For decades after the end of apartheid, South Africa’s cities have continued to carry the scars of spatial inequality — where where you live often determines the opportunities you can access, the
schools your children attend, and even the cost and time of getting to work. Now, in what has become one of the country’s most significant housing rights battles, the Constitutional Court has delivered a landmark judgment on the controversial sale of the former Tafelberg school site in Sea Point. The court has ruled that the sale was unlawful, finding that both the Western Cape government and the City of Cape Town failed to adequately consider affordable housing in well-located areas. Although the
property sale itself was cancelled years ago, the broader questions remain: who gets to live in South Africa’s cities, and who continues to be pushed further away from economic opportunities? Tonight, we unpack the significance of this ruling, its impact on future housing policy, and whether this could reshape the ongoing struggle against apartheid-era spatial planning.