Investing in More Than Buildings: Divercity’s Mandela Day Impact

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22 July 2025

Investing in More Than Buildings: Divercity’s Mandela Day Impact

This Mandela Day, Divercity Urban Property Group reaffirmed its commitment to community support by reaching beyond bricks and mortar to make a tangible difference in the lives of vulnerable children.

In partnership with Villa of Hope and Hearts of Hope, the Divercity team delivered essential winter clothing, food supplies, nappies, and personalised gifts to children in care. These donations were a small but heartfelt gesture to bring comfort and joy to young people facing difficult circumstances.

“Your love and kindness will forever remain in our hearts,” said Villa of Hope in a letter of thanks. Hearts of Hope echoed the sentiment, noting that “every meal, every moment of nourishment plays a vital role in supporting not only their physical health but their emotional and psychological well-being as well.”

Mandela Day reminds us that making an impact doesn’t always require grand gestures, sometimes, it’s the simple act of showing care and connection that leaves the most lasting impression.

At Divercity, we believe that building inclusive cities starts with caring for the people who call them home, especially the most vulnerable. Our deepest gratitude goes to the staff, caregivers, and teams who make this work possible all year round.

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By 2030, the UN’s goal is to ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services.

Our impact

Over the next five 5 years, Divercity expects to construct more than 10,000 new and green affordable residential units in centrally-located neighbourhoods, expanding housing options close to economic opportunity for low- and middle-income households. Construction of the new residential units will help address the growing housing deficit and issues of spatial segregation in South Africa.

By 2030, the UN’s goal is to develop reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all

Our impact

Divercity is providing housing in locations that are connected to existing infrastructure, such as healthcare, schools, jobs and parks. This serves to reinforce accessible and equitable cities, as well as strives to break the destructive pattern of South Africa’s apartheid infrastructure and planning.

By 2030, the UN’s goal is to strengthen the resilience and adaptive capacity to climate related disasters

Our impact

More compact cities – enabled through the kind of development that Diversity advances – are associated with substantially lower greenhouse gas emissions, better land-use, and energy and resource efficiency, based on research 1 we’ve done with the Green Building Council South Africa (GBSCA) and Arup. Divercity has a commitment to minimising greenhouse gas emissions and is already supporting climate change mitigation through a range of measures, such as rooftop solar arrays, energy and water efficient design in all of our buildings and EDGE rating of all new developments.

By 2030, the UN’s goal is to ensure equitable and quality to pre-primary, primary and secondary education and lifelong learning

Our impact

Through our Ithemba Upliftment Foundation, we are contributing to early childhood development, enabling hundreds of young children to receive quality education at Daycare Centres in our precnits. This is in addition to the widened access to formal education facilities that are part of our developments, and our efforts in supporting lifelong learning through supporting adult education.

By 2030, the UN’s goal is to ensure universal access to affordable, reliable, renewable and modern energy sources

Our impact

As the cost of renewable energy generation capacity becomes more accessible and affordable, we are integrating these technologies more broadly across our residential portfolio. Divercity is focussed on eco-responsible housing as a viable means to contribute to sustainable and environmentally friendly urban development – through rigorous adherence to green building standards, including the use of energy efficient LED lights, rooftop solar arrays, energy efficient hot water generation and energy efficient building design.

By 2030, the UN’s goal is to encourage and promote effective public, private and civil society partnerships to attain the global goals

Our impact

Our partnerships empower us to champion progressive policy that supports sustainable development. One impactful example of such a partnership is our work with Green Building Council South Africa (GBSCA) and Arup, the global multi-disciplinary firm, on a research project on the enormous environmental and economic costs of the current dynamic of urban sprawl in Johannesburg. Through this project, we developed actionable recommendations for policymakers, investors and other stakeholder groups.
You can read more about the research project, titled: Does location matter? here.