Guest Speaker Andrea Bolnick: Harvard Loeb Fellow and Social Entrepreneur
A Harvard Loeb Fellow, Andrea is a development practitioner, social entrepreneur, and urbanist with over 20 years of experience working alongside low-income communities to deliver resilient, community-driven housing solutions.
Du Noon Site 5 Fire: 3000 People Homeless After 1000 Dwellings Destroyed
An estimated 3000 people have been left homeless after a fire swept through the Site 5 Informal Settlement in Du Noon recently. More than 1000 dwellings were destroyed. Upgrading those living in informal settlements is a collective social responsibility – “Dignity begins at Home”.
Ikhayalami: In-Situ Upgrading and Disaster Response Partnerships
Andrea (Andy) leads the nonprofit organisation Ikhayalami which implements in-situ upgrading and disaster response projects in partnership with urban poor. The organization she heads won the SAB Foundation Innovation Award communities. More recently, she has been pioneering an initiative that encourages employers to part-fund or stand surety for upgrading their employees’ living conditions, particularly for those living in informal settlements.
Andy’s work intersects the formal and informal realms partnering with urban poor communities in dealing with disasters and in-situ upgrading in proactive ways that helps build cities from the bottom up and builds resilience. The projects and innovative work she does are designed to be embedded into community-driven processes and where appropriate and possible, to be scaled up with the support of the State.
Re-Blocking Process: Creating Fire Breaks to Prevent Shack Fires
The above slide shows the re-blocking process of spacial reconfiguration, which would considerably impact the hazard of shack fires, creating a fire break. Last year 25 single and 25 double structures were built for the middle income group, in partnership with the community and other organisations. For more information see what Ikhayalami does.
Fire-Resistant Housing Models: Brick, Wood and Zinc Construction
Following talks with the City of Cape Town, the team decided to use fire-resistant material to make the homes. The structures are made of brick, wood, zinc sheets, and are fireproof and water-resistant. Each household could choose from five different model sizes, depending on affordability and their family’s needs, ranging from 42.5 square metres to 80 square metres. Thanks to Janet Kriseman for reaching out to Andy to address RCW on this relevant challenge.
