Document: eThekwini Metro: Long Term Development Framework

Imagine Durban is a council-led project on integrated, long-term planning. It is being implemented in conjunction with Sustainable Cities, an NGO from Vancouver, Canada, and the PLUS Network (a network of 35 cities sharing experiences in sustainability planning) who have received funding from the Canadian International Development Agency to support the project. The main purpose of the Imagine Durban project is to develop a visionary plan that can inspire citizens, nongovernmental organisations, business and government to work together to make Durban the most caring and liveable city. In addition to developing this plan the Imagine Durban project promotes availability of information regarding long-term integrated sustainable planning in eThekwini Metropolitan Area and supports initiatives that showcase sustainability in action. For more information visit www.imaginedurban.org.

In order to develop this plan, the Imagine Durban project asked a cross section of citizens within eThekwini Metropolitan Area questions regarding what they liked about Durban, what they did not like, what changes they would like to see, what their hopes and dreams were for the future of their city and what they could do to make their dreams a reality. Using these answers as a starting point, six key theme areas were identified that citizens highlighted as the most important areas for collective action:

The draft plan is divided into the six themes. For each of the themes a goal statement is provided to articulate the vision for Durban for that theme. This is followed by a set of short, medium and long-term targets to provide measurable indicators of success in achieving the goal.

Each theme then presents key strategies for achieving the goal of the theme. This is then followed by a set of actions to implement the strategies. These actions are tabulated according to respective actions from the following key stakeholder groups: 

• 1. Individuals
• 2. Civil Society (Non-governmental organisations, community based organisations, schools, faith based organisations, tertiary institutions etc)
• 3. Businesses
• 4. Local Government
• 5. Provincial and National Government

It is important to note that while each theme is presented separately, given their inter-relatedness they need to be read as complementary. For instance the strategies related, to promoting public transport and alternative transport discussed in the ACCESSIBLE city theme, are critical for the SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS theme (as transport is a significant cost for poor people) and the ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE City theme (as increased use of public transport and alternative transport reduces air pollution and emissions of gases that contribute to climate change). It should also be noted that while the length of the themes vary, they are all regarded as equally important for the long-term sustainability of Durban.