City Of Cape Town Research Articles

Inadequate Access to Potable Water Impacts Early Childhood Development in Low-Income Areas in Cape Town, South Africa.

Water and sanitation are vital to human health and well-being. While these factors have been studied in relation to health, very little has been done to consider such environmental risk factors with child development. Here, we investigated possible relations between household water access/storage and early childhood development in four low-income settlements in the City of Cape Town, Western Cape province of South Africa. Our objectives were 1) to determine water access/storage practices in dwellings of children; 2) to assess early childhood development; and 3) and to understand the relationship between water access/storage practices in relation to early childhood development. We used a questionnaire to assess household water risk factors and the International Development and Early Learning Assessment (IDELA) tool to assess child early learning / cognitive, socio-emotional and motor development. Mean age of the children (N = 192) was 4 years and 55% were female. The mean IDELA score was 48% (range: 36-54%) where the higher the score, the better the child's development. Around 70% of households had a tap inside their dwelling and half said that they stored water with the largest percentage of storage containers (21%) being plastic/no lid. Child IDELA scores were lower for children living in households that did not have an indoor tap and for households who stored water. Given the risks associated with climate change and the already poor conditions many children face regarding water and sanitation, research is needed to further investigate these relations to provide evidence to support appropriate interventions and ensure healthy child development.

The role of urban regeneration to improve community development in a metropolitan municipality

Background: The purpose of this article was to explore the role of urban regeneration to improve community development in a metropolitan municipality. This is important in light of the current strenuous socioeconomic situation, due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Some of the pandemic’s consequences on communities include socioeconomic challenges, loss of income, business disruption and health concerns. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the different mechanisms government uses to promote community development, and one of these mechanisms is urban regeneration.Aim: The study aims to establish whether urban regeneration can be used as a mechanism to promote community development.Setting: The article is based on South African metropolitan municipalities, mainly the three biggest municipalities in the country. These municipalities include the City of Johannesburg, the City of Cape Town and the eThekwini municipality.Methods: This research is based on unobtrusive qualitative research techniques or methods in order to collect and analyse information. The techniques used include conceptual, content, documentary and comparative analysis. Therefore, the contents and information used were collected from various secondary sources such as journal articles, books and government documents such as White Papers. In addition, political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal analytical framework is also used.Results: Urban regeneration is not a new phenomenon in South Africa; however, the mechanism is not fully embraced by municipalities in the country. The practice of both urban regeneration and community development goes hand in hand. Different metropolitan municipalities in the country have developed plans to incorporate urban regeneration as part of their community development programmes. Community development and urban regeneration are implemented in South Africa under different developmental policies. However, it is the sole mandate of the local government (municipalities) to promote this programme in their communities. The study also found that urban regeneration was also impacted both positively and negatively by the COVID-19 pandemic. The negative impact of COVID-19 is that various projects were postponed in order to redirect resources towards the COVID-19 response. Some of the projects affected municipal infrastructure grants to provide water to households and sanitise public transport facilities in municipalities that do not receive the public transport network grant. South African metropolitan municipalities lack a common shared plan on urban regeneration and community development.Conclusion: The main finding of this research study is that there is no concrete plan put in place to promote urban regeneration in municipalities. Hence, the study recommended that in conjunction with the national government, local levels should develop such a plan.Contribution: This research study will contribute to the decision-making process in local government. The research will also contribute to policy development and design on the topic of urban regeneration and community development.

Smoke Alarms for Informal Settlements: Monitoring and Challenges from a Large-Scale Community Rollout in Cape Town, South Africa

