Housing aerials

NEW REST: From Shacklands to dignity
New Rest, an informal settlement near Guguletu, 20 kilometres from Cape Town, has been chosen to be part of the N2 Gateway pilot project. The initiative was established by the South African National Ministry of Housing to test its new housing policy, Breaking New Ground (BNG).  The settlement is situated right next to the N2 highway, which links Cape Town to inland areas.

2005: SHACKLANDS: The grounds are being cleared for the first homes that are fully subsidised by the government, to be built in New Rest.  Residents, who are among the poorest of the poor, live in wooden huts or shacks made from sheets of metal.

2008: CHANGE: Two-bedroomed homes start replacing shacks in New Rest

2009: DIGNITY: Homes are starting to take over from shacks as the dominant form of housing in New Rest.

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JOE SLOVO: Flats were built where shacks once stood.
Joe Slovo: Image – 14 February 2005
Joe Slovo: Image – 19 November 2007
Joe Slovo: Image – 07 March 2009

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NEW SUBURB IN DELFT: This area in Delft, situated next the Cape Town International Airport, lay bare a year ago. But since then, the Ministry of Housing has built nearly 3 000 homes here, at Precincts 7-9 of the N2 Gateway pilot project.

Altogether 1 700 families who qualify for the government subsidy have so far occupied homes on this site. All of them are former residents of informal settlements or former backyarders, who rented out overcrowded rooms or stayed in huts in the backyards of homes in the area. More than 10 000 homes are planned for the site.