Planning Cape Town’s future—together: insider insights from the City of Cape Town Planning Indaba

Talking partnerships The EDP CEO Nishendra Moodley chaired a session at the City of Cape Town’s Urban Planning Indaba 2025.

Cape Town is growing fast. But is it growing fairly? Is it growing sustainably? And is it growing smartly? Do all residents see Cape Town as a ‘city of hope’? The City of Cape Town’s Planning Indaba, held in March 2025, set out to answer these questions. The Economic Development Partnership (EDP)’s Built Environment team managed the programme for this event, which was hosted by the City’s Urban Planning and Design Department. In this post, programme lead Anna Du Plessis reflects on what the Planning Indaba revealed about the challenges facing Cape Town in its future, who needs to be involved in addressing these, and key lessons for partnering and collaboration in Cape Town’s Built Environment sector. The core message from the Indaba was clear: Cape Town’s future cannot be planned in silos. Building a thriving, inclusive city – a city of hope – requires collaboration

Over the two-day Planning Indaba, stakeholders from government, academia, civil society and the private sector participated in discussions, presentations and interactive sessions where they were prompted to imagine Cape Town’s future. It quickly became clear that the city’s changing context requires new ways of planning, policy-making and implementation. If we want to see a more equitable, inclusive, resilient and sustainable future, we cannot continue to approach urban development in the same way we have always done.

Read Fabio Companie’s great summary of speakers’ inputs here, and all presentations can be found on the event landing page, here.

So what does Cape Town’s future look like? Inputs from a range of City of Cape Town and Western Cape government representatives unpacked the changes residents can expect in the next 30 years and how policy is shifting to address these. From my perspective, these key changes/shifts stood out:

Panel of partnership Built Environment programme lead Anna Du Plessis (far left) chairs a panel at the City of Cape Town’s Urban Planning Indaba 2025.

• Cape Town is getting bigger. Growth estimates predict that the city will be home to 7 million people (or 600 000 additional households) by 2050. This will place significant pressures on social and physical infrastructure, housing supply and economic opportunities. Proactive and integrated responses to service delivery will be necessary.
• Collaborative approaches are necessary to meet existing housing backlogs and ensure sufficient housing supply for a growing population. Providing enough quality affordable housing units will require coordinated efforts from government, civil society, and the private sector.
• Climate change will have significant impacts on Cape Town’s future. Climate change mitigation and adaptation should be embedded into plans as a core component, not as an afterthought.
• Residents must play a meaningful role in shaping their neighbourhoods through genuine participatory processes. Community-led development creates a city where residents are empowered to shape and take ownership of their own futures. This requires rebuilding trust and the social compact between the state and society.

The Indaba reinforced that no single entity can address the current or future needs of the city. Stronger partnerships between government, business and communities are essential.

The event highlighted three important considerations for embedding collaboration into future planning efforts.

Partnering in planning Attendees of the Urban Planning Indaba 2025 were charged with identifying key uncertainties, challenging assumptions and shaping the long-term spatial and land use plans that will guide Cape Town’s future growth according to six core themes: planning, infrastructure, urban mobility, human settlements, economy and the environment.

1. Collaboration requires collective sense-making

   Solving urban challenges starts with a shared understanding of the problem across traditional boundaries. Bringing together diverse perspectives from government, private sector, academia and civil society ensures a richer understanding of key issues. Each sector brings unique experiences and expertise. When the problem is understood from these multiple perspectives, opportunities for more creative solutions emerge, creating a more holistic approach to development.

2. Co-creating a shared vision through continuous and meaningful participation

   To address the complex urban challenges facing Cape Town, everyone needs to be on board. All stakeholders need to come together around a clear, co-created vision and goal. Defining this requires sustained engagement across traditional boundaries, building trust and leveraging local knowledge. It’s important that stakeholders come into this process as equals. The City of Cape Town’s vision of building a ‘city of hope’ is a starting point. But ultimately, to be effective this vision must be shared by all.

3. Planning processes must be integrated, proactive and adaptable

   Government departments responsible for urban planning, infrastructure, urban mobility and economic development must work together, not in silos, to tackle current and future challenges. Without coordination between government functions, spatial mismatches and infrastructure gaps will persist. Policy processes also need to be agile and adaptable enough to respond to an uncertain and changing future.

Moving from talk to action

Cape Town’s future is not set in stone. It will be shaped by the choices stakeholders make, the partnerships they forge and the way they are enabled to work together across sectors, disciplines and communities. The Urban Planning Indaba reinforced a vital truth: no single entity holds all the answers. Only through meaningful collaboration can we build a city that is fair, sustainable and truly a city of hope for all.

Want to collaborate for a more inclusive and sustainable urban future? Reach out to Anna Du Plessis, the EDP’s Built Environment programme lead, to explore how we can work together.

This blog post is subject to the following disclaimer.