People's Environmental Planning (PEP)

Environmental and social planning in Cape Town requires understanding how informal settlements, land access, and service delivery intersect with water scarcity and climate vulnerability. PEP works on the ground helping communities participate in planning processes that affect their neighbourhoods—from water management strategies to housing upgrades to disaster risk reduction. This kind of work involves facilitating difficult conversations between residents, government departments, and developers, mapping local knowledge, and ensuring that people actually affected by decisions have a voice in making them. In a city where sprawl and inequality shape environmental outcomes, community-led planning becomes infrastructure in itself.