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Events

After Turin, Seoul and Helsinki, Cape Town will be the fourth World Design Capital in 2014. The International New Town Institute is contributing ‘The Density Syndicate’, developed in cooperation with the African Centre for Cities (ACC) and the City of Cape Town Planning Department, supported by the Dutch Embassy. It is also a programmatic component for NL@WDC2014, an initiative of the Netherlands Consulate-General in Cape Town.
The results will be exhibited as part of WDC Cape Town in the fall of 2014.

The Density Syndicate: Cape Town suffers from extensive urban sprawl, due to a combination of the legacy of Apartheid spatial policy, the middle-class ideal of single-family homes on individual plots of land, and politicians allowing developers to choose the way of least resistance for the expansion of the city. These societal divisions result in a fragmented city: a patchwork of disconnected business districts, affluent gated communities and poor townships, spread out across an area far beyond the city bowl defined by the bay and Table Mountain.

Studies have confirmed that there is more than enough space to accommodate growth within the city perimeter. There is a clear necessity to increase density. The current situation is socially, economically and ecologically unsustainable. Together with our local partners, the African Center for Cities (ACC) and the City of Cape Town Planning Department, the International New Town Institute (INTI) proposes a project to study the possibilities for increasing Cape Town’s urban density, by using the combined design intelligence of Dutch and South African architects and planners. The Density Syndicate will organize strategic partnerships between 5 Dutch and 5-10 South African architects (and urban planners) to connect these creative thinkers to Cape Town’s most urgent urban planning challenges.

By choosing five different sites in Cape Town and developing design proposals that will be exhibited at the large ACC exhibition at City Hall in October 2014, on the occasion of Cape Town World Design Capital 2014, the project aims to offer innovative, alternative strategies as a starting point for the future urban development of Cape Town.







The Dutch Government organized a three week manifestation to promote and support Dutch and South-African collaboration as part of their contribution to World Design Capital Cape Town 2014. INTI participated in this program with the Density Syndicate on July 10, 2014.

Department of Design was a temporary space. It ran for three weeks and featured key note speakers, workshops, demonstrations and activities as part of a set programme. A parallel programme presented events organised by local participants. All activities at Department of Design involved collaboration and contribute to the conversation.

There were many ways to participate in Department of Design. It was a free event, and visitors were invited to attend activities free of charge. There was a pop-up café, Wi-Fi and a play-space with educational toys designed by our partners.

A trade mission from the Netherlands took part in Department of Design. This includes a delegation of 60 companies with an interest in developing business relationships in South Africa. There was also be a number of representatives from local and international businesses, academia and government.

The Netherlands has already been involved in collaborating with South Africa. The Netherlands is South Africa’s third largest EU-trading partner. It is also the largest importer of goods from the Western Cape and the second largest investor in that area after the UK. With Department of Design, South African and Dutch innovators could continue to collaborate and concrete a sustainable future.

The New Town Institute participated in the Department of Design by presenting their preliminary results of their research-by-design project Density Syndicate. On july 10, 2014 the design teams presented their results for a targeted audience and Michelle Provoost and Edgar Pieterse gave a key-note speech.



From 30 October – 15 December 2014, African Centre for Cities (ACC) will mount a wide-ranging exhibition on the very soul of Cape Town. The exhibition will offer Cape Town residents and visitors a penetrating insight into the challenges and possibilities facing our unique city; dynamics that echo in cities across the world as they contemplate their purpose in this urban century.

This exhibition appears against the backdrop of the World Design Capital (WDC) programme, with its focus on “Live Design, Transform Life.” The increased interest in Cape Town and its future, sparked in part by its WDC status, provides an ideal moment to offer a resource for the city to think more deeply and honestly about our collective trajectory and whether we will be able to overcome the many divides and challenges that Cape Town needs to overcome.