Riebeek Valley sprawl

Riebeek Kasteel has been getting a bit of press coverage over the past few months, with a volley of letters to the editor last week. The small farming town, about an hour outside of Cape Town, is witnessing a court battle between a farmer and the residents living next to his vineyards.

Residents are claiming that the farmer is not following health and safety requirements when he sprays his crops, and are experiencing health problems from pesticides drifting in the wind. The farmer says he's following prescribed procedures.

The issue is not as straightforward as that, but it's a classic case of conflict between urban and rural land uses. The town's main attraction is its location: nestled in a valley filled with vineyards and olive groves, away from bigger urban areas. This has fuelled expansion of the town into agriculturual land at the same time as the farmers are experiencing a boom in demand for their olives and grapes.

On the face of it, Riebeek Kasteel presents a model of the ideal relationship between town and country. Physical expansion of the town onto productive farmland clearly has negative impacts, but what interests me here is the interaction and symbiosis between the two.

The biggest sign of the town's tourist boom is the annual olive festival, but there are smaller markets throughout the year, a steady escalation of property prices, and new businesses opening all the time that are not aiming at the traditional small-town market. Farmers are taking advantage of this new market for agricultural products by opening retail outlets and selling products at weekend markets. Townspeople benefit - in theory, at least - with more jobs.

There is no clear urban edge - either in planning or on the ground - and many vacant plots within the town are used to grow crops, adding to the sense that the town is integrated with the farmland. (The irony, in light of the current controversy, is that there was a time when farmers would spray the entire town with pesticides, believing they were doing everyone a favour.)

Urban sprawl is often facilitated by an economic weakening of farms on the urban fringe. In the case of Riebeek Kasteel, both the town and surrounding farms are thriving, producing a strong dynamic between them. On the fringes of larger urban areas, this strong relationship might create a useful check on sprawl, more effectively than a tightly controlled urban edge.

It will be interesting to see how land development plays out in the Riebeek Valley. Most recent growth in Riebeek Kasteel has been outward, rather than on vacant plots within the town. In the neighbouring town of Riebeek West, there has been a stronger focus on infilling rather than outward sprawl, and some of the recent housing projects have been at densities higher than one might expect in a rural town. This may have more to do with the intentions of the owners of surrounding farms than with strong planning, but as land values increase within the towns, the farmers may feel the urge to sell. Let's hope that a healthy urban-rural symbiosis will keep temptation at bay.