This article presents the findings of a pilot project to test the large-scale rollout of smoke alarms in an informal community in Cape Town, South Africa. The work provides novel insight into the effectiveness and challenges associated with using smoke detectors in low-income communities. Technical details and detector considerations are also provided that will assist in enhancing future interventions. The project installed 1200 smoke detection devices in TRA informal settlement in the suburb of Wallacedene, in the City of Cape Town, and monitored their effectiveness for a period of 12 months. The monitoring showed that there were 11 real activations, where the presence of the devices likely saved lives and homes. The project also identified a series of challenges, especially in relation to nuisance alarms, where everyday household emissions, dust, and insect ingress caused false alarms, leading some participants to uninstall devices. The findings of the pilot study suggest that although smoke detectors could provide a valuable tool for reducing the frequency and impact of informal settlement fires in South Africa and elsewhere, they need to be adapted to meet the specific needs and conditions encountered in informal dwellings. Modifications, such as adjusting device sensitivity, preventing dust and insect ingress and tailoring devices to everyday conditions, will be essential to make smoke alarms more suitable and effective in the future. Smoke alarms could become an important component of low-income community fire safety if such challenges can be addressed.

Neighbourhood risk factors of recurrent tuberculosis in Cape Town: a cohort study using geocoded notification data

BackgroundIndividuals with a history of tuberculosis (TB) disease are at higher risk of developing a subsequent episode than those without. Considering the role of social and environmental factors in tuberculosis,...

An Exploration of Youth Political Disengagement in the City of Cape Town

The Electoral Commission of SA shows that only over eight million out of more than 26.2-million registered voters voted in the 2021 local government elections. This is a cause for concern when this figure is compared with other elections, which amounted to a preliminary turnout of about 30.5% by Monday 01 November 2021 at 21h00. Thus, the lower voter turnout is arguably a true reflection of the citizens frustration with and distrust of politicians. This study aims to explore the socio-economic factors that contributed to young people’s apathy towards politics and discouraged them to engage in voting during COVID-19 and to suggest both short- and long-term solutions to address the youth political disengagement in South Africa. The qualitative approach was adopted in this study, followed by a convenient sample of 20 youths. Individual interviews was used to collect data. The collected data was anlysed through thematic analysis. The finding revealed that socio-economic factors such as nation-wide lockdown COVID-19 restrictions, youth unemployment, electoral system, poverty prevented young people from participating to political engagement. Accordingly, this study recommends for multifaceted electoral reforms in South Africa that will give voters the power to hold elected representatives accountable and provide clear details of who should hold a representative office.
 
 Received: 2 July 2022 / Accepted: 11 October 2022 / Published: 5 November 2022

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the city of Cape Town metropole of the Western Cape province of South Africa: a spatio-temporal analysis.

The incidence of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is expected to increase in sub-Saharan Africa along with the incidence of cardiovascular disease. In low-resource settings (LRS), OHCA carries a negligible survival rate. Interventions to improve OHCA survival might not be cost effective for many LRS, and therefore need to be targeted to areas of high incidence. The aim of this study was to describe the temporal and geographic distribution of OHCA in the City of Cape Town, South Africa, and their proximity to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) resources. In this retrospective study, OHCA data between 1 January and 31 December 2018 were extracted from public and one private emergency medical services in the Western Cape. For temporal analysis, distribution of OHCA according to time of day, day of the week and month of the year were subjected to chi-squared testing. For geospatial analysis, cluster and outlier, and hotspot analyses were performed. Proximity analysis was employed to determine the driving time from OHCA location to the closest PCI-capable facility. A total of 929 patients with OHCA received an emergency medical services response in the City of Cape Town, corresponding to an annual prevalence of 23.2 per 100 000 persons. The distribution of OHCA incidence was not explained by month of the year (p = 0.08) or day of the week (p = 0.67). A statistically significant variation in OHCA incidence was explained by time of day (p < 0.01) with 30% (n = 279) of all OHCAs occurring from 05:00 to 09:59. Geospatial analysis yielded a large area of hotspots (99% confidence interval) over the centre of the metropole, Cape Flats and southern suburbs. The median (interquartile range) driving time from the incident to the closest PCI-capable facility was 10:22 (08:05) minutes. Incidents of OHCA occurred predominantly at home during the mid-morning, with hotspots around the city centre and residential suburbs of Cape Town. While the incidents occurred close to PCI-capable facilities, some areas remained underserved and access to PCI for OHCA victims may be impossible due to socio-economic factors. With an increase in OHCA incidence expected, it is essential that contextual, cost-effective management interventions be developed and implemented.

Taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages in South Africa: Perspectives of consumers in Cape Town.

