Smart city remains but a dream

Cyril Ramaphosa had a dream when he became president. His dream was to build brand-new cities — post-apartheid cities which would change the social and economic apartheid spatial architecture. 

A year later, he solidified that dream and announced the Greater Lanseria Master Plan (GLMP). This would be the blueprint behind the Lanseria Smart City, which Ramaphosa said would be home to about 500 000 people within the next decade. Ultimately, more than 3.5 million people would live there. 

As with many other projects under Ramaphosa’s five-year tenure, no ground has yet been broken. 

Various timelines were touted for the project, even going up to 20 years, but four years after his speech, the 458 square kilometres earmarked for this dream remain veld.

Several issues arise when trying to fulfil such a dream, including environmental considerations, sanitation, transport, infrastructure and existing spatial issues for housing. 

Ramaphosa envisioned that about half a million people would inhabit this smart city within 10 years. However, four have gone past and it looks as if many more will roll on without progress.