The barrier lines in Cape Town between rich and poor, black and white, privileged and underprivileged, that have been indelibly carved into our landscape seem entrenched and, sadly, here to stay for some time.

These are the highways and railway lines that separate Athlone from Rondebosch, Pinelands from Langa or Langa from Bridgetown, in an axis of evil. They cut a sad form, aiding the dissecting of communities in the grand design of Separate Development.

The segregated city seems stubbornly untransformed despite 25 years of democratic rule. If one scratches deeper, beyond the surface, more scars blister on the beautiful landscape of Cape Town that taints our wonderful city, ironically considered one of the most beautiful in the world. Evidence of forced removals, segregation along racial lines and land dispossession still colour the skyline.

A recent report by urban land justice NGO, Ndifuna Ukwazi, reveals just how ill-considered public land use continues to segregate the city. The report investigates selected public land that is underutilised, feeds privilege and protects minority interests while the same land could be put to better use by addressing the City of Cape Town’s severe housing shortage of about 650,000 homes.

However, large swathes of land in Sea Point, Green Point, central Cape Town, Mowbray and elsewhere continue to fuel spacial and social inequality. This spatial arrangement is so incredible that Ndifuna Ukwazi’s report made the front page of Time magazine.

Most of the golf courses, for instance, in prime areas appear to be underutilised. Some pay as little as R1,000 a year to the City due to the course, apparently, serving a “community value”, yet the course remains inaccessible to the majority of residents. Membership alone costs about R12,500 a year – and any golfer will attest that golf is an expensive pastime. One may ask which community is being served and what value is added to our public life.

How can these large tracts of land be more important than providing homes for people currently living under very poor conditions? The leases continue to be renewed while membership at golf clubs and bowling greens continues to decline.

The irony is that many golf courses in the city are close to members’ residences – who, one assumes, have cars. Yet, these golf courses push housing for middle-income and poorer families out to the periphery of the city. In contrast, many poorer residents are commuters using public transport and spend just less than half their monthly incomes on transport. Who would have thought that an innocent golf course in Mowbray, a car park in town or a pet hotel, for example, could have such dire consequences for many Capetonians?

One may ask if a city like Cape Town needs 24 golf courses and driving ranges, with 10 located on public land, or 35 bowling greens, 26 of which are on public property? The Rondebosch Golf Club, being equivalent in scale to 45 rugby fields, has ample space for a mix of market, social and gap housing with various social amenities and retail space and is in an excellent location on the main transport route. Ndifuna Ukwazi estimates this could bring about 2,500 residential units into the area.

The continued misallocation of public land effectively subsidises the wealthy while providing neither financial nor social benefit for the city. In contrast, housing generates income in the form of rates and taxes.

While the misuse of public land continues, can our city governors say that they are doing all they can to reverse the legacy of apartheid and deliver decent housing? It seems too much of this responsibility is unrealistically left to private players in the market.

The pedestrian pace of housing delivery places unreasonable pressure on the few non-profits involved in the provision of housing. Organisations such as Neighbourhood Old Age Homes (NOAH) and Cape Peninsula Organisations for the Aged (CPOA) provide housing and healthcare for the elderly who rely on grants. Other social housing institutions like SOHCO and Mmadulamoho provide rentals to families at significantly reduced rates. These NGOs are increasingly expected to address the full range of housing needs by providing rental opportunities for people with no income, or converting these rental opportunities into ownership. These expectations cannot be met with limited financial assistance from the state or the community they serve. It seems that the few partners the state has in its housing delivery programme are getting squeezed.

City officials talk about densification, shortening commuter distances and developing decent housing along major transport corridors. However, the city’s urban population is growing faster than the bureaucracy can lay bricks, resulting in a growing keg of frustration among residents.

Densification supports the integration of communities rather than urban sprawl which has generated more housing, but which perpetuates unequal spatial planning and social exclusion. Sprawling cities cost the public more in taxes which are needed to fund infrastructure and maintenance in the long term.

Most global cities understand the imperative of densification. Good examples of successful densification initiatives can be found in leading cities around the globe. Barcelona is one such example. It has successfully maintained its charm, pedestrianised roads, created bicycle tracks and improved public transport to reduce traffic congestion. At the same time, Barcelona has eliminated the need for large infrastructure projects like highways and services to far-flung areas.

A creative and innovative approach to managing public land and directing the use of private land to unlock life-changing opportunities for marginal communities is much needed. Consider Harrington Square in central Cape Town opposite Charly’s Bakery. Inappropriately, this land is being used as a parking lot during the day. It is an ideal location for a housing development with a mix of social, gap and market homes as well as retail space. The Ndifuna Ukwazi report estimates the potential income of between R18-million to R24-million annually from rates on this site. With a tad more commitment and a dose of imagination, this parking lot can be put to better use.

There are several other examples of misuse of public land such as @Frits, the largest pet hotel in the world, complete with a spa, salon, and wellness centre for pets. This land can accommodate about 2,200 housing units.

Most of the underutilised land can be put to better use by fast-tracking housing in mixed-use developments that bring people closer to the city, work opportunities, and social services that potentially enrich their lives.

It is time for the city to review the allocation of land and fast-track exceedingly bureaucratic processes to release this resource for housing rather than the current ad hoc approach to public land management.

I’m reminded of the lyrics of the Harry Belafonte song, Cape Town, released in the late Eighties:

Cape Town there’s a shadow on your mountain
Cape Town, there’s a flaw in your sparkle
Cape Town, there’s a crying at your crossroads
Let me in, let me in, let me in.

Sadly, 30 years later, the mountain still casts its long shadow and has allowed very few people in except, perhaps, for a few more pets. DM

Anthea Houston is the CEO of Communicare, a social housing enterprise in Cape Town