Background:Globally, fiscal measures are deemed effective in combating the obesity epidemic at population level. A health promotional levy (HPL) on sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) was implemented in April 2018 in South Africa to reduce sugar consumption.Design and methods:This cross-sectional, descriptive study investigated consumers’ understanding and opinion of the HPL, and impact on consumption of SSBs. Data was collected outside 15 grocery stores, within four health sub-districts of the City of Cape Town. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was completed with literate, adult consumers (N = 696).Results:Participants (46.0%) were aware of the HPL but regarded it insufficient to change purchasing behaviour (55.4%). The lower income group (56.4%) was most affected by the increased price of SSBs. Those who agreed (46.8%) that the levy would help to reduce the prevalence of obesity was significantly more likely to notice a price increase in SSBs (54.5%) (p < 0.01) and had a higher education level (p < 0.01). Overall, self-reported consumption of SSBs decreased by 7.7% since the HPL was enacted. Participants who were aware of the detrimental effect of consuming large amounts of sugar, were more likely to change their behaviour (p < 0.01).Conclusions:Participants were receptive for legislative measures to combat the prevalence of obesity but lacked clarity of the goal and implementation of the HPL. A multipronged approach is crucial to lower sugar intake sustainably and an environment which offers healthy alternatives to SSBs. A higher HPL combined with transparency of how revenue is utilised could enhance the impact of the sugar tax strategy.

Policy interventions to address water security impacted by climate change: Adaptation strategies of three case studies across different geographic regions

Water shortage in terms of both physical and economic water scarcity is still a major issue globally. The looming climate change threat has increased the adverse threats to water security in different regions. However, policy solutions to water security vary in different geographical regions and at different scales (local, regional, national, etc.). Understanding the successes and challenges of different policy solutions is critical to scaling-up successful policies and addressing water security holistically. This paper aims to explore the effects of implementing policies at different scales in three different case study contexts: 1. two Counties in California in the USA, 2. the City of Cape Town in South Africa and 3. the Country of Bangladesh. These case studies highlight various implemented policies and their effectiveness in each context. We reviewed relevant research papers consisting of peer-reviewed journal articles, conference proceedings and gray literature using a content analysis approach based on keywords such as water scarcity, water shortage, climate change, policies, interventions and solutions. Based on this cross-case analysis, we present key strategies moving forward, including: reallocation of water based on different community and sector needs, the importance of stakeholders engagement and public awareness, and a need to implement both short and long-term management plans. There is no one-size fits all policy solution to water scarcity. Understanding the context, scale, and cultural environment will be a key to future water security-focused interventions and policies.

South African electoral trends: prospects for coalition governance at national and provincial spheres in 2024

ABSTRACT The 2021 local government elections (LGE) in the Republic of South Africa once again delivered hung metropolitan municipalities – a phenomenon that became common following the 2016 LGE results. The City of Cape Town is, however, a metropolitan municipality that has experienced coalition governance since the early 2000s, while the rest of South Africa's metropolitan municipalities were governed by the ruling African National Congress from 1994 to 2016. The 2021 LGE delivered coalition governments across the majority of metropolitan councils, namely: City of Tshwane (the capital), City of Johannesburg (Africa's economic hub), Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, City of Ethekwini, and Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality. This paper provides a conceptualisation of 'coalition governance and politics', and key characteristics of this phenomenon in South Africa and globally. Conceptual and operational understandings of coalitions is crucial given their increasing prevalence in South Africa. Areas of cooperation, compromise, consensus and divergence among the prospective coalition partners in South Africa are also examined in the article (based on political party electoral performance trends, political ideology, policy preferences and leadership personalities and qualities). Such factors are important because they determine the likely feasibility, efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of coalition governments.

