Wescape, Cape Town

Wescape will initially provide over 200,000 homes, incorporating households of varying economic levels and densities to create "a community of integrated neighbourhoods".

Housing ranges from: Subsidised for families who earn below R3,500 per month through to Affordable Free-Standing homes for families earning above the R15,000 per month level. These include 3 bedroom single residential homes, 2 bedroom semi-detached "starter" homes, 2 bedroom 3 storey walk-ups and 2 bedroom 6 floor apartment buildings.

Wescape aims to integrate all sectors of business into the project in an attempt to be economically self-sufficient from the outset, with residents being offered full-time employment opportunities that are located close to home. The Wescape economy will also include Light Industrial activities that will supplement Wescape and surrounding areas as well as create opportunities with other proximate industrial zones such as Atlantis, Killarney and Montague Gardens.

Job creation begins with initial construction of the development of housing and commercial precincts, continuing phase after phase over 15 to 20 years. Start-up capital, training and on-going business administration support will be provided for entrepreneurs to supply goods and services to the community; the integration of industries within Wescape allowing money to be recycled within the local economy and further enhance self-sufficiency.

With major emphasis on the Wescape "green-economy" and the multiple cashflow from whole-system "blue economy" initiatives, which in addition to optimising the development's functionality will also create a sphere of green collar jobs. Environmental sustainability is an important factor of Wescape's offering and its green and blue initiatives will provide education and environmental consciousness on a scale that can be showcased continent-wide.

"Building a Community of Learning for All"

Although housing and employment are top of hierarchical order of needs, by far the most important aspect for future stability of families and communities is education. An essential aspect to the upliftment of previously disadvantaged persons is access to community based educational facilities and skill transference opportunities.

Paramount is the need within Wescape for an easily accessible curriculum which caters for continual education commencing with early childhood education through to tertiary level studies and beyond. Schools will be fully equipped with extensive resources and maintain low student-to-teacher ratios. Schools will be placed centrally in neighbourhoods and will be easily accessible on foot or by bicycle.

A Technikon and FET Colleges will offer specialised, skill-based education and will function closely with local industries to best provide vocational training and subsequent employment. Colleges will also offer night-courses that include high school certificates from grade 10 to Matric.

As a basic human right, healthcare is not always as accessible as it should be. In an attempt to address this inadequacy, Wescape will subsidise healthcare, as more fully explained in Wescape’s Friendly Society Model.

These facilities will include local, specialised clinics located within neighbourhoods as well as secondary hospitals and a larger tertiary hospital. The tertiary hospital, in addition to providing top class healthcare, will co-operate with the university to offer medical students a state of the art practical learning environment.

The idea of "community" will provide the people of Wescape with a collective identity and the intention to nourish it will serve as a common purpose for all. To encourage this, neighbourhoods will be designed so amenities and facilities are easily accessible by foot or bicycle; this reduces the need for motorised transportation and encourages a closer interaction between people and their environment.

Community services will also include free and reliable public transport, community centres and free broadbrand that will be available in homes and at information centres and libraries throughout Wescape.

Public green spaces and parks will be integrated into neighbourhoods to serve as communal social spaces and urban green lungs.

Carbon negative / not carbon neutral = Regenerative

Wescape will implement initiatives conceptualised by Gunter Pauli of Zeri Organisation that will regenerate biodiversity, reduce waste, ensure self-sufficiency of water and energy, food security and encourage employment in an overall self-sustaining "Blue Economy" with multiple streams of cashflows.

These initiatives will include diverse energy sources, such as solar and wind, as well as an array of recycling systems that will encourage waste to be viewed as a resource and not an ever increasing problem.