In 2008, the City of Cape Town and the Cape Town Partnership published the Central City Development Strategy – a framework to guide change and manage growth over the next ten years. We are currently reviewing and updating the strategy in light of the 2010 World Cup experience.
The 2010 World Cup has left us with two types of legacies: physical improvements and attitudinal changes.
On the physical side, Cape Town has gained R14bn of infrastructure, mainly relating to improved transport systems. This includes the upgrade of the CT Airport, railway stations and highway intersections.
New CT Airport with IRT Station
In particular, we have been able to fast-track the planning and implementation of an Integrated Rapid Transit System or MyCiTi – a ten-year programme to bring reliable public transport within reach of all communities in Cape Town to improve access and mobility.
The expansion of MyCiTi (and parallel improvements to the existing commuter rail system) carries with it the potential of transit-led development for our city. In future, if public authorities can better align public transport routes with human settlements planning (in particular, well-located affordable housing) and more strategic land use management, there will be an opportunity to promote appropriate densification, more intensive economic development and a more compact city, which in turn will support more sustainable public transport systems.
IRT: Opportunities for transit-led development
These issues, and many others, will no doubt be debated in the City of Cape Town’s forthcoming City Development Strategy (CDS) 2040 process. In this regard, I have recently suggested that the Cape Town CDS be guided by a clear and specific goal such as: ‘The next generation will not be poor’, which acknowledges our particular city challenges, rather than the conventional ‘world class city’ aspirations, but more about that in a forthcoming column.
The second World Cup legacy relates to changing perceptions and attitudes, both of locals and visitors. Some of the global stereotypes towards Africa have been challenged. More importantly, we have increased our local self belief – that we can think big, meet deadlines, and work together for a common purpose. We can even go beyond ‘business as usual’ thinking.
Zapiro has an uncanny knack of saying it all in one cartoon
When asked about their experience of Cape Town during the World Cup, many visitors responded that they enjoyed being able to walk the streets freely and explore the city. They also commented on the open welcome they received from Capetonians.
In order to respond to this, there needs to be a paradigm shift in our tourism marketing message, which for years has been based almost entirely on promoting our natural environment. Instead of the traditional focus on ‘escape from the city’, the new message needs to be ‘engage with the city and its people’. (For more on this theme, see So who are we as a city? and But where are all the people?)
Similarly, many locals experienced the World Cup on the streets of the Central City – on the Fan Walk, in the Grand Parade Fan Fest, in Upper Long Street and in the public spaces. Instead of driving to the stadium and trying to find parking, many used public transport (and enjoyed it) and walked through the city at night (and enjoyed it). For many, it was an exceptional experience.
Upper Long Street
The challenge now is to ensure that the exception becomes the norm. A truly liveable city is one where it is normal to walk (and cycle), to use public transport more than private motor vehicles, to be on the streets at night, to have safe spaces for families and teenagers.
This implies, amongst other things, a greater focus in future on promoting, expanding, managing and maintaining public spaces and pedestrian routes in our city, as opposed to simply planning for cars to move more quickly through the city. (As Jan Gehl, the world-reknown public space architect frequently points out, almost every city has a Traffic Department, but almost none a Pedestrian Department, but more of that at a later date). In turn, this can reinforce our ability to increase the number of cultural, sporting and business events in the city to support higher levels of socio-economic development.
There are currently at least 16 lanes between the mountain and the sea reserved for cars to pass through Green Point. In future, at least two should be given over permanently to pedestrians
The City of Cape Town has recently appointed a team to advise it on bidding for and hosting events in the future. An events strategy will work if it is based on a combination of ensuring local participation, enhancing the visitor experience, promoting the Cape Town and leaving a lasting legacy. This can be done, for example, if future events are based more on park and ride, public transport and the use of public spaces and walkways, and not just traffic services and parking arrangements for private cars.
The Cape Town Central City itself has a specific role to play in a future city events strategy. With its multiple venues (e.g. CTICC, CT Stadium, Artscape, City Hall, Civic Centre, Good Hope Centre, National Parliament, private hotels), public spaces (e.g. Urban Park, Company’s Garden, Grand Parade, Greenmarket Square, Artscape Piazza, Station Square, St Andrew’s Square), easy access through pedestrian- and cycle-friendly routes and the proposed new MyCiTi inner city transport system, proximity to a range of types of accommodation and to retail, traders and entertainment activity zones (e.g. Upper Long St, Green Point Main Road, V&A Waterfront), the Central City provides a natural ‘arena’ to host large events.
