In the shadow of Cape Town’s housing crisis, a former hospital becomes a laboratory for democracy. At Cissie Gool House, residents reimagine home as a commons, co-designing their future in defiance of gentrification and exclusion.
Cape Town, renowned for its stunning landscapes and vibrant culture, is grappling with a severe housing crisis driven by a growing population, insufficient social housing development, and a history of spatial apartheid. The crisis is further exacerbated by market-driven gentrification, which often prioritises real estate development over community needs, leading to the displacement of long-established communities. This situation reflects broader socio-economic disparities and the absence of comprehensive, inclusive housing policies. The city's legacy of segregative planning has left many low- to middle-income families without affordable housing options or a secure place to live.
Cissie Gool House: Imagining Home
In response to the growing housing crisis and as part of their ongoing advocacy for housing rights, the ‘Reclaim the City’ movement occupied a centrally located, derelict former public hospital site in 2017. The naming of the occupation as ‘Cissie Gool House’ became a foundational moment for a new community ethos. The new residents—individuals and families facing eviction or already homeless—renamed the hospital to honour Zainunnisa ‘Cissie’ Gool, a local anti-apartheid activist, civil rights leader, and the first black woman to serve on the Cape Town City Council.
The residents of Cissie Gool House champion the concept of housing as a strategic investment and a fundamental right aligned with the 11th Sustainable Development Goal of the United Nations (SDGs): ‘Sustainable Cities and Communities”. SDG 11 calls for a transformation of how urban spaces are managed. It introduces two concepts with implications for Cissie Gool House: the ‘Right to the City’ 1and the ‘Shared Administration Framework’.
Democratizing City Planning
The Right to the City concept goes beyond housing, asserting that residents should have a say in shaping their urban environment rather than leaving development solely to market forces. It advocates for inclusive urban planning and decision-making, ensuring participation regardless of socio-economic status.
The Shared Administration Framework is a cooperative governance model that fosters partnerships between citizens and municipalities. Originating in Italy through Labsus (the Laboratory for Subsidiarity social promotion association), it now involves 300+ Italian municipalities2. Rooted in trust and reciprocity, it enables citizens and officials to co-manage common goods, promoting civic autonomy and urban stewardship. This approach reimagines city governance as a collaborative process, where residents actively shape their urban environment and community-led initiatives drive development.
The Shared Administration Framework is reflected in the ‘Manifesto for a New Civic Participation Bylaw in Cape Town’ signed by 23 civic organisations3. It advocates for democratising and decentralising public administration by empowering smaller administrative entities for shared decision-making. The manifesto’s proposed by-law for citizen participation was presented to the Mayor of Cape Town on 23 September 20194.
Cissie Gool House as a Co-designed Commons
The framing of Cissie Gool House (hereafter, ‘CGH’) as a commons follows Helfrich and Bollier’s (2019) who define commons as “…living social systems through which people address their shared problems in self-organised ways”5. In 2019, Silke Helfrich visited Cape Town and attended several events marking the beginning of a self-organisation project.
A co-design process for CGH began in September 2021 to reimagine public housing beyond traditional renovation. Led by a working group of residents and non-residents, it develops proposals reflecting residents’ vision for the site, designated for social housing by the City. Insights from the City Occupied6 project inform the evolving design. The process has empowered CGH residents, strengthening confidence, ownership, and proactive engagement. Internal Leaders actively participates in workshops shaping the community’s future. Collaboration with universities, foundations, and local organizations provides research, funding and advocacy, creating a strong support network for the initiative.
The co-design process at CGH exemplifies democratic practices in urban development by empowering residents to actively shape their environment through engaging in decision-making. This participation challenges traditional power dynamics and enables the CGH community to serve as microcosm of democratic innovation, transforming their living spaces into a reflection of the community’s values, needs, and collective agency.
Introducing the Co-design Working Group and Support Network
The Co-design Working Group at CGH drives the participatory design process, with leaders and residents playing a key role in decision-making that reflects the community's diverse voices. Their collective action, guided by workshops and dialogues, shapes outcomes aligned with shared goals, supported by a network of organizations contributing valuable resources.
The community is supported by a network of allies providing legal expertise, educational resources, academic insights, and strategic guidance, all of which enrich the co-design process and help navigate complex urban challenges. This collaborative network strengthens the initiative, fostering inclusive urban transformation and promoting innovation within the field.
This collaborative network has overcome urban redevelopment challenges and set a precedent for community-driven change at CGH, demonstrating the transformative power of collective action and the crucial role of a strong support system in achieving community aspirations.
