Acknowledgements

Thanks to the citizens of eThekwini whose ideas, thoughts and comments have shaped the content of this plan.  You are too numerous to thank individually.  A number of people have helped over the course of the Imagine Durban project to structure the plan.  Particular thanks to members of the Imagine Durban Team, the expert reviewer team and members of the Imagine Durban Steering Committee.  The Imagine Durban project is funded by the Canadian International Development Agency and the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality.   The project has received support from the PLUS Network that assists cities to improve their planning processes by helping prioritise short term strategies and goals within a long-term context, and the International Centre for Sustainable Cities which was created to bring the idea of urban sustainability into practical action.

Introduction

Imagine Durban is a council-led project on integrated, long-term planning. It is being implemented in conjunction with Sustainable Cities, an NGO from Vancouver, Canada; and the PLUS Network (a network of 35 cities sharing experiences in sustainability planning) who have received funding from the Canadian International Development Agency to support the project. The main purpose of the Imagine Durban project is to develop a visionary plan that can inspire citizens, non-governmental organisations, business and government to work together to make Durban the best city in the world.  In addition to developing this plan the Imagine Durban project promotes availability of information regarding long term sustainability in Durban and supports initiatives that show case sustainability in action.  

In order to develop this plan the Imagine Durban project asked a cross section of citizens within Durban questions regarding what they liked about Durban, what they did not like, what changes they would like to see, what their hopes and dreams were for the future of Durban and what they could do to make their dreams a reality.  Using these answers as a starting point, six key theme areas were identified that citizens highlighted as the most important areas for collective action:

The draft plan is divided into the six themes.  For each of the themes a goal statement is provided to articulate the vision for Durban for that theme.  This is followed by a set of short, medium and long term targets to provide measurable indicators of success in achieving the goal.   Each theme then presents key strategies for achieving the goal of the theme.    This is then followed by a set of actions to implement the strategies.  These actions are tabulated according to respective actions from the following key stakeholder groups:

It is important to note that while each theme is presented separately, given their inter-relatedness they need to be read as complementary.   For instance the strategies related to promoting public transport and alternative transport that are discussed in the ACCESSIBLE city theme, are critical for the SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS theme (as transport is a significant cost for poor people) and the ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE City theme (as increased use of public transport and alternative transport reduces air pollution and emissions of gases that contribute to climate change).  It should also be noted that while the length of the themes vary, they are all regarded as equally important for the long term sustainability of Durban.  

As this plan is visionary, it does not include details on how different sectors should roll out the actions suggested for them within the plan.  In addition, the plan does not provide detailed targets for each of the separate sectors.  The purpose of the plan is to inspire different sectors to take ownership of their action areas.  eThekwini Municipality is intending to adopt the plan as a revision of its existing 25-year long term development framework.  Accordingly eThekwini Municipality will revise its Integrated Development Plan to align with the Imagine Durban Plan.  The Integrated Development Plan will therefore reflect on how eThekwini Municipality actions suggested in the plan will be rolled out and the possible targets the Municipality will set itself.   The Imagine Durban project will be inviting other sectors such as civil society organisations, businesses, schools and individuals to also respond by developing their own plans to help achieve the Imagine Durban Plan.   

Once final comments have been incorporated into the Imagine Durban Plan and a final plan has been completed, the Imagine Durban project will develop a tool to monitor success in achieving the goals and targets of the Imagine Durban Plan.  In addition, the Imagine Durban project will establish structures to promote the adoption and implementation of the Imagine Durban plan throughout Durban.

Why is Long Term Planning Important Now?