Adderley Street
This can be easily and relatively inexpensively enhanced through ongoing ‘dressing the city’ with murals, tree-wraps, flags and lights, creative use of outdoor advertising, and more spaces for markets and public art, as well as safety and security and maintenance and management of strategic public assets.
The new post-2010 ‘can do’ attitude in our city should now also be applied to solving some of the serious developmental challenges facing our city, particularly with regard to jobs, inequality and poverty. In the Central City, the Provincial Regeneration Project, which aims to use public assets to leverage socio-economic benefit, including the provision of affordable housing, offers a huge opportunity to bring a diverse range of people and businesses back into the city centre, and should be implemented with the same sort of commitment and vigour that we found for the 2010 World Cup.
The Cape Town Partnership will be discussing these and other development issues at a meeting of the Central City Partners Forum on 24 August, starting 8.30 am at the Cape Sun. More details will follow, but please put it in your diary if you are interested.
In the meantime, it looks like the popular Fan Walk will be reactivated for the 27 August PSL football double-header taking place at the CT Stadium. Watch this space.
Spot a well know Cape Town newspaper editor on the Fan Walk
Hooray! Public visual art is so good for educating and uplifting our amazing and diverse society. I would love to be part of this exciting project to enhance the natural and amazing architecture and design in our beautiful city – all for the greater good of Cape Towns FANtastic people and to all those who visit.
If you are interested. A small presentation, “Cape Town Central City and the 2020 Olympic Games”, only 8 slides, needs more work.
http://www.slideshare.net/capetown2020/cape-town-central-city-and-the-2020-olympic-games
The Central City has a key role to play in any major sporting, cultural or business event.
Hi Andrew
Great summation. I think the focus project , grand idea, which we all should get around to is the plan to bring public transport within the reach of a labour force , thus promoting not only social cohesion but access to economic opportunity. Below is my summation of the world cup in our newsletter:
“The World Cup has come and gone and left us with many special memories. The two memories I carry are the excellent service delivery all visitors and locals experienced along the fan mile and in the greater metropole, which proved that South Africans can fulfill expectations on service delivery and the tremendous ’gees’ demonstrated throughout the 6 week period. In fact the word ‘gees’ has really entered the South African lexicon.
It is the intention of the CIDC to take on these ‘twin drivers’ of service delivery and ‘gees’ to deliver our core services of Security, Urban Management and Social Outreach with enthusiasm and integrity. Our lead story, in which the inter-connectivity of urban management initiatives like fault monitoring and crime is made clear, illustrates some of this ‘gees’ and service delivery. The lead article also illustrates the constructive partnership between the CIDC, City politicians and Council’s service departments. Since this monitoring initiative was launched, 45 defects were reported to this triumvirate, of which 25 have been repaired or attended to, including weeding, improved cleaning and security and graffiti removal. The remaining 20, which include cracked mortar in the public toilets, incorrect route signage at the bus terminus and providing dedicated wash bays for taxis, remain on our agenda.
These initiatives benefit every one of the approximate 24 000 commuters who pass through this space on a daily basis. It is after all the quality of the public spaces, which inspires artists like Beezy Bailey to exhibit in them. This incremental improvement, celebrated by urban design gurus, such as Danish architect Jan Gehl, could see the likes of Bailey’s King and Queen, as well as ballet dancer sculptures featured in our article on page 3, on display in the public space adjacent to the public transport interchange in the future. It would be remiss of me not to thank the service departments at Council and the SAPS, who for the period of the World Cup, have delivered excellent services in the Claremont CBD. I would like to acknowledge every cleaner, security officer and technician, who made it their personal responsibility to keep Claremont clean and safe for this period. I would argue that this was not a flash in the pan delivery, but something South Africans can deliver on a daily basis.”
Abdul Kerbelker
If the fan mile is reactivated for the PSL games (supported predominantly by black Africans) it will be fascinating to see who walks it?
My only criticism of the wonderful fan walk and fan park during the World Cup was that there was a paucity of black Africans taking part in these free events (of course this was not a scientific survey but was based on three separate experiences).
We have to be careful what kind of participative inner city we are resuscitating. I don’t believe the scarcity of black Africans was primarily due to the usual problem of transport as this was available. I believe the problems in including all Capetonians in city life run much deeper, including feelings of exclusion.
I agree that citizen participation in the 2010 Fan Walk still reflected the fact that we are a divided city. One event, no matter how succesful, is not going to change that overnight. The fact that the Fan Walk was linked to the FIFA events at the stadium where tickets on the whole were out of the price range of many ordinary citizens tended to reinforce the divide. However, as you correctly surmise, I think we are going to see a different type of demographics on the Fan Walk for the PSL double header on 27 August.
