UCT Sustainability and the SDGs 2022 - Magazine - Page 26
SDG 11
SUSTAINABLE CITIES
AND COMMUNITIES
Africa is urbanising faster than any other region in the
The project focuses on 昀椀ve core themes central to UCT’s
world, with its city populations expected to double by
sustainability journey:
2050. This rapid growth brings enormous challenges,
•
energy/carbon footprint
including housing shortages, inadequate infrastructure
•
sustainable water
and vulnerability to climate crises, but also an
•
waste/energy/food nexus
opportunity to build cities that are inclusive, sustainable
•
wildlife/waste/art nexus
and resilient from the start.
•
establishing a community of practice/social
responsiveness
Each of these themes is led by a dedicated research team
Institutional initiatives
based in a UCT institute, bringing expertise to develop
context-speci昀椀c and tangible solutions.
African Centre for Cities (ACC) as its regional partner, seeks to
eliminate concrete, and a digital twin serving as a civic mirror
The projects are also carried out through research-led collaboration
make a shift from extractive, carbon-intensive construction owards
to visualise carbon and cost impacts before construction.
Securing the future through an on-campus, living
lab intervention.
and inclusive community engagement across campus. The goal
a regenerative built environment that restores ecosystems,
of Khusela Ikamva is to build a dynamic community of practice
sequesters carbon, and generates digni昀椀ed livelihoods.
The living laboratory contributes to the facilitation of research
that connects students, academic and administrative staff, and
on environmental sustainability through the university’s
sustainability leaders across the university.
Extending beyond the site, the ReBuilt Roadmap translates
lessons into systemic strategies across governance, markets
In Cape Town, ReBuilt’s ambitions are tested through a
and education. It identi昀椀es four leverage points for change:
Demonstrator Project in Langa, an underserved area of Cape
empowering self-builders, mobilising luxury and rental
昀氀agship sustainable campus initiative, Khusela Ikamva,
Town characterised by primarily informal housing. The site
markets, catalysing sustainable materials and equipping the
meaning secure the future in isiXhosa.
of the project functions as both a transformation laboratory
next generation through curriculum reform.
Launched in 2020, it is a 昀椀ve-year it is a 昀椀ve-year research
Community engagement
project aimed at catalysing a more sustainable campus
and third space for community-led experimentation linking
ReBuilt demonstrates how cities like Cape Town can
culture, food and regenerative design.
become testing and teaching grounds for regenerative
through energy, carbon, water, waste and community-based
Regenerative housing for resilient communities
Innovations include bio-based materials such as cross-
urbanism, where design, policy and community action align
initiatives, which are tested as living labs on campus.
ReBuilt, a global initiative led by Bauhaus Earth, with UCT’s
laminated timber (CLT), ground-screw foundations that
to produce ecological repair and socio-spatial justice.
52 - Sustainability and the SDGs 2024
Sustainability and the SDGs 2024 – 53