“Working time” in environmental activism: Engaging “slow violence” in the Philippi Horticultural Area

Tracing the history of activism in post-apartheid South Africa from the Treatment Action Campaign to the Social Justice Coalition, amongst others, one is able to develop an account of various practices and strategies that have been utilised to leverage state resources and lobby support for various causes. This history of rights-based activism has provided various social movements and community-based organisations with a framework with which to engage the state and more localised bureaucratic structures like the City of Cape Town. This article, which is based on two years of ethnographic research, looks at the activist practices and strategies employed by an environmental activist organisation called the PHA Campaign, which operates in a landscape that has been characterised as neoliberal and that explicitly caters to private developers. By looking at how this organisation leveraged the acute water scarcity that threatened the Western Cape from around 2016, or what has been called the “Day Zero” water crisis, this article applies Ahmann’s concept of “working time” to the South African activist landscape and examines how organisations can mobilise how a crisis is framed to their benefit.

Drought, water management, and social equity: Analyzing Cape Town, South Africa's water crisis

Climate change impacts on hydrologic systems, coupled with increasing water demand and a growing global population, has led to depleted water resources in semi-arid regions around the world. This increase in water shortages has significant implications for environmental justice and equity concerns. One such region impacted by both water scarcity and deep-seated inequality is the Western Cape of South Africa, whose drought crisis reached peak recognition when the City of Cape Town released its notice of “Day Zero” in 2018, the day the city would turn off the taps to residents. This study examines the changes in physical factors prior to and during the 2015–2018 drought in Cape Town and evaluates how policy decisions made in response to this event interacted with existing social injustices. Analysis of the physical data finds only a slight direct relationship between rainfall and dam levels (r2 = 0.3), suggesting a more complex narrative for the decrease in water supply, including increased water use and management decisions. Of the many policies implemented to avoid Day Zero, some were found to be more effective and can be utilized long-term. The study also finds that the Cape Town water crisis has unveiled and heightened existing inequalities through placing a disproportionate financial burden on low-income communities. As droughts become more common, Cape Town provides a crucial case study for understanding the social, political, and environmental implications of drought management in the future.

Opaque Infrastructure: Black Markets as Architectures of Care

AbstractBellstat Junction and Sekko's Place are two markets in Cape Town established by migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. They are perhaps better understood as black markets existing within a lineage of global black urbanisms, past and future. These sites occupy a slippery legality, sited in the peripheral margins and shadows of the central city of Cape Town. They operate across grammars of transaction and care. An architectural reading of black markets enables a drawing out and stitching together of the constituents of these sites: of site and story, of domesticity and infrastructure, of publicness and transnational networks. Adopting the term black markets for these sites calls attention to the racialization of these spaces, and their emergence as sites of possibility, precarity, and care in the face of protracted crises.

Use of social media as a marketing and information provision tool by the City of Cape Town Libraries

Background: Social media use by libraries has facilitated communication and marketing of services to user communities. The City of Cape Town Libraries adopted social media usage in the 2015–2016 financial year. This study is set out to assess librarians’ perception and response to the implementation and adoption of social media for library services.Objectives: The research sought to appraise the City of Cape Town public librarians’ experiences of social media use in the provision of information services, evaluate librarians’ perceptions of social media use for information provision services and recommend ways in which social media information services provision can be improved upon.Method: A quantitative research method and a descriptive survey research design approach was adopted for the study, and a web-based questionnaire was used for data collection. The study was anchored on the technological acceptance model, and employed total enumeration sampling to collect data from the 102 City of Cape Town librarians-in-charge.Results: City of Cape Town librarians have positive perception and acceptance towards the use of social media to perform library-related duties. Librarians utilised social media in engaging with library users, including marketing of library services, and promotion of library events. Experiences including lack of guidance in dealing with copyright issues and organisational policy favouring a single social media platform were reported.Conclusion: Library services through is vastly positive but expansion across multiple social media platforms is necessary to encourage further engagement with users. A third construct: preference of choice is proposed for the TAM model.

