N2 Gateway - Temporary Relocation Areas in Delft

Temporary Relocation Areas in Delft

See also: Blikkiesdorp

There are two Temporary Relocation Areas (TRAs) or transit camps that are connected to the N2 Gateway project in Delft. The Delft TRA (nicknamed Tsunami and Thubelisha), which was originally built by the ANC-led City of Cape Town for Joe Slovo fire victims and is now managed by Thubelisha Homes on behalf of the National Government, has become a centerpiece of the N2 Gateway strategy. It houses shack-dwellers who have been forcibly or voluntarily moved from shack settlements such as those in Joe Slovo, Khayelitsha, Crossroads, Nyanga and Gugulethu. According to a study of Tsunami by the Development Action Group, the establishment of the Delft TRA:

  • Has increased vulnerability of the households affected by the Joe Slovo fire,
  • Has heightened community conflict
  • Has and has had a huge financial cost to the municipality and possibly also to other government departments.

According to DAG, in light of these costs and conditions, the policy intention is not achieved and the expense of establishing the TRA cannot be justified.

In 2007, Chris Harris, a professor in the department of geological sciences at UCT, found chrysotile and crocidolite (aka asbestos) in material found in the Tsunami TRA.

The other TRA is the Symphony Way TRA which has nicknamed 'Blikkiesdorp' (or 'Tin Can Town') by residents as well as pavement dwellers from a nearby informal settlement. This TRA is built and managed by the DA-led City of Cape Town. Symphony Way TRA is criticised for its barbed-wire fencing, police-controlled access to the camp, and its erosion of social networks.

Read more about this topic:  N2 Gateway

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