Gauteng – Gauteng Department of Human Settlements

The mission of the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements is to facilitate the delivery of sustainable integrated human settlements, New Towns and Smart Cities in partnership with relevant role-players from all sectors of society through: development of suitably located and affordable housing (shelter) and decent human settlements;creating new (post-apartheid) towns and transforming current cities and towns in Gauteng (moving towards efficiency, inclusion and sustainability); and building cohesive, sustainable and caring communities with improved access to work and social amenities, including sports and recreation facilities (community development and optimal access/inclusion).

The Department is introducing a paradigm shift in the development of human settlements. The paradigm shift is the concept of developing ‘Gauteng Catalytic Post-Apartheid New Towns’ referred to as ‘New Towns’ in short. This concept is part of a worldwide initiative known as the New Town Movement, which has its roots in the Garden City Movement founded by Ebenezer Howard in the late 1800s, as an alternative to the overcrowded, polluted, chaotic and miserable industrial cities that had appeared in Britain. Essentially, New Towns are purposefully planned and developed as a solution to overcrowding, congestion and the existence or building of ad-hoc settlements. A ‘Town’ human settlement development decongests industrialised areas and rehouses people in freshly built, new and fully planned towns that are completely self-sufficient in providing for the needs of the community.

The strategic outcome-orientated goals of the Department have been revised to more succinctly reflect it’s strategic paradigm shift to building New Towns, in line with its mandate of delivering integrated human settlements, and that will fundamentally transform the Gauteng City Region. The New Towns approach will enable the Department to create human settlements where communities can live, play, work and capitalise on economic opportunities that exist near these settlements.