Conflicted translations: an analysis of the bus rapid transit policy adoption process in Cape Town

ABSTRACT From the early 2000s onwards, bus rapid transit (BRT) systems have multiplied in the Global South, promoted by an international community of transfer agents. This article examines Cape Town’s BRT implementation experience. Translation, at the intersection of policy mobilities and mainstream transfer approaches, is the main analytical tool used. In the wake of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the South African city hastily imported its BRT policy. International consultants nudged policymakers to design an infrastructure-focused network with high-end features with the aim to absorb paratransit operations. Early into the rollout, the transport mode’s significant inadequacies vis-à-vis its Capetonian environment became obvious, triggering a new cycle of the translation process. Local actors re-interpreted the BRT by shifting its initial goals and reclassifying the BRT from a policy model for sectoral reform to an instrument within a renewed urban development strategy. The launch of a new department within the City of Cape Town, as a response to the BRT’s mishaps, highlighted two opposing and irreconcilable understandings of city-making. This article suggests that conflicts structure and sequence translation processes of transferred policies in a medium-term timeframe.

Analyzing the Legislative Prescriptions Representing Persons with Disabilities in South Africa

The legislative prescriptions promoting and protecting the rights of disabled people in South Africa are some of the most comprehensive globally. These prescriptions are applied across all the spheres of government to eliminate the discrimination faced by persons with disabilities. This study analyzed selected legislation and public policies representing persons with disabilities in the country with reference to the City of Cape Town. The study sought to identify features of the government’s efforts to improve the lives and participation of disabled people and to better implement inclusive legislation and policies. Through a desktop analysis, the study found that legislation and governmental policies that protect and promote the rights of persons with disabilities provide a framework from which disabled people can exercise their economic, political, and social rights as equal members of the citizenry. However, the state of disability in relation to policy and legislation does pose challenges to the effectiveness of these prescriptions to eliminate discrimination and promote equality. The study recommends the strengthening of legislation and policies through strategies that involve the partnerships of government and civil society. There is also a need to review the existing legislative framework to identify and eliminate barriers that limit the equality of disabled people.

Poultry Slaughterhouse Wastewater Treatment Using an Integrated Biological and Electrocoagulation Treatment System: Process Optimisation Using Response Surface Methodology

The feasibility of a biological (EcoflushTM) and/or electrocoagulation (EC) treatment system in removing chemical oxygen demand (COD) and fats, oils, and grease (FOG) from poultry slaughterhouse wastewater (PSW) were studied. The response surface methodology (RSM) was used to identify the optimum operating condition for EC and its integration with EcoflushTM as a pre-treatment for the removal of lipids. The optimum operating conditions were obtained at a pH of 3.05, a current density of 66.9 A/m2, 74-min of treatment time, and without Ecoflush™. These conditions produced a high-quality clarified effluent after 92.4% COD reduction and 99% FOG reduction. The treatment with EcoflushTM only resulted in 85–99% FOG reduction, 20–50% COD reduction, and odourless effluent. However, the combination of both processes (EcoflushTM and EC) did not yield a significant difference (F test, p &gt; 0.05) when compared to the performance of EC alone. Despite the low removal percentages of nitrogen and phosphorus, the present study proved that EC is an effective method for the removal of COD and FOG, rendering an effluent that meets the permissible discharge standards for the City of Cape Town. The novel Ecoflush™ also proved to be very efficient in the removal of FOG from PSW.

Fine-Scale Classification of Urban Land Use and Land Cover with PlanetScope Imagery and Machine Learning Strategies in the City of Cape Town, South Africa

Urban land use and land cover (LULC) change can be efficiently monitored with high-resolution satellite products for a variety of purposes, including sustainable planning. These, together with machine learning strategies, have great potential to detect even subtle changes with satisfactory accuracy. In this study, we used PlaneScope Imagery and machine learning strategies (Random Forests, Support Vector Machines, Naïve Bayes and K-Nearest Neighbour) to classify and detect LULC changes over the City of Cape Town between 2016 and 2021. Our results showed that K-Nearest Neighbour outperformed other classifiers by achieving the highest overall classification of accuracy (96.54% with 0.95 kappa), followed by Random Forests (94.8% with 0.92 kappa), Naïve Bayes (93.71% with 0.91 kappa) and Support Vector Machines classifiers with relatively low accuracy values (92.28% with 0.88 kappa). However, the performance of all classifiers was acceptable, exceeding the overall accuracy of more than 90%. Furthermore, the results of change detection from 2016 to 2021 showed that the high-resolution PlanetScope imagery could be used to track changes in LULC over a desired period accurately.

