A clash of rights in the legal and spatial planning contexts: The case of the Philippi Horticultural Area

Abstract

seeks to determine whether a balancing of these rights can be achieved within the PHA, and whether portions of the PHA can be developed in a manner that protects and enhances the cultural and environmental integrity of the area, while also allowing urban development to accommodate new and existing communities. We argue that issues related to food security, environmental well-being, and access to land and development are inextricably linked and cannot be dealt with in isolation. Instead, a more holistic approach is needed, which takes a balanced view of these issues and embraces the spirit of the Bill of Rights (as contained in Chapter 2 of the Constitution ) in an all-encompassing manner. Given that the PHA faces enormous challenges such as rampant crime, illegal occupation of land, a symbiotic relationship must be cultivated between urban and agricultural land uses, through appropriate urban development articulated in a spatial framework that provides clarity as to how urban development can assist in protecting productive agricultural activity. In this way, the role of the PHA as Cape Town’s ‘food basket’ can be better conserved for current and future generations. Clash: To come into conflict; to be incompatible; a hostile encounter; a sharp conflict; an argument or disagreement between people.