Practices for co-productive planning modes: Urban development in Cape Town : A case study based on the implementation of a design and building development incubator

Sammanfattning: Together with a steadily increasing urban population, South Africa and the city of Cape Town is facing continuously expanding informal settlements and communities with no access to basic human services or adequate housing. There’s an urgent need to design, plan and implement alternative and creative approaches to help stimulate an equal, inclusive and sustainable urban development and strategic spatial planning. Integrating methods and processes that includes participation, communication and collaboration by incorporating civil society and local community members in urban planning practices is one way of promoting sustainable and equal spatial growth. Co-production is a concept used in urban development theory that embraces this in and can be described as a communicative form of spatial planning where state, planners and citizens mutually interact in the planning process. In consideration of these challenges, this thesis aims to apprehend how marginalized, local communities in Cape Town can be included in matters regarding urban development and spatial planning practically and if co-production can be used to define and explain this form of approach. Therefore, this thesis is based on a case study research of the Better Living Challenge (BLC) incubator, a two-week long project in Cape Town, which supported 15 informal builders in improving and developing their designing, building and marketing skills. The practical implementation of this incubator and its process has been examined to determine if the theory of co-production can be used to outline the project and understand the results emerging from it. The incubator proved to be successful in several ways and was met with impressive feedback from the stakeholders. It was also followed with difficulties and restrictions like power dynamics and tension. The conclusions that were made highlights that the incubator can be defined as an alternative and unorthodox co-productive approach based on the aim and lay-out of the process.