Creating Community: The CGH Journey Through Participatory Workshops
A series of seven workshops that were convened to allow the residents to engage with concepts of community organisation, democratic participation and collective visioning have catalysed the transformation of CGH from a simple occupation to a model of co-designed living space.
The CGH workshop series followed a progressive approach to self-governance, strategic planning, and community-led development. Initial sessions explored internal leadership dynamics and the broader socio-political landscape, as well as the community’s strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats, equipping residents with the tools to develop vision and mission for the sustainable development of CGH. In subsequent gatherings participants documented their heritage and shared stories of their collective journey before laying out plans for the sustainable management of their collective space. The involvement of local housing activists introduced residents to state social housing instruments, deepening their understanding of accessibility, affordability, and ownership. Finally, at Workshop 7, residents participated in the detailed co-design of living units and shared facilities, ensuring that the final architectural plans reflected their needs.
This participatory approach has strengthened CGH’s culture of self-management and empowerment. Elected leaders and support groups help promote accountability, while grassroots initiatives—such as the 'Monitors' leadership tier, the Noor Tofie vegetable garden, the CGH kitchen, and Club 60 for the elderly—serve as examples of tangible, community-driven progress. Co-design at CGH not only aligns with global trends in inclusive urban development but also represents a paradigm shift toward cities shaped by the agency and wisdom of their inhabitants.
Co-Design Exhibition: Building a Platform for Dialogue and Vision
In December 2022, the CGH community hosted the Cissie Gool House Co-Design exhibition, showcasing the residents' transformative experiences and vision for inclusive housing. The exhibition also sparked public discussions on the practical application of co-design, reflecting the community's story of collaboration, resilience, and hope. It was well received by residents, activists, urban planners, and the public, highlighting the power of community-centered urban development and the call for more inclusive spaces.
The exhibition inspired other communities facing housing injustices and became a hub for reflection, learning, and idea exchange, laying the groundwork for ongoing discussions on a more participatory and democratic future in urban living.
The exhibition sparked several connected events and initiatives that deepened public engagement and expanded the conversation on community-led urban development. Alongside immersive media like the 360° VR documentary of CGH No Place But Here, it created space for public dialogues and seminars exploring social housing, health and housing, and the politics of urban space. As the exhibition travelled from Cape Town’s Architectural Institute to the District Six Museum and on to Tshwane, South Africas capital, it became a catalyst for exchange—drawing on local experience and international comparisons, including with São Paulo’s inner-city occupations, and offering a platform to reflect on new models for socially just, participatory urban futures.
Heading Towards a Transformative Agenda for Housing
The collective initiatives led by the CGH community reflect the principles of a social solidarity economy, centred on democratic control and socialised ownership as a response to inequality in housing and urban development. Projects like the community garden embody this ethos, symbolising empowerment and resilience. Other initiatives in self-employment and self-management enable residents to use their skills to build micro-enterprises within the supportive environment of CGH, reclaiming economic agency and fostering a network of mutual support and interdependence.
Women and youth play central leadership roles in the community, ensuring effective service delivery and nurturing a culture that is self-sufficient, self-governing, and caring. Through the co-design process, the community was able to imagine and draft proposals for the architectural and spatial planning of their environment, aiming for outcomes that are not only innovative but also contextually relevant and just.
CGH remains committed to a transformative housing agenda based on collective ownership, the decommodification of land, and the pursuit of affordability and fairness. This vision reaches beyond the immediate community, seeking to influence the city of Cape Town and further afield through collaboration with like-minded organisations such as the Tshwane Leadership Foundation7 and Yeast City Housing8 who share a commitment to reimagining social housing. These partnerships reflect a broader effort to develop sustainable urban development models grounded in shared expertise and collective action.
Together, CGH and its partners are undertaking a comprehensive analysis of the possibilities and limitations of a social housing project tailored to the specific needs of the community. This process draws on diverse experience to explore economic and managerial sustainability while ensuring the model remains practical, inclusive, and responsive to the lived realities of residents. It is a step toward a socially just future in which housing is not only a right but a foundation for resilient, self-determined communities.
In the ongoing struggle for a more inclusive and equitable urban future, CGH residents and their partners are forging pathways toward innovative housing solutions and more resilient communities. Their journey is marked by cooperation, shared knowledge, and a steadfast belief in the transformative power of collective action.#
The views and analyses expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung.
