The Kosovo Sustainable Settlement Redevelopment Program

South Africa, like many countries of the Global South, has witnessed explosive growth in urban population in recent decades. In a post-apartheid time, the majority of urban growth has accumulated in densely populated informal settlements. These areas delivered poorly planed and constructed single unit housing lacking adequate and necessary services, leading to increased economic and social exclusion in urban sprawl, with a need for full scale settlement redevelopment. The Kosovo Informal Settlement is one of the oldest and densest in Cape Town, South Africa, with a population of more that 26,000 in an area of 28 hectares. Kosovo is facing many challenges with poverty, hunger, poor health and sanitation, violence, environmental degradation, and fire and flood risks amplifying the necessity to hold priority in the redevelopment process. How can you provide urban upgrading and redevelopment and meet the needs of the community sustainably? The design of the Kosovo informal settlement redevelopment used multiple planning principles, which include space and movement systems, appropriate building sizing, sustainable infrastructure design and planning, building efficiency, and effective land use. Health, safety and security, community education and opportunities, and sustainable resource use must also be considered. Settlement land use can be developed for mixed-use opportunities such as community gardening, education, and training advancements to optimize access for employment options. The Kosovo Informal Settlement is a community with multiple opportunities for advancement in sustainable planning if the proper leadership, community participation and redevelopment stages are introduced and carried out effectively.