1. Climate Change:  Scientific consensus has confirmed that the world is starting to experience climate change as a result of global warming that has been brought about by the increased emissions of green house gases by people.  The full effects of global climate change will only by properly understood in the future.  In Durban it is predicted that we will experience increased storminess, floods, droughts, further sea level rise and increases in temperatures.  Some of the associated impacts with these changes are more storm damage to people and property, decreased water availability, increased incidents of diseases normally associated with tropical areas and change in the types of crops that can be grown for the area.  In order to ensure that our current problems are not made worse by climate change, we need to take action now to begin adapting to the effects of these changes.  Of course we also need to start reducing the amount of green house gases we emit (referred to as mitigation) in order to reduce the potential scale of the impacts.
2. Water Shortages: As populations expand in Durban and the rest of South Africa, increasing pressure will be placed on the country’s water resources.  It will become increasingly difficult to access sufficient water for the needs of our people and businesses.  In addition, it is expected that existing water resources will be subjected to increased pollution pressure.  We need to act to conserve water and protect our water resources. 
3. Peak Oil:  “Peak Oil” refers to a time when the global demand for oil exceeds the global supply of oil. When “Peak Oil” occurs the global price of oil will rise catastrophically. While oil will still be available, many people will no longer be able to afford to drive their cars. Food and commodity prices would also rise because of the reliance on oil in production processes.  While there is no consensus on when the world can expect to experience “Peak Oil” as oil is a finite resource, there is no doubt that it will run out in the future.  Already we have seen wild fluctuations in the oil price, with high oil prices resulting in much higher costs of living across the globe.   We need to put in place measures to reduce our reliance on oil in the event that peak oil takes place.
4. Poverty and inequality:  Durban, like the rest of South Africa and many parts of the world, has high levels of poverty and inequality between rich and poor members of society.  Globally the rise in poverty is associated with increasing unrest and social turmoil.   We need to actively address poverty and inequality in order to ensure a safe and secure society for all.

Development Framework

Now, more than ever in the history of our world nations and their leadership are having to grapple with challenges of urban sustainability. On the one hand, they are faced with a desperate mandate from their citizenry to create jobs and promote economic development to improve the lives of people and on the other they have a responsibility to protect our natural environment. 

For nations to be able to meet the development needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, a new development model must be adopted to ensure that economic development protects the environment, drives social equity, and promotes human rights.  These values, we believe are the core of a sustainable development framework.  

We accept that our current global path to economic development is destroying our natural environment.  If this development path is not altered then natural resources will disappear, biodiversity will continue to decline, human health will be negatively impacted, and climate change will disrupt weather patterns, severely impacting food supply worldwide as the global population continues to rise.

South Africa faces many challenges.  One of the most difficult is the legacy of apartheid which has resulted in racially segregated and unequally developed residential and business areas. In addition, we are faced with high unemployment rates, high HIV/AIDS prevalence, and high levels of crime, among others challenges.  Yet with one of the largest economies on the African continent, South Africa has the opportunity to lead by example in embracing sustainable development.   

South African cities, like other developing cities on the continent and in the developing world, generally reflect a history of unsustainable existence.  The challenge of sustainable development is to holistically address these development problems while adhering to the values of economic, environmental, and social harmony.  To guide cities in addressing their challenges, the Melbourne Principles were drafted at the Local Government Session of the 2002 Earth Summit in Johannesburg.  The Principles will serve as a guide to the development and implementation of the Imagine Durban plan.  The Melbourne Principles are:  

1. Provide a long-term vision for cities based on: sustainability; intergenerational, social, economic, physical and political equity; and their individuality.
2. Achieve long-term economic, environmental and social security.
3. Recognise the intrinsic value of biodiversity and natural ecosystems, and protect and restore them.
4. Enable communities, government and business to minimise their ecological footprint.
5. Build on the characteristics of ecosystems in the development and nurturing of healthy and sustainable cities.
6. Recognise and build on the distinctive characteristics of cities, including their human and cultural values, history and natural systems.
7. Empower people and foster participation.
8. Expand and enable cooperative networks to work towards a common, sustainable future.
9. Promote sustainable production and consumption, through appropriate use of environmentally sound technologies and effective demand management.
10. Enable continual improvement, based on accountability, transparency and good governance.

For more on each of the themes:

• Creating a SAFER city
• Promoting an ACCESSIBLE city
• Creating a city where all enjoy SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS
• Celebrating our CULTURAL DIVERSITY, HISTORY and HERITAGE
• Ensuring a more ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE city
• Fostering a CARING and EMPOWERING city

• Download the full draft Long Term Plan (PDF) ...  

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