Social entrepreneurs’ use of spatial bricolage to create frugal innovation in a divided urban setting

This study examines how social entrepreneurs mobilize resources to innovate in divided urban settings. Over a period of two years, we followed four social start-up entrepreneurs in the city of Cape Town, South Africa, characterized by some of the highest inequality levels in the world. We analyzed how social entrepreneurs navigate this urban divided context to mobilize resources from both resource-affluent and resource-constrained spaces to achieve innovation. Our findings suggest that these entrepreneurs use bridging and building approaches that cross over between spatial and digital spaces. Specifically, we discovered that social entrepreneurs mobilize resources using four distinct types of spaces and observed that they make use of these very spaces in their bricolage, hence expanding their portfolio of resources at hand. Based in our analysis, we build on the recently introduced concept of spatial bricolage to develop the notion of spatial awareness. By identifying a link between spatial awareness and frugal innovation, we contribute to the literature on social entrepreneurship and innovation in the African context.

Counter‐mapping Heritage: Memory and Significance in Places of Racialised Land Dispossession: The Case of Lower Claremont, Cape Town

AbstractIn this study I investigate the use of counter‐mapping methodologies to identify memories and significance in landscapes of racialised dispossession in the city of Cape Town. I use oral history, a go‐along or walking interview and focus group workshop to test the counter‐mapping process. In doing so I trace the historical process of land and housing loss under apartheid as an extension of colonialism and its modernist project of racial separation, and the effects and affects on those dispossessed into the post‐apartheid period. I critically assess the official frameworks of heritage resource management, especially in the post‐apartheid period, which have continued to focus on the built environment and aesthetics, despite official attempts to incorporate consultation of communities, stakeholders and their values. I do so in order to highlight the need for transformation and inclusion in current heritage practice in order to address disparities in the practice. Counter‐mapping methodologies are presented in the research as potential tools to address these contentious practices. These contentions intersect strongly in areas included in the Heritage Protection Overlay Zoning (HPOZ) in the City of Cape Town.1 The research shows that the HPOZ is geared towards managing the built environment and give attention to contextual development issues. It is however, not able to deal with memories and intangible values of the dispossessed in places where it intersects with land dispossession. The study also presents how research participants understand their heritage, which at times strengthens the official framework, and at other times stands in opposition to and in contrast to the official framework. These significances are mapped using counter‐mapping methodologies. The study concludes that counter‐mapping methodologies are able to represent memory and intangible significance in places of racialised land dispossession, and that the methodologies have multiple uses for varying settings and purposes, which speak to a modernist vision in post‐apartheid's constitutional democracy that fulfills the promise of fairness and justice.

THE INFLUENCE OF SEASONS ON METAL BIOACCUMULATIONAND OXIDATIVE STRESS IN SENTINEL ORGANISMS IN SOUTHAFRICAN URBAN FORESTS

Variations in Al, Fe and Mn concentrations in soil, leaf litter, moss, lichen and pill millipedes, as well as the induced oxidative stress effect of metals on the organisms, between the dry and the wet season within two Afromontane forests in the Western Cape were investigated. The two forests in the closest proximity of the Cape Town city centre and urban pollution sources were chosen to determine the difference of metal contamination between the dry, hot and cold, wet season. Three sampling sites were chosen within each forest at different altitudes on Table Mountain, as well asa control site, where the soil, leaf litter and each organism were randomly collected in both the dry and the wet seasons for metal and biochemical analysis. The metals in the wet season in both of the forests showed higher concentrations, as did the forest closest to the Cape Town city centre.This is indicative of higher levels of pollution due to increased anthropogenic activities in the wetseason. Oxidative stress in organisms was apparent in the varying tGSH levels, of which the dryseason mostly revealed the higher concentrations. Oxidative lipid damage (measured as MDA) levels were generally increased during the wet season when the metal concentrations were higher as a result of prominent brown haze episodes in winter. Urban forest ecosystems in urban cities may suffer irreparable damage resulting from metal contamination, more so in the colder wet season.