Housing Versus Parking in Cape Town’s Inner-City

The City of Cape Town plans to turn Harrington Square, a parking lot on the border of District Six, into a “multi-functional” civic space.

At the first public meeting on the future of Harrington Square in Cape Town, housing activists called on the City of Cape Town to transform the square, currently a parking lot, into housing.

Business owners at the meeting said they had concerns about loss of parking for clients.

Earlier this month, the City of Cape Town called for public comment on the “renewal and reshaping of Harrington Square”. The City intends to renew the area to make it “multi-functional, more accessible, safer, and inviting to the public while optimising the parking area for clients visiting the local businesses”.

Harrington Square is on the eastern side of the city bowl, on the border with District Six, and has fronts on Caledon, Canterbury and Harrington streets. Except for three small land parcels, it is owned by the City. The site is zoned as utility and is not part of restitution land for District Six.

In a statement before the meeting on Tuesday, Eddie Andrews, deputy mayor and mayco member for spatial planning and environment, said Harrington Square and the immediate surrounding area “have immense potential as civic spaces”.

“We want to reimagine these assets and see how they can be used to uplift the area, lead urban regeneration, and also strengthen the connections between the surrounding neighbourhoods.”

Resident Joscelyn Beukes said people returning to District Six should be prioritised for housing. She said her grandparents had forcibly removed from the area during apartheid.

Jasmina Salie, who used to live in District Six, said her family had been removed and sent to live in Hanover Park when she was 14. “Today, you see parking areas,” she said.

Resident Pieter Janse van Rensburg acknowledged the importance of green spaces but said, “I don’t think the City can afford to wait five years to address the housing problem.”

Buhle Booi, of housing activist group Ndifuna Ukwazi, said the metro has about 400,000 people on the housing waiting list. “It can’t be that cars would have a roof over their heads and people are living outside in the streets facing homelessness,” said Booi.

Ndifuna Ukwazi called for the parking lot to be converted into housing in a 2019 report.

The City plans a workshop on 9 May to discuss public inputs. Officials said there would be a session in June where more details of the project would be shared.

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