Just outside Johannesburg, South Africa's first Eco-city is being built, a project designed to show that the urban lifestyle can be both green and affordable. This eco-city isn't being built in one of the rich suburbs of Johannesburg but in the poor run down township of Ivory Park. Here, living conditions are so bad that hardly any homes have electricity, running water or sanitation, and residents spend up to a quarter of their income on energy. Taking its lead from a project in Brazil called Curatiba, the Eco-City combines a range of approaches to engage local residents in tackling their poor living conditions and their immediate environment - making transport, recycling, and energy conservation affordable. While the concept of an eco-city may be nothing new for the developed world, what's really innovative about the Ivory Park project is that it aims at addressing poverty at the same time as preserving the environment. Grant Clark met Ivory Park's residents and asked them how the project was changing their lives.
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