If you look at citizen participation in the CT central city as a whole over the World Cup period, and not just the Fan Walk, a different picture emerges. For example, the overwelming majority of people who attended the Fan Fest on the Grand Parade, or who used the ‘spill over’ areas in Adderley Street, were black working class Capetonians. The local party goers in Upper Long Street were again a different demographic – mainly middle class, but quite racially mixed. Overall, therefore, I think we managed to achieve a fairly inclusive degree of local participation during the World Cup. And I still think we should celebrate when people get out of their cars and use public transport and walk the streets – even (or especiallly) the white middle classes. After all, the only way in which the new IRT system (and Metrorail for that matter) is going to be financially sustainable is if a healthy percentage of current car users make the switch to public transport. If the experience on the Fan Walk during the World Cup assists this process, so much the better for the future of public transport.
Looking ahead, a primary objective of the Cape Town Partnership is to make the central city as welcoming and inclusive to all Capetonians as possible. This process will be assisted greatly if all future events held in the central city make a point of targeting local participation. A good example of this is the Community Concert on Greenmarket Square that preceeds the CT International Jazz Festival at the CTICC.
More participative events can help change attitudes and break down feelings of exclusion in the short term. However, real inclusion will come when more black Capetonians get more jobs in the central city economy, are able to base their businesses here, and can afford to live here. This is what the post-2010 era is all about.
I saw thousands of rich and poor black (coloured) people taking part in the free events in town (the fan walk and the fan park) but hardly any black Africans. I believe this problem is unique to Cape Town. It is not just that there are less black Africans here than in Joburg and Durban. Interestingly a black African former colleague who lives in Joburg and has also lived in Durban asked me; “Why don’t the blacks ever come to town on Saturday (in Cape Town)?”
It may have something to do with the fact that there is no measurable black African middle class here. I suspect black Africans here also feel extremely uncomfortable in many relatively upmarket places that Cape Town celebrates. It may also have something to do with feeling part of a minority and simply feeling more comfortable in the townships. In other cities the white minority has retreated to gated communities and malls. Thankfully that hasn’t happened here.
All the races don’t have to hang out together all the time but when black Africans (who are the biggest football fans in SA) are missing out on the biggest football event there is then there is something wrong. Morality aside, this ‘exclusion’ is also a potential source of instability for the elites here.
I think that too many assume that there are no alternatives for the black lower and middle class in the areas they live. They have large shopping centres in areas like Mitchell’s Plain, which are being built, upgraded etc. to reflect the fact that we have unreliable transport.
Why should somebody living 25km from the CBD travel to the CBD on a Saturday when they spend 90mins each day of the week, perhaps trying to get to work on time using our public transport system.
As indicated above, public transport development must be an aggressive for social and economic cohesion, and unfortunately decisions like aligning the IRT project phases to “when government provides funding”, which is currently the case, is not the way to go.
A central transport body or Municipal transport entity needs to be formed (currently planned) as soon as possible, and a pool of funds from both the public and private sector should ensure that this body can deliver transport infrastructure sooner rather than later. Other financing options including the raising of finance via a bond issue(s)s or debt need to be considered to accelerated works, and which in future could be recovered from future treasury allocations.
Furthermore, we cannot live a city with one rail operator facing no competition, facing no benchmarks and no watchdog. Metrorail cannot be allowed to deliver at such a low level in future and PRASA/government need to come on board in this regard and perhaps even allow other rail operators to operate lucrative routes e.g. Khayelitsha – Cape Town, providing an efficient, safe and uncongested rail service to those who need it most.
I agree that public transport is not good enough yet but that is the case in the other big SA cities too. But in those cities the central city is for black Africans the place to hang out, to be seen, where the festive vibe is whether this is a serious shopping trip to town or just a window shopping experience with friends.
In the weeks before Xmas Durban’s CBD is bursting at the seams with shoppers, thousands of them dirt-poor who travel from far and wide to be there, including from the rural fringes of the city (of course they have the problem that whites and Indians have departed the CBD).
During the World Cup here I don’t believe that in general the thousands of black Africans that work in central Cape Town (albeit mostly in lowly jobs such as retail, security, office clerks) went to the fan park/mile on their way home from work (obviously at no extra cost).
I don’t know what the answers are but there is a problem of a lack of inclusivity re black Africans that is unique to Cape Town.
My intention is not to knock the Cape Town Partnership who have done sterling work in regenerating the inner city and thereby providing additional employment to people of all races. The current authorities didn’t cause the problem but how do we fix it?