach and adopted innovative methods, improving skills in participatory mapping, design, and research. Grassroots partners in Woodstock and the CDA network also enhanced their ability to engage with urban planning, gaining knowledge and tools to promote urban equity in the city. Valuable lessons were also learned by ASF-UK, including understanding the limits of community-led approaches in addressing deep-rooted inequality.

Over three years, the Change by Design workshops organised by ASF-UK and DAG brought together approximately 80 practitioners and students from both the UK and South Africa, along with 20 community leaders. Activities engaged an additional 150 residents across nine city neighbourhoods. Public events associated with the workshops attracted another 120 participants, including activists, scholars, and city officials from across Cape Town. Outputs included three reports, a regeneration charter and a codesign tool.